Jim Abernethy, on a recent Guy Harvey expedition to the Bahamas, thought it'd be a good idea to jump overboard to film a hooked blue marlin from underwater.
Little did he know a large mako shark, perhaps attracted by the struggling marlin, was lurking nearby and about to give him the thrill -- or scare? -- of a lifetime.
The accompanying video, uploaded Wednesday by Harvey, shows the shark after it had sped past Abernethy, from behind, and into the camera's view. After that comes lots of bubbles and Abernethy's vivid reaction.
The group was at Cat Island on a tagging expedition involving oceanic whitetip sharks. Harvey, a famous marine artist, had hooked a blue marlin, so Abernethy decided to jump in with his camera.
The scene looked so peaceful until the mako shark, estimated to measure 10 feet and weigh 600 pounds, came in to investigate.
Abernethy, who runs Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures in Florida, is considered a shark expert and he's accustomed to diving with the predators.
But even a shark expert cannot be expected to remain calm when surprised from behind, at such close range, by so large a specimen.
-- Pete Thomas
The shark surprise from the back, good luck that it didn't attack you. Great excite video.
Posted by: Malco | Nov 07, 2012 at 08:10 PM
How fun! She looks to have fresh mating scars. I wonder why the diver is wearing 'yum yum' yellow! A yellow tank? LOL!
Posted by: K. Grove | Jul 20, 2012 at 01:46 AM