My brush with a stingray

News of Australian 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin's mortal accident struck home here in Hong Kong. Several years ago Irwin was in Hong Kong to catch a croc in the New Territories. The attempt, which lasted for several weeks, failed but Irwin endeared himself to Hong Kongers and I am sure the clever croc, too. (The croc finally slipped away quietly to greener swamps.)

Irwin’s unfortunate death also reminded me of a similar brush with a stingray. When I was six years old (winter of 1968/69) my family sailed from Toronto to the Bahamas via the US eastern seaboard, inter-coastal waterway. Imagine five of us aboard a 28-foot Hinterhoeller sailboat. I have many remarkable memories from that trip… enough, come to think of it, that I’ve created a category on this blog and will share more in the future. But meanwhile, back to the stingray story…

Many of the islands we sailed to in the Bahamas were deserted or sparsely inhabited. One evening we anchored off of a beach, not unlike the one pictured here. Typically once anchored we would ride a small dinghy ashore. We’d hooked up with some friends my parents met along the way who puttered about the Bahamas on a large powerboat. I remember their boat as being white with natural varnished trim, and maybe 40 – 50 feet long. The plan that evening was to have dinner aboard their boat. My sisters and I would return to our boat for bed and the parents would enjoy an after dinner drink in the Caribbean darkness.

The sun was low… it was maybe 5:30 – 6:00 in the late afternoon. We’d been ashore to explore the appealing, deserted beach. I don’t really remember where everyone was at the time, I think ashore, and about to return to our boat before meeting our friends for dinner. Being six years old I was around water enough that I was permitted to play in shallow water provided I wore a lifejacket.

I was playing beside the dinghy when suddenly there was a lot of commotion and shouting from the adults. My dad was about 10 meters away from me, came splashing through the water, picked me up and placed me in the dinghy. He stood very still in the water as a stingray floated along the ocean floor nearby the dinghy. I really had no idea what all the danger was about and was a little perturbed at the playtime interruption. Later I learned to avoid stingrays because their tails could sting much worse than a bee.

During the course of the seven month trip I learned to avoid stingrays, avoid wearing anything shiny in the water (because it would attract barracudas that tended to be more aggressive fish), avoid sea urchins and always wear shoes when walking on coral. By the way, manta rays, look similar to stingrays but are harmless. In The Maldives (where Tess and I spent a week in 1998) the Banyan Tree Resort had manta rays swimming off the beaches that enjoyed being pet by tourists. Unfortunately, the natural oil from a human's hand on the manta ray skin is very bad for the poor creatures. The resort staff always discouraged petting. (At left, yours truly with sisters Carolyn & Penny aboard one of the many vessels we would have seen during our trip.)

I remember that evening in The Bahamas well. The colours of the sunset and water in the above picture remind me of that day. In fact, the picture (of an Abaco, Bahamas sunset) is remarkably as I remember the scene described. Watch out for stingrays because they can be very dangerous and in the case of Steve Irwin, unfortunately fatal.

Comments

[Maureen aka Mo aka Grandmother aka Mozilla]

Nice memories, Chuck. Glad you and the stingray did not have an "up close and personal" type meeting. As you know, I think it fantastic that you and your family embarked on this trip when you, Penny and Caroline were kids. What learning. What adventure.

M xox

[Lala]

If I may say, you look like such a little Sebbie in that shot.

[tia]

Hi, and thanks for stopping by my blog earlier! Hong Kong sounds very exciting and exotic. I have a dear friend of mine who traveled there often a few years back (he is an artist for Disney) and he loved it there!

[Kara]

navigare necesse est vivere non est necesse
"to sail is necessary;
to live is not necessary"

[michelle]

we are all a bit sad about steve irwin. certainly glad you managed not to take a barb as a wee one.

re: the mila post. how blessed you were to have such a loving and devoted amah. peace to her always.