Kosrae Freedive

It was the first freedive of the day. There was little to no current and the tide was coming in. The water clarity made 40-feet down appear deceptively close. Closing my eyes, I slipped below the surface as each slow kick took me closer to the bottom. 

Around 33-feet I opened my eyes to see this Spotted Eagle Ray gliding through the deep. Pulling the camera from inside my wetsuit's leg I began taking pictures. Soon the ray had slipped back into the blue and it was time to resurface. 

Passing 18-feet the air in my ears began to expand and buoyancy started to return. Back at the surface I stared into the blue preparing for the next dive. 

Down again to around 40-feet, I swam through the endless coral garden. The sound of aquatic crunching all around.

Again, time to resurface; the end can seem so far away and then you're there.

I was feeling good. it was time to aim deeper. This time I'd try swimming down the ridge. Maybe I could hit 50-feet. It would take a deep level of mental calm and coordination, but it felt reachable. Closing my eyes and concentrating on each kick, I slowly descended.

The pressure in my ears told me I was somewhere around 30-feet. My eyes were still closed, but I could feel something looking at me. Opening my eyes upside down I saw this white tip shark coming in for a closer look. His yellow eyes and mine met. Here alone at 35-feet we looked at one another.

I had encountered sharks while diving before, but never had one shown such curiosity towards me. Methodically the shark swam past surveying this visitor of the deep, then disappeared down the ridge into the deep. Slowly I returned to the surface watching for the sharks return. 

The shark never came back, so I continued diving. Back again at 40-feet I swam along this coral formation. It was so large I had to ascend 10-feet above it in order to fit it into the picture. 

Kosrae, FSM