newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JOE TYRRELL

NEW JERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

In a summer of shark sightings, shark alarms, everything but shark lattes, an Englewood author and diver is offering advice on "Chasing the Shark."

While Rosanne Masone does not mean the title to be taken literally, she has come mask to nose with the creatures in the wild. Swimming with sharks is just one of the adventures she has experienced since she took a leap of faith.

The subtitle of her book is "A Journey from Fear to Freedom," and for decades, Masone suffered from a more than average phobia. She wasn't just afraid of water, "I was afraid to put my head under the shower head," she said. "For more than four decades, I would wash my hair in the sink."

But family and friends shook their heads that this mother and sportswoman — an avid skier, Special Olympics equestrian coach and animal rescue supporter — could become paralyzed by fear.

Finally, on a romantic evening complete with "a couple glasses of wine," Masone agreed with a diver friend that she would go underwater if he would try skiing.

Although writing that she felt "cornered, trapped like an animal about to meet her Maker," Masone "decided to keep my word." Much to her surprise, by taking it slowly, Roseanne found herself enjoying her gradual immersion into the underwater world.

Rather than frightening, Masone found this new world fascinating. In less than a decade, she went from being a spectator to a rescue diver. Oh, did we mention that she's 64? Age need not be an impediment, if you are open to new experiences, Roseanne said.

"I'll be diving until they have to yank up my air hose at the end," she promised.

That translates into the message of her book, which Masone wrote to share her journey of self-discovery with others trying to overcome personal or professional challenges. She has started her own company, Giant Strides LLC, to offer life coaching and personal development services.

"My coaching is that we can actually alter and improve our lives by our own thought processes," Masone said.

By 2003, scarcely a year after first taking the plunge, Masone found herself off Grand Bahama Island, sitting on the sea floor as a feeder walked past, shoveling chum to hungry sharks.

"It's a fantastic experience!" she said. "The sharks are everywhere."

It is also, as far as possible, a controlled experience. Aside from the trained feeder, who gradually leads the sharks away from the spectators, interaction is deliberately limited, Masone said.

"They actually seem like puppy dogs trying to get into a bag of dogfood... they live in the moment," she said.

But if there is no aggressive intent toward humans, participants are instructed to stay in place and never, ever reach out as sharks are bumping past.

Masone has paid return visits twice a year ever since, and she's encountered sharks diving in the wild. Those experiences have been exhilarating, but it important to recognize how they function as wild animals, she said.

Often preying on seals and sea turtles, sharks are attracted to "flipping around on the surface," Masone said. Moreover, many sharks, "when they open their mouths, they can't see what they're biting" because of a third, protective eyelid, she said.

So if you are riding a surfboard or otherwise mimicking the movement of prey, accidents can happen, Masone said, even among usually docile Caribbean reef sharks. Some other sharks need to be approached even more cautiously, if at all, she said.

"Off South Africa in waters inhabited by great white sharks, you're going to be diving in a cage," she said.

The Jersey Shore isn't usually such a perilous place, but it is important to pay attention to shark reports, Masone said. As waters warm, species that usually hunt farther out "may be tempted to come in a little more," she said.

Speaking of sharks, "Chasing the Shark: A Journey from Fear to Freedom" isn't Masone's first plunge into the publishing world. She is co-author of the "Wake Up Women" series and won the 2000 Tribute to Women and Industry Award.

Her new book is self-published through Author House. which Roseanne found "very supportive, because they do provide services like publicity and marketing," Masone said.

She also has in-house support, since her husband has an editing background. He is also that diver who agreed to try skiing.

It all fits Masone's message, that ordinary people can overcome their fears, escape "self-limiting lives" and start enjoying the journey.

Joe Tyrrell may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it