Introducing new divers to the wonders of the undersea world is by far the most satisfying aspect of working in the diving field. Students and divers are amazed by the amount of marine life that you are able to show them. One of the more challenging jobs, however, can be dealing with the subject of (Don't say it! Don't say it!) ..... SHARKS!....
Beginners tend to have an irrational fear of sharks until they actually see one swim by. This is not surprising considering the sensationalist movies that have been produced in the last 20 years or so about our friend the shark. These man-eating stories have made it tough for us diving educators.
On one hand, we want to promote the fact that sharks are wonderful to see and that we hopefully will see them during our diving trips. On the other hand, we don't want beginners to be frightened about their first dives. If we say "Sharks, sharks, sharks," we certainly will not be teaching too many new divers.
Student: "Yo Teach, what's the story with SHARKS?"
Instructor: "Ummmmm, errrr, weelll..." (Our instructors are quite well spoken.)
Student: "Well, have you ever seen one?"
Instructor: "We'll talk about that in your advanced course!"
Now, if you think you're going to have trouble handling normal sharks, just wait till you start talking about WHALE SHARKS. What is your beginning student going to say when she hears that we just may see a 12 METER SHARK THAT SWIMS RIGHT UP TO YOU!
Fortunately--or unfortunately, depending on your point of view--we've had to deal with this problem many times over the past few years as we've had more than our fair share of encounters with these gentle giants.
A couple of years ago, one of our nervous students, who will remain unnamed to avoid further embarrassment, had attempted to become certified several times and could not complete the course. She had problems students typically have with breathing, mask clearing, and her fear of, well...; you know. Her husband, being an exceptional liar (they've been married a long time), backed up our well-spoken instructors in saying that we would definitely NOT see sharks while diving here.
Just a few days later, after she finished her course with us, we were proven wrong.
While taking her advanced course during her first liveaboard dive trip, the student in question was cruising along at about 30 meters with Bent, our Norwegian Course Director. Looking back over his shoulder, Bent happened to notice a large object, bearing a striking resemblance to a train, approaching him rapidly with the apparent intent of making him a smaller meatball. Thinking fast on his fins, he soon realized that this "object" was actually a 14 meter whale shark, which unfortunately neutralized all effects of nitrogen narcosis that he was enjoying at the time. Our student on the other hand was so surprised that she literally jumped into Bent's arms! Now, jumping is a rather difficult--if not unnatural action to perform underwater. But since she was so good at it--and it didn't seem to bother the shark--she was complimented on her newly acquired skill.
Fortunately for us, she was far too embarrassed--not to mention far too excited to remind us of our half-truths about shark sightings.
