Clinton Bolton & The Oceanic Whitetip In The Out Islands

[ricki]

Dean's Blue Hole


Clinton Bolton has been in kiting at a high level for a long time. He has been doing a lot of free diving lately along with flying.
Recently he visited the Vertical Blue competition held at Dean's Blue Hole on Long Island in the Central Bahamas.


The competition, photo from Clinton's Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...5535355&type=3


The blue hole is an amazing place, the deepest on earth dropping straight down about 667 ft.! More about this geologic wonder at:
http://www.fksa.org/showthread.php?t=4260



Clinton going off at the Jupiter Invasion in 2006, more at http://www.fksa.org/showthread.php?t=964


Oceanic Whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus) were once quite common and in numbers throughout tropical to temperate
latitudes worldwide. Today they have become quite rare through overfishing. Estimates of 99% of stock reduction to the present
day have been made.* Today there are small aggregation areas such as one recently discovered off Cat Island in the Bahamas.
I don't know if Clinton found a new aggregation but he did find one shark or perhaps that shark found him.


Clinton headed offshore for some free diving and look what came along. Here are a few of the incredible images he posted on
his Facebook page of this now rare shark.



Clinton nails a self and shark shot with his GoPro camera








Clinton said the shark hung around for a while even dropping down with him on free dives to around 20 m a few times. Clinton said
he had to push the shark away a few times. These sharks weren't always so rare and factored in notable sea disasters and air
crashes going back through time such as USS Indianapolis and Nova Scotia sinkings and major loss of life through shark attacks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_whitetip_shark There have been some snorkeler attacks and a fatality in the Red Sea in recent years.


Thanks for posting your images Clinton, have fun and take care out there.




*http://www.pewenvironment.org/upload...inal%20(2).pdf

[ricki]

Clinton just put up a video from the encounter off Long Island in the Bahamas.