A strange new breed of marine life has recently surfaced off the coasts of Bermuda and The Bahamas. Local tales of talking Octopi have been around for years, but it wasn't until recently that anyone had actually seen the legendary creatures.
In September, 2007 a scuba diving fanatic named Bob got lost while diving in The Bahamas. According to a report he gave to the Coast Guard, he wouldn't be here today if it hadn't been for Grippa, Pearl and Dip, the three Octopi who saved his life. The scuba diver claims that he spent a whole day with the Octopi. They shared a meal and told him about their home, Octopelego, an underwater city surrounded by coral reefs, sunken ships and deep blue caves. Although the Octopi were very friendly, they disappeared suddenly, leaving the scuba diver – and us - with many questions about his new friends.
Based on the scuba diver's story, which we've reprinted with his permission on this website, we've decided to go in search of the elusive Octopi. We'll post reports of our progress on this website, so be sure to check back often!
Excerpt of verbatim testimony taken 09:27 a.m. September 21, 2007
Recorded by Coast Guard Commander, Felix Wittlestein
Nassau Bahamas
I'm a recreational scuba diver, and had been planning a two week scuba diving vacation for a year. My plan was to explore several different locations in Bermuda and The Bahamas. On Wednesday, the 12th of September, I joined a local diving group to explore the Bimini Road, an underwater stone formation that some people believe is the remains of a lost civilization. This was a really easy dive and things were going really well.
I'd been following the Bimini Road for about 20 minutes when a luminous object appeared on the road about 10 meters ahead of me. At first, I though it was a jellyfish or some other creature. I'd never seen anything like it, so I began swimming towards it. I was so focused on discovering what the light was that I lost track of everything else around me. Suddenly, the light vanished and I realized that I was no longer anywhere near the Bimini Road or my dive buddy. I checked my tank and saw that I was almost out of air, so I immediately began my ascent to the surface.
Once I broke the surface, I realized that I was in real trouble. The dive boat was nowhere to be found and the weather had turned. Dark clouds filled the sky and the wind raged, kicking swells three to five feet high. Desperately, I searched for a boat or land. Nothing was in sight, except an old piece of driftwood. I grabbed a hold of that so I could stay afloat. For the next several hours, I was tossed around on the sea like a beach ball.
Sometime during the night I lost consciousness. When I woke, it was light. Judging by the sun, I think it was mid-morning. The storm was over and the sea was eerily calm. I couldn't see anything but ocean and horizon in all directions. As the day wore on, it became unbelievably hot and the sun blistered my lips, face and hands. I was utterly exhausted from the thrashing I took the night before and from the lack of food and fresh water. Late in the afternoon, I became delirious and began drifting in and out of consciousness. I tried singing to stay awake, in case a rescue boat or a plane came by.
Just before sunset, as I fought to stay alert, something struck my leg. I wiped the crusted sea salt from my eyes and saw that a large shark was circling me, thrashing its tail and snout. For what seemed like hours, but was probably only a matter of minutes, the beast circled, sometimes bumping me with a fin or tail. At one point, the man-eater actually raised its head out of the water and displayed its cruel, awesome teeth. It was like the beast was toying with me, showing me my fate before eating me for dinner. But just as the sharked clacked its pointed teeth together, a pink, tentacle-like appendage suddenly whipped out of the water and smacked the shark squarely on the nose. The shark immediately beat a hasty retreat and soon all was quiet again. I waited for the shark to return, but there was no sign of it. Once again, it was just me, the ocean and the coral glow of the sun as it fell beneath the horizon.
My exhaustion was beyond description, but I found myself wondering – out loud – what had struck the shark and made it retreat. As if in answer to my question, a small pink head bobbed above the water's surface. It gave me a wink and a smile and sank back beneath the waves. Then all went black.
When I woke, it was morning again and I found myself on land, washed up on the beach of a small atoll. It took me several minutes to collect my wits and figure out that I had somehow made it to shore. Beside me was a pile of oysters, clams and mussels. They were already opened and ready for me to eat. Although I was starving at this point, and probably would've eaten them raw, I'm not much of a raw seafood guy. Amazingly, however, the shellfish had been steamed in a kelp and sea cucumber sauce. As I devoured this seafood feast, I realized that I was being watched. Just yards away from me, in a small lagoon, sat three peculiar looking creatures. At first glance, I thought they were an Octopus species because of their bulbous heads and eight arms. But, the fact that they held their bodies erect out of the water made me question that assumption. And then they spoke. In perfect English, no less. To say that I was flabbergasted would be an understatement, but I was so tired from my recent ordeal that all I could do was rest upon my elbows, accept the situation for what it was and let curiosity take its course.
I spent that afternoon talking with these creatures, which I have since learned are called Octopi by the locals. Each of the Octopi was quite distinct from the other in both appearance and personality. One was named Pearl and was pink, Grippa was purple, and the third was a yellow fellow named Dip. They live in a place they call Octopelego, which they described as an underwater garden of brightly colored coral reefs, shipwrecks, blue holes and dark caves. They wouldn't tell me exactly where Octopelego was located because they have a distrust of humans and our destructive tendencies. In fact, they spent a good deal of time reprimanding me about our treatment of the ocean and its species.
During the course of the day, I learned that it was Pearl who beat the shark back just before it attacked me. She then rounded up her friends, and all three Octopi pulled me to the safety of the lagoon. We spent the rest of the afternoon and late into the evening discussing a wide variety of things. Even though they are easily distracted and prone to rambling, the Octopi are, overall, extremely delightful. They are a lively bunch, and are keen towards friendships.
Unfortunately, my time with the Octopi was cut short when, just before sunset, a Coast Guard helicopter flew overhead. My efforts to attract the pilot's attention were successful and when I turned back toward the lagoon to thank the Octopi and say goodbye, they were already gone.
Now, I know this all sounds unbelievable – and maybe you think that this was all just an hallucination due to my ordeal at sea. But I know that this was all real, and I wouldn't be sitting here today if it weren't for Pearl, Grippa and Dip. I plan to go back just as soon as I have more vacation time and look for those engaging, yet odd, creatures that saved my life.
