Ashley & Tré in Thailand: Whale Shark!!!

Yesterday, we went scuba diving for the first time since our accident. It was a little borderline for me… but I couldn’t wait any longer. Having a background in working in adaptive recreation, I was eagerly figuring out adaptations so that we could go diving. We went diving with our friends from a local dive company, so they were very cooperative in figuring out ways to make it work for us. Our friend, Audrey, came with us. She just completed her Open Water certification, so she’d only done four dives… ever.

Our first dive was at a sunken Thai passenger ferry – King Cruiser Wreck. It was very cool to dive at a wreck – it was a first for all of us. On our second dive, our friend and dive master, Vichan, got my attention, and I was shocked to turn and see a huge WHALE SHARK swimming past us!!!!!! After the state of shock wore off, I got some pictures as it swam past, and then we followed it for a bit. It circled around and came straight back towards me… I was looking straight at its mouth thinking I was thankful that it just eats plankton! It swam right alongside me – within 12 inches. I had to watch out to not get hit by its tailfin as it moved from side to side. It was amazing!!!

A little background on whale sharks… They are the largest fish in the oceans. Fortunately for us, they eat plankton (microscopic plants and animals) and small fish. They are a very rare sight! This one was about 20-25 ft long. We have friends/acquaintances that have done thousands of dives in this region, but have never seen one. It was Audrey’s 6th dive and Tré’s 21st dive. They realize how incredibly lucky they are!!! People either don’t believe us when we tell them, or have tears in their eyes because they are so envious. It is now ranked as Tré’s new “best day of his life.” It was an incredible experience!!! It’s hard to even begin to explain. Tré is quite knowledgeable about sharks and wants to share these websites for you to learn more: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/whale-shark.html http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/whaleshark/whaleshark.html

Whale Shark!

"plaa waan" in Thai

Notice gill slits

Going out of sight on its first pass by us.
Poor visibility because of all the plankton in the water,
but that's probably why it was there since that's what it eats.
Notice how large the tail fin is.