When i was about 12 my sister and i ran ahead ahead of the adults, went over the dunes and dived into the water. When we surfaced we saw 4 or 5 fins in front of us. I will never forgot the cold chill that went through me and the instant panic i felt.
By then the adults had come over the dunes and seen the fins and started yelling and screaming at us to get back out of the water. I really thought i was about to be attacked by sharks until one leapt out of the water and revealed itself to be a dolphin. We still talk about how terrified we all were and how lucky that it was only dolphins.
I've also been stung by a jellyfish.
I only swim at patrolled beaches now
.