Part III
Drifting a few feet to the right, the diver could clearly see the gray whale's shadowy figure against the dancing beams of sun. Then, just as gracefully as it appeared the whale began to dive. Now, there was 20 feet between the diver and the wall. Gauges still read 40 ft and now read 2000 psi air. The whale continued to dive, pausing briefly to make eye contact with the diver and proceeded on its way.
Resurfacing fifteen minutes later, the diver removed her gear in silence. Trying to process the encounter and put words to it. The captain had seen the dorsal fin of the whale and suspected the diver had had an encounter with the animal. All to aware of the diver's need to sort this experience out, the captain refrained from questioning. Until, that is, the diver looked at him questioningly. The captian was an old salt. He had spent 55 of his 60 years on the water, graying beard and a resilent sense of survival, he answered the diver's look with a nod. An answer that needed no verbalization but just an understanding to reassure the diver that she wasn't dreaming. As the boat pulled closer to shore, the captain and the diver talked about the dive, carefully avoiding the sacred encounter. Pulling into the mooring, they tied the boat down, rinsed off the gear and hung it to dry. Barefoot, they walked down the beach to a little shack of a resturant and ordered conch fritters, burgers, and a slice of key lime pie as the sun fell into the water. Crystal clear skies matched the clear water and the green flash opened the nightly show of stars.
Resurfacing fifteen minutes later, the diver removed her gear in silence. Trying to process the encounter and put words to it. The captain had seen the dorsal fin of the whale and suspected the diver had had an encounter with the animal. All to aware of the diver's need to sort this experience out, the captain refrained from questioning. Until, that is, the diver looked at him questioningly. The captian was an old salt. He had spent 55 of his 60 years on the water, graying beard and a resilent sense of survival, he answered the diver's look with a nod. An answer that needed no verbalization but just an understanding to reassure the diver that she wasn't dreaming. As the boat pulled closer to shore, the captain and the diver talked about the dive, carefully avoiding the sacred encounter. Pulling into the mooring, they tied the boat down, rinsed off the gear and hung it to dry. Barefoot, they walked down the beach to a little shack of a resturant and ordered conch fritters, burgers, and a slice of key lime pie as the sun fell into the water. Crystal clear skies matched the clear water and the green flash opened the nightly show of stars.