I watched a 17-minute YouTube video last night that reminded me why I do not play in the sea.
It followed a young 20-something New Zealand kayaker with a vessel kitted out with numerous fishing rods and GoPro cameras. His setup was honestly quite impressive. It’s clear he had been doing this sea fishing thing since he was a wee lad, going by the equipment.
The morning itself provided perfect seafaring conditions.
Bright blue skies, soft waves, and a flock of seagulls pointing him to schools of fish.
Sure enough, the lad managed to snag himself two sizeable fish, which he then used as “live bait” to help catch a much larger, monster fish.
Oh, he caught a monster alright.
Nine minutes into the video, a ripple emerged some twenty feet away from him. The seagulls fled the scene, and what broke the surface wasn’t a harmless fish, but a fin belonging to a fully grown great white shark.
It bombed towards the kayak, easily dwarfing it in size.
The lad immediately cut his line to free the wriggling fish and rowed towards the shoreline, but there were a couple of minor problems:
1. The shoreline was a way away.
2. The shark wouldn’t leave him alone.
It got so bad you could hear the boy’s voice shake as he fought to create as much distance as he could. But here’s what truly made my blood run cold:
He couldn’t row as quickly as he’d like as it risked inciting the predator even more.
Visions of the kayak capsizing and the sea being painted red had my stomach in knots, especially since just a month ago, an Australian man got gobbled up by one of these creatures.
At one point, the shark got so close that he launched a plastic bottle in a bid to distract the beast, and sure enough, it worked.
For about two seconds — then it was hot on his kayak again.
Just as it looked like it might take a bite out of the vessel, he made it to shore and spent the next few hours shaking off the adrenaline that no doubt wracked his body.
Talk about a story (and a video) he would never forget!
Those 17 minutes felt more like three minutes.
Though I imagine the ordeal felt like an eternity for the chap.
Needless to say, I won’t be venturing into the sea any time soon (crazy to consider I once wanted to be a marine biologist!). No, I much prefer to be in the safety of my writer’s corner, writing about these harrowing events rather than playing them out in real life.
Does such cowardice dull the sheen on life?
Maybe.
But at least I get to keep my legs and have more time in this world to do the things I love.
Like crafting stories brimming with heart-stopping moments like these.
It’s one of the reasons I watch videos like this — to get ideas and inspiration for scenes and chapters. And let me tell you, Book #5 isn’t lacking in that department. There are plenty of heart-throbbing, lung-stopping moments woven into this sequel that will no doubt get the adrenaline going.
And though it’s more than twice the length of One True King, it reads more like a thriller.
Speaking of One True King, have you read it yet?
If not, you can grab it here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/one-true-king
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