Between a Shark and a Hard
Place - Part 3
Daily Telegraph (UK, 1999)
Text by Gill Williams
Being forced to slow down had
advantages. As I dragged myself along the wall, I noticed a thin tiny seahorse snoozing in
a crack. A colony of lobsters waved feelers. Moon wrasse, in vivid turquoise, pinks, blues
and yellows, darted among the coral and striped banner fish flitted in the pale light.
 Occasionally, the tips of the coal showed
deceased white spots. The cause soon became evident: a magnificent blue crown-of-thorns
starfish, one of the prettiest animals in the sea but sworn enemy of the coral reef. Two
baby reef sharks circled menacingly but were out-numbered and cruised away in search of
easier prey.
Less willing to back off were the trigger
fish, as territorial as they were decorative. We teased them, waving our fingers as they
made fake charges. Sometimes this game backfires and the diver receives a nasty nip, but
it’s too good a sport to resist.
Brilliantly colored sea cucumbers clung to
the rock face. By accident, we discovered that Nong, the cook, had a phobia about these
gentle creatures. Usually he was afraid of nothing. Even the skipper returned defeated
from the galley the day he tried to persuade Nong to prepare a barbecue. "The cook
says no, so that’s final," Matt said.
But sea cucumbers were Nong’s Achilles’ heel. "Please, don’t bring
them on board," he begged. Matt grinned: "At last I can take my revenge on the
fat man."
 
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