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UH-OH |
Someone cried, "It's a manta!"... and then another shouted
"No, it's a whale shark!" The last thing Linda heard as
she plunged into the early morning water from the R/V Sea
Dragon was, "It's turtles mating!" Adrenaline fueled her
kicks as she pushed a brand new video camera through a
dimly lit Bahamian sea in the direction of the
disturbance. It was a turtle all right, a huge five-foot
leatherback, but it was not mating, it was alone, and
thrashing upside down on the surface.
As the
faint bars on a dark shape materialized below, Linda
understood the turtle's distress - it was being hunted by
a 15-foot tiger shark. Always keeping its protective shell
between the shark's jaws and its vulnerable belly, the
leatherback repeatedly dived to escape its attacker. At
intervals, it clumsily surfaced belly-up to gasp for air.
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In the
instant Linda took her eyes off the shark to clear bubbles
from her lens port, the tables turned. Refocusing, she saw
the shark looking directly at her. As the massive figure
approached, Linda squeezed her eyes shut, trying to make
herself small behind the housing. The camera captured the
shark slamming into her dome port and recorded a distinct
UH-OH echoing from her regulator.
Linda
Fox-Bailey learned to dive while attending the University
of Illinois. After completing a degree in Animal Sciences
her yearning for adventure drew her to Florida where she
promptly became a SCUBA instructor. She eventually ended
up on the R/V Sea Dragon with Captains Dan Doyle and Sue
Ford. She has happily explored and videotaped the waters
and islands of the Bahamas for the past 14 years. Linda
resides in Ft. Lauderdale with her husband, Aqua Cat
Captain Mark Bailey and dog-child Lobo.
Contact:
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