of course I did/have.. but nothing I have ever seen compares with the ultra slo mo they did in blue planet. story... I took my young son to bathtub beach here to go snorkeling in the ocean for the first time. We did our drills and than I told him once we started across the reef, there was no stopping, no matter what, until we were clear( there are sea urchins with six inch spines everywhere, my fear was being slammed down on one while crossing) well, I chose our moment and went, me holding his hand. No sooner that we cleared the reef and found ourselves over a sandy patch an eight foot black-tip shark gave us a broadside pass about ten feet away.. my boy was going to shore just like a cartoon.. arms and legs flailing, eyes wide, mask around his neck.. all the while hollering it's gunna EAT US DAD... I pulled him back, calmed him down by telling him it wasn't big enough to eat us, he was just curious.. I told him it would come by again, THIS time be still and take in his beauty.. soon enough, we got another pass with the associated pilot and remora's in tow and he conquered all his discovery channel fears of sharks right there. We hung around just long enough for him NOT to make the connection that Dad WAS worried and then found things to look at on the shore side of the reef.. (there were black-tips everywhere that day.. way to many to be comfortable with my most precious possession) helluva day. I was pretty proud of him.. he scuba's to this day.
I'm reminded of when I went for my diver certification years ago. My boss was an instructor and we were out in a boat with a bunch of other people. At one stop, somebody spotted a shark and people started jumping in the water with their masks to try and get a good look at it. I figured, what the heck, so I grabbed my mask and jumped in. Couldn't really see anything and wasn't real comfortable with the whole concept anyway, so I got back in the boat after about a minute. When I got back to where my boss was still sitting, he said something like: "You do realize that - out here - you're no longer on the top of the food chain, right?" It's a lesson that has stayed with me since.
Cool story. I missed the slo-mo stuff, will have to keep an eye on discovery and such channels for any repeats. Was another shark week thing about a guy who is trying to swim with whites and get them into a catatonic state (basically flip the shark upside down and it becomes docile). He actually got one that came up to him and let him do it, just for a second or two, but was incredible nonetheless. Personally, Id only be swimming with a shark if i was behind a reinforced steel cage barrier Still though, they are incredible animals, I certainly have nothing but respect for them.
