When I was eleven, 27 years ago, my father used to take us to a private beach out in Westport, Ma. There was a large rock that stood out the water about 250 feet from shore. My father and I would often swim out there and hang out on the rock which was about ten feet across and fully surrounded by deep water. One day he got the bright idea to bring drop lines and cut bait out their to fish. Bad idea. We started pulling in blues and soon the rock was surrounded by a school. I was scared. Then they suddenly vanished. My relief was short lived when realized why they left so quick. I saw a 16 foot great white shark circling the rock and appeared to be looking at us. Close enough I could have dove on top of him. Remember, this is around the time the original Jaws came out. i think I screamed like a woman. he circled only for about 3- 5 minutes and took off. Luckily some people saw me screaming with a large fin sticking out of the water. Habor police came out and got us. So if anyone ever wonders why I rarely go more than knee high when I swim. There you go. True story.
