Our own Bill McGowan gave a fascinating talk on his recent diving expedition in the Cayman Islands. The dive went down to 60-70 feet above the coral reefs. He talked about several species he saw which included:

• Lion Fish: this fish has no predators except man. Its spiny fins are very poisonous and are only “neutralized” once its spine has been crushed.
• Coral Shrimp
• Giant Anemones
• Jelly Fish
• Peacock Flounder
• Stingrays
• 72 types of sponges

Bill noted that the longest he could stay down in the water was seventy minutes, but when he started, it was only seventeen minutes. The more you can relax the longer you can stay underwater.

After noting that several sharks swam alongside him during the dive, one of our Rotarians pointed out that “sharks don’t bother lawyers as a professional courtesy.” (Groan!) All in all, we enjoyed Bill’s talk and were glad he came back in one piece!