I've seen a lot of barracudas, anywhere from 6 inches up to the normal 2-3 footers. I've seen 2 five footers, and even a 6 footer off the west coast of PR once. They make me wary, but aren't all that scary after you've been in the water with them a few times. I tend to give them a wide berth. The only real scare I had was on Grand Cayman. I was snorkeling out to a patch of coral about a hundred yards off 7 mile beach (how come so many islands have 7 mile beaches? Is it a standard?). It was a boring swim, sand bottom with a few weeds, so for amusement I dropped down to the bottom and chased a little fish for awhile, about 5 feet of water. When I got short of air, I started to ascend and when I was about a foot off the bottom, a 3 foot barracuda slid under me, apparently still chasing the same fish I had been tailing. Freaked me out and I headed back to the beach.