On the seaside edge of Airlie Beach in Queensland, Australia, there exists a travel agency that advertises one of the many yachts planning an excursion into the channels and beaches of the Whitsunday Islands. Pristine white sands and secluded beaches are eyed by the thousands of luxury elites and backpacking youths that hope to relax in this relatively uninhabited stretch of islands.

You're guaranteed at least a few hours of recreation time as you travel between beaches, and on one of these planned downtimes, my friend and I planned to go snorkeling into the jellyfish and shark-infested waters note 1. She, unbeknownst to me, was not fond of sharks and - spoiler alert - we didn't encounter any sharks *but* I did drop her goggles into the middle of a coral reef while she paused for a bit. Now blind to any potential shark encounter, I "volunteered" (read: pleasantly instructed) to keep my head down in the water as we swam the 20 or so minutes back to the boat. To the reader, I similarly am not fond of fishes and so staring at fishes in my visual field for that length of time put me off snorkeling for the remainder of the trip note 2.