The worst form of unlucky

In my last FT fishing column I mentioned a term used in Hemingway's The Old Man and The Sea. The word was salao, meaning "the worst form of unlucky."

Poor Judy Zagorski never had the time to digest the meaning of this word when she was felled and killed by a 75lb spotted eagle ray that leaped in to the boat where she had been enjoying a cruise, knocking her to the deck. But that was salao.

I noticed in the newspaper report that it quoted a local wildlife expert, saying that rays do not attack people. I'm not saying for one moment that this was anything other than a freak accident. But it is not true to say that rays cannot be aggressive.

I was "chased" briefly by a ray very similar in size to the one in that boat when wading on mud flats in Los Roques, Venezuela. My fishing guide was just as anxious to escape although it was like wading through treacle. Fortunately the fish was happy to see us off since we had strayed too close to its territory.

You don't read very often in sea fishing reports of the need to keep an eye out for predators when wading in warmer climbs. Usually there is no problem - and I would not describe a stingray as a predator - but you wouldn't want to stand on one. Nor would you want to hang around if you saw a large shark.

It's not a big problem but it shouldn't be ignored. I'm not sure if there is a word for the best form of lucky, but here's a candidate.