Key West Best Selections

It was a Spring day back in 2000 and I was diving with another SCUBA instructor who was off duty that day. On that dive trip out to Rock Key Reef, scuba students were finishing their final open water check out dive with their instuctor below the boat. Visability was on the poor side but we noticed tons of Tarpon all over the reef and they were behaving strangely. I was cruising around on my underwater scooter/DPV and thought their behavior was because of the noise of my DPV but I noticed that sharks were in the area and couldn't quite make out what species of shark they were.

Somehow my dive buddy who was also a PADI SCUBA instructor was nowhere to be found! I began a quick 1 minute search for her but couldn't find her. I then surfaced and knew she was probably ok but told the captain and divemaster that we became seperated. I then went aboard and begun rinsing my gear after she surfaced as well and the Divemaster, Jeremy, shouted to me, "BOOMer!, CHECK IT OUT!", he pointed as I looked towards him and finished saying, "A HUGE SHARK IS AFTER A TARPON!" Sure enough it was a Great Hammerhead leaping out of the water as was the Tarpon and the chase was on!

They both made a B-Line toward the back of the boat were all the scuba students were below! They were moving extremely fast and came just footsteps away from the dive platform at the rear of the boat at about 25 knots! The 16' hammerhead-shark finally won and munched the Tapon just as they passed the boat. The students and snorkelers all made it quickly back aboard just moments after that shark attack of the Tarpon and all in total dazed amazement!

Bob, who was instructing the students, brought up fish scales in his hand and asked us, "Did you see that shark eat the Tarpon?" He added, "It was raining fish scales all over my students!"