The whole family was snorkling in Hanama Bay in early January of 1982 after having spent Christmas at Bellows Beach in a cabin over the 1981 Christmas vacation. We were flying from Oahu back to mainland (Travis AFB) a day or two later, so this was my last chance in the water for a very long time. Our snorkling guide pointed out to something moving across the sand between two walls of coral. Upon realizing that it was a small octopus, I instinctively went for it, not remembering that I was wearing a snorkle, not a scuba tank, so Sorseress had to grab me and pull me away for fear that I'd drown myself. I believe this caused her to collide with some coral, which most likely sliced her a bit. I remember later that she had a number of these little slices. Most likely my childish over-enthusiasm and her motherly overprotective instincts were to account for these.
My previous octopus encounters had all been at either the Steinhardt Aquarium with Stretch, their o. dofleini, or a tiny octopus in a pet store in Dale City, Virginia a few years earlier.