The Most Intense Diving Experience
 Isla Mujeres, Mexico

My exceptional encounter with Sailfish underwater was the most unexpected event in a 40-year wildlife photography career.  It was an "awe-full" experience, exceeding my wildest expectations - the images speak for themselves.  During three days I found myself, more than once, speechless and helpless.  I ran out of film after the first 15 minutes during many of the encounters, leaving me with 30 minutes or more to enjoy the phenomena...

January 19, Isla Mujeres, Mexico...  It was about 10:30am when we went into the water, and in less than 30 seconds from when I rolled backward to the water from on board the deck of the fishing vessel there were 20 to 30 sailfish buzzing all around and over the three of us, with such speed, I thought it was video game only better.

The next three days were full of mind bending underwater encounters...  It was an experience in true 3D; visually - mesmerizing.  Auditory - fascinating and pleasing.  Kinesthetically - physically challenging.  To keep up with the fleeing Sardines and the Sailfish who fast and gracefully chased Bait Ball, we had to work hard.  I was kicking like a madman for 30 minutes at a time and some other times even longer.  It worth every ounce of effort I put into it.  We kept close to the Bait Ball since this was the target the Sailfish were after.  Being close, I was rewarded with the sound created by movement in unison of hundreds of Sardines and the sound of the spectacular rising of the tall and expansive sail on the back of the billfish, an act of frightening exhibition toward its prey, merely inches off of my ear.  Visually it was out of this realm; if you can imagine, as many as six Sailfish at a time filling up your lens and 50 Sailfish or more passing in front of you like you're not there.  A mere few feet away you observe the sunlight piercing through the first ten feet of water, reflecting off the Sailfish's uniquely decorated shiny skin and streamlined body. 

This exciting event, forever to be cherished, happened due to a special friendship with a unique and charismatic person, a world-class artist, educator, and adventurer, down to earth and funny - Mr. Guy Harvey.

Guy is one of the world's leading experts on billfish.  Guy's background as a PhD in marine fisheries and his skills as an illustrator, painter par excellence, photographer and TV producer have earned him his desired access to the world of sport fishing.  In order to get close to and be in the company of billfish all around the world, Dr. Harvey has been walking the fine line between the world of sport fishing and environmentalism by educating the industry and participating in catch and release practices.

On board after one more exhilarating encounter, Guy told me... "in these three days, after 20 years of being in the company of billfish all around the world, I learned today how a sailfish uses its bill as a tool to stun its prey to feed itself efficiently.  This is remarkable in the light of the speed and the elusive movements of the Brazilian Sardines."

To locate hot fishing, our skipper keeps constant watch for Frigates--  birds bunched in a funnel-cloud formation close to the water.  "Birds on Bonitos tend to move faster and jump from spot to spot, while Frigates on Sailfish usually push into the wind at a steady pace," said Anthony, my trusted skipper.

Hapless Sardine Schools-- some measuring as much as 75 feet (25 meters) in diameter-- may have anywhere from 6 to 100 Sailfish harassing them.  Skipper who locates a Bait Ball must act quickly, but avoid rushing headlong into the fray.  We are on a ticking clock because the phenomenon of Sailfish on the surface only last as long as the bait fish remain.  The sails aren't simply herding and holding the school; they are feeding and feasting on Sardines, so the supply keeps dwindling.  YOU need to make your dive passes and put the people in the water in a timely manner.

Once Anthony establishes the bait's direction, he circles ahead on the upwind side, he makes calculations on the fly, letting the wind push his baits to the Sailfish as the vessel slips by and gets close to the Bait Ball (exactly the opposite maneuvering to what Anthony usually does when he is hired for Bill fishing, which is his expertise).

Anthony brings the boat close to the Bait Ball and only when the boat and the Bait Ball are drifting at the same direction, he puts the vessel engine in neutral and gives us the OK to leave the vessel as fast as possible because... Sardines see the hull as a form of shelter and will always make a run to hide beneath the vessel.  For the divers and photographers that is a gift, however the action is very fluid and dynamic, as the Sailfish pound the Sardine very hard and Bait Ball keeps moving and the Sailfish are in pursuit and so we are in a "catch us if you can" kind of relationship.

"During this time of the hunt and run, the hungry Sailfish continue to annihilate the Sardines.  A large newly formed Bait Ball moves in a somewhat predictable manner.  As the Sails keep picking away at the bait and the ball is shrinking, the Sailfish become a bit wilder.  They move more quickly and erratically while darting around to snatch up remnants of the vanishing baitfish school.  Finally they fire through to finish off the bait, and it's all over'" said Anthony.  "We can either head off to search for more activity or camp out on the spot and wait for the Sails to bring up more bait..." and they do-- which is another part of this fresh and amazing phenomenon.

We learn more out of these encounters.  back on board the boat and between dives, Guy and I were exchanging thoughts and comparing notes.  While sitting on the edge of the vessel, cameras in our hands and scuba tanks on our backs, sun over our heads and we were dripping water-- we were reflecting on what we just saw underwater and at the same time we both arrived at the realization that besides Dolphins and Whales, ( i.e. Cetaceans) no other aquatic animals do cooperative hunting, harassing and feeding but Billfish and Sailfish is one in this unique family.  That is very unusual as Billfish is not part of the Cetaceans family and therefore that is a very significant observation and it will require further investigation.

All that action was happening just ten feet under the surface.  The continental shelf was below us at 90 - 100 feet deep and visibility ranged from 60 - 100 feet.  For three days Guy Harvey, Guy's trusted cinematographer, Rick Westphal, and I got going early each morning.  It was so early that we boarded the vessel in darkness and we watched the sun rising an hour later while we were on our way to the encounter.  This meant that we were the first to be on site.  The site was ever changing.  To locate the Bait Ball, we watched the horizon for telltale signs of Frigate Birds and we raced toward the birds...

The sea was relatively calm, with waves of no more than 3 -4 feet.  Our trusted skipper took us anywhere from 18 - 30 miles offshore.  The water was quite warm, about 80F.  And for the curious person who has read so far... we had up to 30 Sailfish around us every day, and on the third day at least 50!  I stopped counting only so I could enjoy the sensation of being the water weightless with this show in front of my eyes.  Visibility was great in the morning, up to 100 feet, and was still at 60 by midday.  Those of you who know me may not believe this, but I was speechless, out of film, delighted and exhausted.  I also knew I was committed to return.  You can see the results of my mind-bending experience in the list of images...

In the end, Guy and I become aware of another phenomena-- what we witness is likely the only cooperative hunting and feeding we can record among fish-- versus what is a well documented relationship in the world of Dolphins and among Cetaceans.  Indeed there is still much we can learn of being in the water and only in a 20 feet zone below the surface.

I'm very thankful to have experienced this incredible opportunity.  I decided to return mainly due to the dynamic personality of our skipper.  He is a professional and tireless skipper.  It's one thing to pinpoint the wildlife, but it is so much more when you have a skipper who will do whatever it takes to safely get us the encounter!

For more information and reservations contact Amos Nachoum, sailfish@biganimals.com or 415-923-9865.

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