UTILA AGGRESSOR
NEW YEARS 2006-2007
Dec. 30, 2006-Jan. 6, 2007
OK--Sherrie and I are calling this our Miracle Trip, because a miracle is just what it was.
We knew that it was not whale shark season in Utila, Honduras, and the chances of us seeing one were extremely rare, but while the two of us were up on deck one day, we decided to pray that God, if it was His will, would allow us to see one. We asked that Bruce, Jamie and Big Steve bring one to us through God's will. We were being completely serious when we did this. Then we just left it in their hands. Wouldn't you know that on the very last day, we were on the way back home after finishing our last 2 morning dives, I was sitting up toward where the Captain was driving the boat, and I noticed he and the cook were pointing to something in the distance. No big deal. But they continued to look and point intently for about 10 minutes. Sherrie was on the back of the boat sunning, and everyone was cleaning their gear and hanging it out to dry. One woman had just gotten out of the shower and was dressing. I got up and went to where the Captain and cook were, and said, "What do ya'll see?" The Captain goes, "See where those fish are jumping around (commonly referred to as a "boil.")? There's a 95% chance there's a whale shark right there...... no wait.... make that a 99% chance, cuz I think I just saw him!!!!!!!! Tell everyone to put on their fins, mask and snorkel and head to the back of the boat immediately." Words to Moses couldn't have been clearer! I ran back and screamed, "WHALE SHARK!!! EVERYONE GRAB YOUR MASK AND FINS AND HEAD TO THE BACK OF THE BOAT!" Sherrie looked at me like I’d been smoking crack! She said, "Are you serious?" I said, "YES!" So while all of us are grabbing our stuff, in record breaking time, Sherrie went to where the cook & Captain were still watching, and asked where it was. They showed her the boil on the top of the water!! You have never seen people gather so fast in one place in your life. They told us they'd tell us when to jump in, and not to touch it, cuz it would be startled and leave. When the dive master said "GO, GO, GO!!!" we all leaped in and began swimming and flopping, dog paddling, whatever!! He was in a vertical position, feeding on the surface. Somehow Sherrie and I managed to get there first, and therefore the 2 of us were in one of the photos that was taken of it. He then went horizontal and was within inches of us. We watched him breathe through his huge gills. We watched his eye as he checked us out as he slowly turned around. He was an inch from us and we had to back away from him to keep from bumping into him. Dale goes, "WATCH HIS TAIL!" cuz he could have slapped any of us with it as he turned. Luckily the divemaster/photo pro on the boat was able to get 3 shots off before Mr. Big swam away. And although there were 10 of us flopping around jockeying for position to see Mr. Big--who are the only 2 in the picture?? Me and Sherrie. Miracle. He was there maybe 3-4 minutes and he went down into the deep. I literally started to cry with excitement! All of us were absolutely overwhelmed. Shortly after that, the divemasters said, "There’s another one!" Once again, we all stood on the back of the boat, geared in our masks, snorkels, and fins, waiting for the "GO" command! I would love to have seen what we looked like at that moment! When the "GO" command was yelled, we all went swimming after it. This one was not as social as the first one, and once we all got close to him, he headed for the deep. But he was there! God cares about all of the things in our lives. When I see this picture from now on, I will be reminded that God hears even the smallest of prayers. Then when we were on Utila, we just had to go to find a T-shirt with a whale shark on it to celebrate this great event. We found one we liked, and while we were standing there waiting to pay for it, Sherrie suddenly noticed that along with the whale shark picture, at his tail, was a juvenile drum fish (Bruce's trademark fish). The statement on our whale shark shirt says it all: "To Encounter is a Privilege, Not a Right." Now why in the world would there be a juvenile drum on this T-shirt?!? It was a message that told us exactly who helped to answer our prayer. Miracle.
They'd told us all week that there was zero chance in us seeing a whale shark. They had been gone since October. But to see TWO of them????? And for both of us to be in that coveted photo, told us it was truly meant to be.
So, to see a whale shark when it was not the season, to see it at the last minute as we were on our way home, to be together in the photo, to have a drum on the T-shirt--how is any of this explained?? Prayer and a good and gracious God who loves us so much that He will give us whatever we ask for in prayer if it is his will. How lucky and blessed are we??? AMEN!!!
Now that you know the exciting part of the trip, I’ll go back to the beginning! Sherrie and I met Dale in Miami on December 30. We flew to San Pedro Sula (although none of us knew exactly where we were going, or any of the specifics). We were met at the airport by ________ who took us to the Holiday Inn. When we finally checked in, it was close to 9pm, and we decided to go to the hotel restaurant to grab a bite to eat. That was a bad decision! The food was horrible! Sherrie and I ordered hamburgers, and I don’t know what it was, but it was anything but meat! Sherrie sent hers back to get cooked more, and that was no improvement at all. (continue this, talk about the trip to the boat, and also getting stuck in the hotel elevator)
When we finally got to the boat, we set up our gear and had BBQ chicken before heading off to bed. The diving was easy, usually guided, which was a relief to the navigationally changed Sherrie and I! The one thing I did notice was the scarce amount of fish. Here’s a more professional analysis of our trip, prepared by the divemaster, Abe, from the Aggressor:
Saturday, January 6th, 2007 at 12:00 AM
Entry By: Utila Aggressor Crew
Dec. 30, 2006-Jan. 6, 2007 Before we begin, let me just say this, WHALE SHARK! Weather topside was sunshine all week although a little blustery for a couple of days. Below the surface was a steady 81F degrees all week with visibility ranging from 30ft up to 90ft on some of the dives in Utila.
We welcomed nine eager divers this week which included Debbie, Kelly, William, Dale, Sherrie, Jill, and husband & wife Lynn and David all hailing from different areas of the United States and from Argentina the lovely Rosa.
Sunday morning we made the journey north east to the islands of Cayos Cochinos and to our first dive site of the week at Toon Town. Here we came across countless clusters of Bluebell Tunicates, Yellowtail Snapper, Black Grouper, Creole Wrasse and Leopard Flatworm whilst carrying out our customary check out dive. From here we moved over to Pelican Point where we had a very nice dive which included Great Barracuda, Spotted Trunkfish, Spotted Drum and a Black Spotted Nudibranch.
The afternoon took us initially to Coco Sea Mount for our first afternoon dive then onto the south of Roatan to the site of Valley of the Kings. On these dives we came across schools of Horseye Jack, many Great Barracuda, Grey, Queen & French Angel Fish, Channel Clinging Crab, Goldentail Moray, Yellowhead Jawfish, Peacock Flounder and a couple of Hawksbill Turtle.
Monday morning we headed to the southern shores of Roatan to the worldwide renowned site of Mary’s Place. Here divemaster Shara led our divers through Mary’s many ins and outs, which without her guidance surely wouldn’t have been explored so thoroughly. From here we moved a little east to the Valley of the Kings for our second dive of the morning. Here we encountered countless hungry Bermuda Chub, Yellowtail Snapper, schools of Horseye Jack and Creole Wrasse, a big Cubera Snapper with accompanying Sharksucker, Nassau, Black and Tiger Grouper, and a number of Green Moray, one of which decided to keep with us for the majority of the dive. From here we headed to the west end of the island to the site of Taviana’s Wall. Here we had Channel Clinging Crab, Yellowline Arrowcrab, Batwing Crab, Tiger tail Sea Cucumbers, Hogfish, both the Caribbean Spotted and Spiny Spotted Lobster, Lettuce Sea Slugs, and Mantis Shrimp.
Tuesday morning we headed to the Wreck of The Aguila where Captain Eddy put on a show which included big Black Grouper, Cubera Snapper, Blue Parrotfish and Green Moray. Then a little south, but staying on the west end for a dive at Nitrox Alley, taking in a number of Caribbean Spiny Lobster, Fairy Basslet, Indigo Hamlet, bushy Black Coral, big Gorgonians and Barrel Sponges and a small Goldentail Moray. We then hit Eel Garden for the final afternoon in Roatan. Here we had plenty of Brown Garden Eels, Scrawled Filefish, Honeycomb Cowfish, Moon Jellyfish, and Arrow Blenny.
Wednesday morning our guests awoke on the north of Utila to dive at the site of Turtle Bay. We explored the nearby Maze and the cave of Willy’s Hole. Along the way we saw Spotted Moray, Juvenile Spotted Drum, Wire Coral Shrimp, Fringed Filefish, Mahogany Snapper, Spotted Scorpionfish and Hawksbill Turtle.
We then moved to the south of Utila to Jack Neal Point where we discovered Upside-down Jellyfish, Pedersen Cleaner Shrimp, Anemone Shrimp, Intermediate White Spotted Filefish, Spotted Drum, Snapping Shrimp, Mushroom Scorpionfish, Caribbean Spiny Lobster and Hawksbill Turtle.
Thursday morning we were at the northern point of Utila at Blackish Point to explore the caves and overhangs where we found big Green Moray, Juvenile Trunkfish, Flamingo Tongue, Ocean and Queen Triggerfish, numerous Spotted Drum, Southern Stingray, Bridled Burrfish, Spotted Moray, and Red Tipped Sea-goddess's. The afternoon saw us return to Turtle Harbor to the site of Old House. Here we encountered Mahogany, Dog and Yellowtail Snapper, Spotted Drum, Squirrel Fish, Lettuce Sea Slugs and many Creole Wrasse, Blue Chromis and Fairy Basslett.
After one dive we moved around to the north-west of Utila to the site of Raggedy Cay. Here we had Smooth and Spotted Trunkfish, Nassau and Tiger Grouper, Pedersen Cleaner Shrimp as well as Banded Coral Shrimp and both Spotted and Spiny Caribbean Lobster along with countless Yellowline Arrowcrab.
The final morning of diving arrived and we moved to the site of Black Hills on the north east of Utila. An abundance of sea life included schools of Creole Wrasse and Horseye Jack as well as Spotted and Goldentail Moray, Orange and White Spotted Filefish, Porcupine Fish, Bridled Burrfish, Cryptic Teardrop Crab, Great Barracuda, Spotted Scorpionfish, and a Harlequin Pipefish.
On our way back to the dock the eagle eyed crew spotted a boil just off Pumpkin Hill Bank on the north east of Utila. We soon found a Whale Shark perfectly vertical feeding on the surface and our guests had a couple of excellent jumps with two different sharks to cap the week off nicely!
As ever Marna and Candy kept bellies full and content and rooms neat and tidy, while divemasters Shara, Abe and Captain Eddy kept all things wet in order.
A final big thank you to all involved this week as it was thoroughly enjoyable, and we hope to see them and you again for a great week of diving aboard the Utila Aggressor. Written by Abe Francis, DM/Inst/Photo Pro Utila Aggressor.So, once we boarded the bus to start our 3 hour trip back to San Pedro Sula, we were told we were going to visit a mahogany store. I thought, "OK, sounds fun." When we arrived, we saw some awesome stuff, including a chest with an aquatic scene carved in it. If I could have shipped it home, it would have been purchased. The prices were decent as well! Everyone enjoyed the shopping spree, and wished we could have shipped quite a bit of stuff home. We finally arrived at the airport and let everyone except Sherrie, Dale, Rosa and me out. They dropped Rosa off somewhere else, as she was scheduled to do a tour of Copan. Then, they took Dale, Sherrie and I to the Holiday Inn. We all decided lunch was priority, so we went back to the same place for grilled chicken salads. After that, we went back to our rooms, with plans to head for the pool. However, we ended up taking naps! When we woke up, we decided to order pizza! We watched the Cowboys lose their game because Roma fumbled the snap for the kicker to kick the game winning point. It was the first time I've watched a football game in Spanish. After the game, we all fell asleep again! Next time we woke up, it was 5am, and we got dressed and headed to the airport at 5:50am. Once we got to Miami, we said our goodbyes and waited for our flights home. A great time was had by all! The whale sharks were incredible! This was a sign that 2007 would be a great year! Good diving with good friends is a winning combination!