Big Barracuda

Al's Celebration of Life

Traveling with Al: Excerpts from the journals Al wrote in as he traveled around the world.

Big Barracuda

Thursday – 23 June 94

Blackbird, Belize

Snorkel South Soldier. Strong east winds and current. See 3¢ file fish, I work down to the west toward boat channel and see the biggest barracuda I personally have ever seen. This guy is at least 5¢ long, and thick. This boy is BIG. Dark color (charcoal) with little sparkly highlights on skin. I was not aware of him till I looked up from coral head and saw him about 8¢ away, staring at me with that baleful menacing look the Barracuda has perfected. I freeze, look around for hole in coral face to duck into. He is just sitting there, with his pectorals gently moving, stationary and I swear I can see powerful muscles contracting and relaxing along his flanks. I’ve never seen a Barracuda this color nor one of this bulk before. He

s l o w l y turns and fins away with 2 small silver sides following his every move – one on each side of his dorsal and one tracking him on his left flank. From the back, he sways to and fro, slowly and powerfully, like El Gato [Fudge the cat] cruising down the hallway at Inverness. He disappears behind a large coral head and I swim like crazy to get around the same coral head to get another glimpse of this magnificent fish. He goes counter-clockwise and I go clockwise, rushing for that last glimpse, I come around the coral just as he does – and guess what, we are nose to nose again. We both stop finning and begin a gliding step towards one another, except I’m back pedaling with my arm and he is not. I have a direct view, through my face mask at those unblinking cold eyes and am kind of transfixed by his jaws. He keeps opening and closing his jaws and when they are open, all I see are gleaming teeth. I KNOW I’m in no danger, I know he has no reason to attack me, but I’ve seen smaller ones move – and it’s silver lightning (the tape says “missile with teeth”). I’ve been with sharks twice his size, but this guy is scary. He makes his descent and s l o w l y turns and swims away into the blue gloom. My heart decides to start beating again, for some reason my mask is fogged at the edges and my lungs decide – remember – that they are supposed to breathe. I swim east toward my bobbing group and the now distant boat – but in spite of myself, I keep stopping to check my flanks and my rear – for a streaking beautiful, silver missile – speeding out of the gloom, who on this day pretty much managed to scare the shit out of me (not literally!)