Want to try something amazing?
That is what I was asked the other night after a few 2 for 1 rum punches at Cooper Island resort (where there are small tables in the water right off the beach….NICE!).
Well I am not really one for scary stuff but I am always up for amazing! SO it was decided that we would swim from the boat to the rocks lit up in the water, about 100 yards away. Cooper Island has a camera on the lit up rocks, so you can see the fish feed at night on a monitor behind the bar. Mind you the water before you got to the light was black and there was no light from the moon. Without the rum coursing through me, I don’t think I would have had the courage to jump in to that black cold water. (I might be being dramatic but the water felt cold without the sun on it. Shane said it was the same temp as during the day, 85 but let me point out he was not in the water that night). I did need a safety blanket, you know something to make it all better, and a noodle was the obvious choice. Noodles are a floatation device, usually come in a pretty color (mine was orange), which I could hopefully stick it between myself anything that wanted to take a nibble of me.
As I put my mask into the water and saw all that blackness around me, I started to question what the heck I was doing. Who’s idea was this. Oh yes, Captain Shane who was not out there with us! One thing that was becoming apparent was that there was bioluminescence in the water. Now that was cool. So every move in the water was followed by a trail of what looked like baby fireflies. That kept me pretty distracted for most of the swim. Then I looked up at the area that was lit up and I could see some huge fish shapes. At this point I about walked on water. Instead I grabbed my buddy and put his body between the light and myself since the noodle was clearly not going to be of help. I was screaming and laughing because my buddy was also freaked out. Shane was yelling to us to get closer but those fish were really big! I’m talking 4-5 ft. And they were darting aggressively from the dark into the light. I did not want to be in their path. We hung out for a while and watched them feed then headed back. Thank goodness for the sea fireflies that keep you cheery and not thinking of what is under you in the black.
As we got on the boat Captain Shane asked if we liked it. We said “yes but you didn’t tell us there would be gigantic fish at the light”. He chuckled and said” Did I forget that part?”
Mermaid Pirate McGee
[Shane – for the record the big scary fish were just tarpon and are harmless, but I bet they caused quite a stir :)]
