Swimming with Sharks
by Greg Skomal
(1)As my dive buddies plunge through the ice hole and into the pitch black darkness, I know that I have to eventually follow. It’s like waiting to start a project until the night before it is due—nothing is going to change the unavoidable. So, I lower myself into the icy water. A “sea-ceiling”—6 feet of solid ice—covers my disappearance into the darkness below. My face numbs instantly in the 28 degree Fahrenheit water while the rest of my body is protected in a diving suit that keeps me dry. As I move deeper, the world is completely and eerily silent, except for my breathing and the rapid thumping of my heart.
(2)I have entered the world of one of the largest and most mysterious ocean predators, the Greenland shark. I know that somewhere there is one hovering in the blackness. The sea floor 600 feet below provides little comfort.
(3)Although it feels like hours have passed, in fact, it has just been seconds since we made our descent into the ice hole. My partners are filming already and taking still photographs of our subject—a 500-pound, 12-foot female Greenland shark. It’s my first face-to-face experience with this strange species in its own home, the Arctic Circle. Once in her presence, I forget my fears and take a close look. The shark moves so slowly that I can barely tell that she is alive. Her body is dark and perfectly adapted to low-light levels. Had she been outside the cone of sunlight cast through the ice hole, I wouldn’t have even noticed her!
(4)I examine her closely; this is not a pretty shark. I think about swimming with the graceful blue sharks, dancing with their brilliant blue bodies and observing their curious nature. I remember being face-to-face with a 15-foot great white, humbled by his staggering presence, scarred face, and “I’m the toughest fish in the ocean” attitude. But this Greenland giant is unlike any other shark. The species is endlessly cast in darkness, in a silent, freezing world where humans are simply not meant to be. Knowing that I am one of only a handful of people on Earth ever to experience being underwater with this shark, I forget about the cold, the ice, and the fact that I am thousands of miles from home. I realize how much I truly love swimming with the sharks—even this one!
The Splendor of the Sharks
(5)My dive with a Greenland shark was certainly one of my most amazing experiences swimming with sharks. But I’ve been diving to study and photograph them for over 25 years, so I’ve had many interesting experiences.
(6)My very first underwater dive with sharks was in 1983 in an area over 30 miles off the coast of the state of Rhode Island. There were no reefs or rocks, and the bottom was 180 feet below. As is the case with almost all shark diving expeditions, we first had to attract sharks to the boat. So we dumped chopped up fish, called chum, into the water and created a chum slick, which acts as an oily, fishy trail for sharks to follow back to the boat. It can take minutes or hours for sharks to arrive, depending on the species and the area.
(7)On that day, the first blue shark showed up after about an hour and began to circle the boat. As it was my first time diving with sharks, I was anything but courageous. Once I subdued my fears and slipped into our protective shark cage (made of strong metal bars that enable a diver to be very close to the sharks but still protected) I was amazed to see at least half a dozen blue sharks circling. It was so amazing being surrounded by sharks that I didn’t get out of the water until my scuba tank was almost empty!
(8)Nothing compares to sharing the water with a live shark. Their colors are bright, with shades of blue, gray, brown, and white. They have keen senses that enable them to be remarkably curious. They are full of life and move so effortlessly through the water that they make us humans look clumsy and foolish as we try to keep up with them. And in spite of what you may have seen on television, they don’t want to eat you. In fact, they are generally more frightened of you than you should be of them.
Question
Read the sentences from paragraph 1.
As my dive buddies plunge through the ice hole and into the pitch black darkness, I know that I have to eventually follow. It’s like waiting to start a project until the night before it is due—nothing is going to change the unavoidable.
How does the phrase “like waiting to start a project until the night before it is due” develop the author’s voice?
Responses
It shows that he does not know how to dive.
It shows that he does not know how to dive.
It shows that he does what other people are doing.
It shows that he does what other people are doing.
It shows that he is nervous about beginning the dive.
It shows that he is nervous about beginning the dive.
It shows that he is worried that the dive will not be quick.
It shows that he is worried that the dive will not be quick.
