Our final day on the reef: Swimming with the Sharks

Our final day on the reef starts with the same weather we have seen for the last couple days, wind and swell. We got up nice and early to get a start on the reef chasing the dream of catching a grander but the twins opted for a dive first thing. We had anchored by a balmy (Coral Head) and the water was maybe 30 feet with great visibility all around the head and on top was maybe four feet deep. As they got into the water myself and the deckies didn't feel adventurous so we declined the invitation for the morning dive.
I sat patiently watching the twins swim around the coral head looking at the abundant sea life and snapping pictures when Dave's head popped up and said there was a big shark to the side of them.
They grouped together and started to swim back at the boat when in their words the 6 foot Black tip shark charged them never getting more that 6 feet from them but very agitated.
After hanging with the twins for several years they are very daring and when they told me the entire story I believed it 100%. For me I will stay land based or on top of the water surfing.
After their thrilling swim we headed off to fish bait for a while than off to the grounds outside the reef. We got our baits out and put the laser down the middle for any additional by catch that might be available. Within an hour we saw the laser rig go off and Dave landed a nice forty pound Yellow fin tuna, this was followed by a nice Dorado, then another Yellow fin in the same size range.
We fish towards afternoon knowing we had to get into Cook town by 4:00 pm and as luck has it we had a nice one up and actually had him on for a short time before losing him. This was our last shot for Bill fish and the reef adventure was coming to an end.
We raced to get into Cook town to catch our 5:05 pm flight and made it in with time to waste. If you are talking going back in time, this place hasn't see the changes that today's society brings.
John Cook used this port to fix his boat after he ran aground on the reef. He was there several months before the boat was ready to sail. The airport and plane reminded me of the earlier days of flying to the Bahamas on the east coast. It was definitely a roller coaster ride with some unique Carney operators. Once we landed in Cairns it was like being back in the home lands and we were off for a good pizza and some rest for our 16 hour flight home.
We visited the local stores and saw a couple friends prior to hitting the hay.
Its been a great trip and the opportunity to travel with some friends sharing the same interests has been really enjoyable. I look forward to visiting Australia next year.
Till my next blog. Hope all your fish are feisty ones.

Ben