Whale Shark Swim

one little bird ready set go, kwinecki h is for happy, a pretty mess

journaling says this: (in case it's too small to read)

Andy has had a dream for years to go swim with whale sharks. In Honduras we swam with sharks successfully and whale shark are not even carnivores so it seemed like a fun, adventurous idea. An old family friend owned a company in Cabo San Lucas that took boats out on whale shark excursions so we decided to go there over Thanksgiving break while they would be around and wim with them with the kids. the kids were a little apprehensive but somewhat on board. It never crossed Andy’s mind that his dream may be harder to accomplish than he thought because he saw the pictures this company took and this up close and personal experience was going to happen. We got a few hours delayed with the giant traffic jam due to Revolution Day which was maybe the start of the day’s unraveling.....

There were about 12 people on the boat and by the time we got out there the water was pretty choppy and the wind had picked up. (Of course the day before it was completely calm) Due to numbers we would be going out in two groups. The dive master explained how we would get out there and quickly put our snorkel and fins on and jump overboard and swim quickly after her while she followed the whale shark with her arm in the air. Simple enough. She suggested we not wear inflatable life vests because they would slow us down. Our family all got in the dinghy and off we went. The swells were so big they came over the front of the small boat and completely drenched us. Nothing in the boat was dry. Heath got salt water in his eyes which the dive master rinsed out with fresh water. After finding and tracking a whale shark (I saw its fin) she jumped in and we followed. She swam with her arm in the air like she said she would and was so fast we couldn’t keep up. The swells were well over our heads and it was a panicy feeling. Soon we gave up. It was not the calm and amazing experience we expected. Quite the opposite. Defeated, we got back in the boat which took us back to the catamaran to the people who had been watching the whale sharks from there and loving the view!

It was time for the next group to go and after seeing us struggle out there a few of them decided they didn’t need to see any more! They offered theur seats to any of s who wanted to go and we all said NO THANKS! Except Heath! My 8 year old wanted to go again! So he got back in that boat with a bunch of strangers and away he went. Talk about nerve wracking! I was scared to death! I couldn’t see far enough out there especially with the bright sun so I was taking pictures then zooming in to make sure he was on the boat. Fortunately we was wearing a bright red swim shirt so he was easy to spot! I was so nervous the whole time he was out there snapping pictures like mad. No one else seemed that concerned but here we are in Mexico and my 8 year old is out there with no parents trying to get as close as possible to the biggest fish in the ocean! Finally the dinghy started back toward the catamaran and my nerves started to settle. Here came Heath climbing off the small boat all smiles. The second time out was less crazy as it wasn’t against the wind and he was able to get really close to a whale shark as it brushed up against him. He was literally face to face with a huge polka-dotted fish and the most determined and bravest of our whole family! I love this picture of his coming toward me after getting back on the big boat feeling so accomplished. Those were some rough waters and he was pretty unfazed by the chaos and craziness of it all and just wanted to do what we had set out to do. Brave kid!