Near Death Encounter.

Spearfishing is considered a very dangerous sport/form of fishing. Bearing in mind all of the factors involved.

During my spearo years I have faced many scary & life threatening moments under water.. but the award definitely goes to this  sweet but unfortunately sour day. 

(Please keep in mind that to help you guys out with visual aspects of my story/blog I have  tried to fill in the gaps by using images from different sources to portray what I experienced in those moments. and am not taking any credit for them as  as they are sourced.) 

 I'm sure most of you who follow my Facebook posts would know that about a month ago I had a close life or death encounter during one of my not so planned spearing trips.

Yes.. I know XD  If you're one of those followers you would also know that I am prone to accidents or crazy incidents/encounters. ahaha

Looking at it from the bright side, what can I say, I guess I love to test my self and leave my comfort zone to experience true adventures. 

So let me begin with the story. It all began on a beautiful sunny & perfect day... as expected, my inner saltlife was craving the ocean as the weather was horrible in the previous days.


My friend had brought down a group of his friends from Switzerland for winter break.  And because it was finally a bright and sunny morning amongst a week of wind & thunderstorms we obviously had to take them out on the boat to prove to them that the crappy weather/water they saw in the previous days was nothing compared to the "real ting!".

So we took a trip out to sea to go snorkeling & to let them explore the beautiful reefs & marine life of the Bahamas. 

Initially we all snorkeled around the reefs. Everyone was so happy and intrigued by the amount of fish swimming around us. I just love exposing people to marvelous new things such as this. 

We even encountered sharks! ....& I can't even lie, seeing a shark in person for the first time can be quite frightening. But not to these guys! They were swimming right behind them! 

LOL soooo it's not what you guys are probably thinking . NO SHARKS were involved in my encounter story haha. Sorry for the tease, I promise the juicy part is coming !! bare with me. 

As predicted they did not stay in too long. Eventually their non-fish tendencies lured them back into the boat to I guess chill & sunbathe. ahaha I mean, I wouldn't know because I obviously stayed in the water.  

So it was just me & one other person, who I guess by defult became my dive buddy. My spearo senses were indeed tingling and I of course had to get my gear to see if I might as well take out a couple fish while I was there.

I got back into the water and I was doing my usual scoop around the reefs, looking for a decent fish to shoot. 

Source: http://maritimenews.id/makhluk-cantik-dalam-kawasan-berbahaya/

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article2500074.html

I then neared a ledge and saw two HUGE lips poking out of a reef head... and there it was... my trophy grouper. It was sitting right there- so still & calm. & It was at that moment that I knew he was MINE!   

I remember being quite excited. So I had to take a couple of breaths in and out to calm my bursting heart beat.
FOCUS! I told my self and I then took my one last breath and began to slowly descend towards the grouper. 

Source: : https://plus.google.com/113273537727385880706/about

I had made the perfect descend, so smooth & so graceful, as the grouper did not even realize that I was right there.

I then pulled back my sling as far back as I could (to get the most powerful shot), aimed right at the temple of it's head and released. 

BAMMM!! The spear hit the grouper right where I aimed! Stoning it dead cold. It did not even flintch 

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY4M3fZ4oNQ

I can't even begin to explain to you guys how excited & eager I was to bring my 3.3ft trophy fish to the surface.

I held the grouper by it's gills and began to swim up towards the surface with my back towards the ledge. (Leaving my back exposed to a blind spot- FIRST MISTAKE)

I was about 50 feet underwater so at about 30 ft as I was ascending I was above the reef ledge and was now exposed to what ever was waiting for me above the ledge.

SUDDENLY out of NOWHERE, in a blink of an eye this is literally what I see heading full speed towards me.

***** 

Source: http://1080.plus/CCvgG6wM2Bw.video

a SIX FOOT BARRACUDA!! OMGG!! My worst nightmare. all I saw was an open mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. 

Never in my life did I think such a  thing would/could happen to me.

It swooped in and I kid you not, in about THREE seconds It had sawed through my massive prized grouper. 

source: http://gruntfarter.co.uk/tag/recession/

Only missing my hand by inches. 

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But thats not even the whole story.. In that moment & in the shock of it all, Instinctively my reflexes told me to turn away obviously to try avoid getting bitten by this massive monster.

Total Sophie's luck would have it that in that moment while avoiding getting bitten I twisted awkwardly & yup.. you guessed it.. my KNEE decided to DISLOCATE.  

So I here I was 30 ft underwater, with half of my breath, half of a fish, a broken sling (it popped at impact), a hungry barry, and of course a dislocated knee,

Source: http://mulpix.com/instagram/underwater_time_water_diving.html
So what did I do?? 

Source: http://mulpix.com/instagram/underwater_time_water_diving.html

I did the most sensible thing of course.
Simultaneously, I prepared myself for the inevitable pain, popped my knee back into place, tried to remove my hand from the remaining head of the grouper. Resulting in me having to take off my whole glove as it was stuck inside of the barbs in the gill. Left the other half of the fish with my glove in it's gills & swam.. or should I say franticly kicked away with one leg, like a BOSS.

 Source: http://www.surfski.pl/przewodnik/86-egipt--el-gouna--przewodnik-nurkowy.html

Can you believe that after all of that, the only two  things that were going  through my mind when I reached the surface was the fact that my GOLDEN grouper got torn in half & that my Gopro was not even ecording!! !!!

haha trust me.. any other Spearo would understand the feels involved.
I often dream about my golden grouper that got away.. But I take comfort in knowing that another chance will present it's self.

Wellp, there you have it! My survival story I guess haha.

 I am thankful to God for life & protection. 

Aftershock update:

With some minor physiotherapy my knee is fully functional again!
I am not and have not been afraid to re-enter the water since that experience though I try to be more aware of my full surroundings.

I learned many valuable lessons from this frightening encounter and will def use it to improve my skills as a diver.

ps. Most people asked why I didn't go after that barry and shoot it haha. Though I was tempted I would never do such a thing as I was in it's territory and it was simply collecting it's taxes. :) 

That's it for today guys, 

Until next time!! hope you enjoyed my life or death encounter story!!

Much love,

Soph

Please note that as

I Didn't Choose the Salt Life, the Salt Life Chose Me.

So before I continue sharing with you guys some of my Spearo stories, I thought it would be good to tell you a little bit about myself:

First & foremost..... How does a girl like me become so passionate about spearfishing/free diving? 

Well... I feel like spearing/free diving is just something I was destined to do! 

Background

I am blessed to be from two marvelous countries that have some of the most beautiful beaches/oceans in the world.  

As a result I have been exposed to the ocean from a very young age. Which I like to think has a lot to do with why I feel so connected and passionate about the sea.

So I think it's safe to say that by default I was pretty much born a beach bum :) haha-  I mean, who wouldn't fall in love with the beach anyways! 

Limón, Costa Rica

I was born in Costa Rica, an absolutely ravishing country, mostly known for its incredible rain forests- aiding in my love for biology and ecosystems. But Costa Rica is also known for their incredible coastlines.

My father (Bahamian), being the true island boy that he is, would always love to take us on an adventure to the Caribbean Coast beaches in Costa Rica. 

At the beach in Límon, Costa Rica with my father & siblings

I absolutely loved the adventure behind going to the beach! I could always tell when we were close as I could smell the salt in the air. I would then be able to see patches of blue in between the jungle and I knew it was the ocean calling my name!  

Although I loved the beach, from what I recall we never really swam in the ocean. Costa Rican waters can be very unpredictable sometimes, so my parents felt it was a bit too dangerous to go all the way in. 

As a result I never really learned how to properly swim.. 

Before I could fall in love or even understand the world of fishing & diving I myself had to turn into a fish.  

Let me side track for a second and tell you what I'd like to think is a very funny story. 

When I was 5 years old my family decided to move back to the Bahamas.

I started kindergarten at Lyford Cay School, where they had swimming as one of our physical education classes. 

Believe it or not initially I was absolutely terrified to swim! I had never seen water so deep before. The pools looked so horrifying and I would always bawl my eyes out because I was fearful of drowning.

I specifically recall clutching my hands tightly on the side of the pool as my teacher pulled me away from the edge of the wall. I swear in that moment I thought I was dead. He tried to encourage me by saying "you're fine, i'm right here, swim to me" as he would deviously move a step backwards every time I would paddle closer. lol 

YUPP I know.. This was me for about a year of my life! Crazy to think that I was that scared of my calling/ passion. 

Luckily my parents decided to enroll my sister & I in private swimming classes.
 & I kid you not, after the first session I fell IN LOVE. For what ever reason the fear immediately diminished and has not once since returned. 

Me at my first swim meet in 2009

I mean, you could not me out of that water! Swimming just became a part of life. & to everyone's surprise I became really good. In middle & high school I was even one of the fastest swimmers in my class. In fact in my high school years I decided to join an after school swim club. Every day I would swim on average 200 laps. Swimming just became a form of therapy for me. My body would auto pilot & I would be able to dream and think about everything as I swam. 

So that's pretty much how I became such a mermaid! 

Now the question is 'how did I become so passionate about fishing and the ocean?'

Let's reverse back a bit to how I fell in love with fishing.

My father has always loved to fish.  I remember that he would always go out on these 'boys only' fishing trips. He'd come back home and he would always enjoy telling us his adventures he'd encounter on his fishing excursions.. They would always have me at the edge of my chair. I could only create a picture in my head about fishing... I always wanted to go, but I was too young to go out on a boat at the time.

 I would only see when he'd come home with my older brother with a cooler full of fish.  Though I was not allowed to go on the fishing trips I would always like to watch him clean the fish. For what ever reason I was never disgusted by the guts like any other little girl should've been. I would sit there and observe his cleaning techniques.. I became more curious and began to ask more questions like the types of fish he caught and what each organ was.
At a young age I pretty much knew how to identify of every common species of fish in the Bahamas.

I guess since fishing was something my father did with his father, he wanted it to be a father son thing... but because I insisted he eventually took my sisters & I out to line fish from the dock.  I was taught all of the basics behind line fishing. I learned how to throw the line, tie off anchors and hooks ect.  It was very tedious but it was all a lot of fun and great bonding time with my father. 

It took me a while to catch an actual fish... My father would always encourage me by saying "They call it fishing not CATCHING!" haha, that would always cheer me up and make me laugh.

Eventually around the age of 10 I was allowed to go on the 'boys' fishing trips. I remember feeling excited and nervous as I awaited to get into the open ocean for the first time.
Everything about being out in the ocean warmed my heart, I knew from then that that lifestyle would some how become a part of me. 

As I got older I began to line fish on my own... it became a frequent hobby of mine. 

I guess I it was only time before these two very passionate parts of me collided.

About 3 years ago I was introduced to spearfishing. I was so intrigued... Quite frankly growing up I had no idea that you could even spear fish. I did not even understand the concept and it never really crossed my mind.  I have always loved to snorkel and observe the fish but I never thought about hunting them while down there.
Unlike line fishing, with spearing I had so much control, it was not a game of chance as I was able to choose the fish I wanted.

Learning to spear in 2013

I was taught how to spear on land first. I was shown how to put the spear into the sling and how to pull back the rubber to create force in my shots on the sand. I then did some target practice by trying to aim at things like plastic bottles on the ground....

As I became more confident on land it was about that time to hit the water. I remember it being a bit different from what I practiced on land, But I was able to adjust well.

Initially we stayed near the shore, and I practiced my shots on fish like Squirrel fish & snappers.

I got such a burst of joy/adrenaline every time I would aim and actually hit a fish!

Soon enough I became really good at spearing! I progressed quite quickly as my previous confidence in the water/ocean gave me a head start.

We then tested my abilities in deeper water. I was nervous about it at first, but I eventually fell in love. 

 Every weekend I was back in the water, diving & shooting fish.
Spearing literally has become a part of me. I can't go too long without getting back in the ocean. 

 And I guess the rest is history!

ps. If you want a way into my heart, talk to me about spearing! hahaha

& if you made it down this far my blog thank you for reading!

                                                                  

Stay tuned for more! I look forward to sharing more of my exciting stories and encounters,

Much love!

Soph

Breath Hold

There's just this magical feeling behind free diving.

Smoothly inhaling in and out at the surface while looking down into the depths of the ocean as you are preparing your lungs for the plunge.

Taking that one last breath and descending into a marvelous unknown. The deeper you go, the more pressure you feel. Causing you to have to adjust your body to your surroundings, equalizing to every level of depth...neutralizing yourself into that environment.

The Goal is to reach the bottom of the ocean - To be able to touch the sand and feel it slide between your fingers.. To become one with all marine life.

Oh the enchanting feeling of reaching the bottom and looking up into the surface. Seeing the texture of the waves as the rays of light penetrate the surface and diminish as they reach your depths . Perhaps you’re watching schools of fish swim by like you are indeed one of them.

Only making you realize that you have now entered a different world- & in that brief but impactful moment everything up there becomes so small... Including all of your worries, your pain and sorrow, every problem that you face on land stands so peacefully still. Allow yourself to become one with the ocean. Feel the pressure and let the whole world gravitate towards you. It gives one such a sense of power and an adrenaline rush that translates into pure bliss.

So overwhelmed by the beauty forgetting that you indeed need to breathe. Your lungs are calling and it is about that time you head back. As you begin to ascend, you feel lighter, perhaps its because of the lack of oxygen in your body, or perhaps its your body leaving such a magical place behind.

But you take comfort in knowing that you'll meet again, and again... until you can't hold your breath any longer😌❤