“What the hell is that for?” Marissa asked. She turned to Wendy, who shrugged.
“We’re not going someplace where there are sharks, are we?” Wendy asked Rafe.
“This is the ocean,” Rafe yelled.
“Sharks are in the ocean.
There’s always the chance that one might be around. But relax!
The cage is just a precaution, especially on the outer reef where I’m taking you two lucky ladies. The outer reef’s where all the fish are as well as the best coral. Even the visibility is the best out there.”
“I don’t want to see any sharks,” Marissa yelled.
“Probably won'”” Rafe yelled in reply, “It’s Wynn who wants the cage. Just to be safe. It’s like a seat belt.”
Marissa led Wendy down into the saloon and closed the door behind them. The throbbing noise of the engines abruptly decreased.
“I don’t like the sound of this,” Marissa said urgently.
“Shark cage! What are we getting ourselves into?”
“Marissa, calm down!” Wendy said.
“Everything the captain said is right. Even in Hawaii I saw sharks on occasion. But they don’t bother divers. I think we should be impressed that these guys even have a shark cage. It just means they’re very careful.”
“You’re not concerned?” Marissa asked.
“Not in the slightest,” Wendy said.
“Come on, don’t get yourself all worked up. You’re going to love this, believe me.”
Marissa studied her friend’s face. She obviously believed what she was saying.
“Okay,” Marissa said.
“If you can honestly tell me it will be safe, I’ll try and relax. I just don’t like the idea of sharks. I’ve always had a mild phobia for the ocean that hasn’t kept me out of it, but it certainly has made me aware when I’m in it. And as I said before, I don’t like slippery, slimy creatures.”
“I can personally guarantee you will not have to touch one slippery, slimy creature,” Wendy said.
Marissa and Wendy felt the boat shudder as it was pushed up to full throttle.
“Come on,” Wendy urged.
“Let’s go up on deck and enjoy this.”
Buoyed by her friend’s enthusiasm, Marissa followed her on deck.
The boat headed almost due east, directly into the rising sun.
At first they were cruising through clear turquoise water, but soon they began to pass over the reef itself. Then the water became a deeper blue.
Wendy got Wynn to break out the scuba gear so she could check it out. She went over all the technical aspects with Marissa to refresh her memory.
Once all the diving gear had been checked, Marissa and Wendy sat in the sport-fishing chairs and enjoyed the spectacular view.
“I’m surprised that we’re the only ones on such a large boat,” Wendy said to Wynn when he joined them.
“It’s our off-season,” Wynn explained.
“If you came back in September or October, we’d be full to the gunwales,” “Is it better then?” Wendy asked.
“You can count on the weather more,” Wynn said.
“Plus there never are any waves. It’s always calm.”
Almost the moment Wynn mentioned waves, Marissa felt the boat start to shudder against a building chop.
“Can’t get much better weather than this,” Wendy said.
“We’ve been lucky lately,” Wynn agreed.
“But we’ll hit some surf on the outer reef. It shouldn’t be too bad though.”
“How much further do we have to go?” Marissa asked. The Whitsunday Islands were now mere specks on the western horizon.
It seemed to her they were heading to the center of the Coral Sea. Being this far from land revived her misgivings.
“Another half hour,” Wynn said in answer to her question.
“The outer reef’s about fifty miles from Hamilton Island.”
Marissa nodded. She was beginning to think she was about as fond of boating as Wendy was of gross anatomy lessons. She would just as soon have gone snorkeling. Then they could have stayed within sight of shore.
At just after ten o’clock the captain slowed the engines and sent Wynn forward to the bow. He told the women he was searching for a particular channel to anchor in.
“Best goddamn diving in the world,” he told them.
After a half hour of searching, Rafe yelled for Wynn to drop anchor. Marissa noticed they were between two enormous heads of coral. Over their tops the waves were cresting. The surf had increased to approximately three feet.