Last Update : Thursday 26 July, 2001 3:01 AM
Last Update : Thursday 26 July, 2001 3:01 AM |
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Combat Manta ray
BEGINNING
ENCOUNTER (1)
She circled around, nearer. The tip of that submerged rock was about twenty or more feet under the water. She had a chance to float around, looking for food, or to dive down to let the cleaner wrasse clear parasites.
Vibration in the water alerted her sense. She knew there were air bubbles under the sea. Bubbles were cause by on shore animals who temporarily were in the sea like “frogmen”. She was not afraid of them, knowing well that they did not harm her, although they tried to chase after her to be near her. Silly stupid divers who frightened her by touching or swinging themselves from her body must have been eliminated from Thailand.
Seawater today is so clear that she is sure there is no plankton. She moves about special fins on the side of her mouth. Anyhow, she is not in the eating mood today, just wants to play.
Facing the top of the rock, she saw buoy strings and air bubbles everywhere. Under the sea more than ten divers were admiring the beauty of soft corals and creatures on the seabed. No one looked up. She circled out before re-entering.
Khun Nut was floating with khun Sakonpun near the water level. Both handed macro lenses down to the deep to look for wonder animal. They met two white-tip reef sharks, lying still at 120 feet. Because of the depth and distance they returned with disappointment, waiting at the buoy string for nitrogen from the blood to be emitted, so that they can go up to the boat having snack.
Then there was wild pointing everywhere. Khun Sakonpun shot away from buoy string, pointing toward the middle of the water. There she was swimming in.
If the top of the rock was compared to Bangkok during the Second World War, what had happened when our grandfathers were bombarded by the B29 planes, would not be different from what happened underwater that day. Divers floating around the rock spotted her almost at the same time. Every one was startled before started to move...not moving away from air strike, on the contrary, moving toward her.
Only another event would be able to cause the same hustling and bustling. Only the appearance of whale shark could be compared to the appearance of manta ray.
Water boiled....Everything in front was forgotten...The depth was forgotten...Remaining air in the tank was forgotten...I had to see the manta ray in my life.
I shot towards ‘Ning’, snatching a camera with wide-angle lens away from his hand. That day after being in the water for awhile and found nothing larger than my hand, I swapped the camera with him, carrying the one with macro lens instead. But I reminded him to stay by my side. Twice I had done this. Once at Sail Rock and the blocked-ear Tee could not follow me down to the seabed. The other time at Losin when ‘Pee-Lek’ ran out of air, floated up the water a few minutes before I met manta ray. Twice, But I still did it. Now my time has come. ‘Ning’ was not very far away. Having fetched the proper equipment, with several frames remaining in the roll of film, I flipped away to the middle of the water. There she was waiting for me.
This time the luck would not turn against me, I thought, clutching my camera in hand. Plenty of film, proper lens, shining sun, clear water, what else did I need? Air!!? Human could only stay under water by the air in the tank. I snatched up the gauge to check. Five hundred...ha...ha...ha, five hundred pounds per square inch. In the open sea, with more than one-meter high wave above the head, this amount of air might allow a diver to keep afloat at twenty feet for more than ten minutes. But if he had to swim speedily chasing after manta ray, this amount of air would not last him more than five minutes.
Five minutes to chase after one of the fastest creatures in the sea, I could not wait for her to come in. I had to chase after her to take just one photograph. It was the five minutes that I just remembered what underwater weariness was, after growing to be plumper during several years.
There was one chance that I went near enough to take her photograph, among bubbles from other divers. I was sure that the photograph would not come out good. The thought of producing documentary about manta ray for the first time in Thailand flew away.
I inhaled the last gasp of air ruefully. Floated up slowly, I looked down in despair. She still swam about in the blue world. Around me divers gradually floated up for running out of air.
Above the waves, I jumped up, panting, blowing air into BC suit. Beside me the Editor was afloat, smiling. He had three hundred pounds of air left, less than I had. Besides, he was holding a camera with macro lens. Although I saw him take several photographs one after the other, good result could not be expected from such conditions, even from an ace.
We smiled dryly at each other, recognizing hopelessness. Another opportunity slipped away.
ATG readers had to wait longer...until one day.
..........
Sometimes one’s luck turns. It also happens to this documentary.
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