Good article on avoidng shark attacks ,and how to rescue shark attack victims, from National Geographic:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/08/0804_040804_shark_attack.html
I never tip a shark…
Why worry?
– Last Updated: Dec-14-04 9:29 AM EST –
Your chances of dying in a car accident on the way to go paddling are literally thousands of times higher than that of being attacked by a shark, especially in a kayak. It's important to keep risks in perspective.
two things come to mind
we should outlaw kayaking and/or we are a nation of idiots. “don’t wear orange or yellow” and “don’t splash in the water” are two things that preclude kayaking. Better yet, let’s ban going in the ocean all together.
Do we really, as a nation, need to be told not to swim in fish guts and blood or raw sewage. I don’t, but not out of fear of sharks. good grief. “Don’t go in the water if you are bleeding.” “If you are bit, stop the bleeding.” All this shark fear mongering because 55 people are attacked and 4 die worldwide a year? Here’s a tip to the human race free of charge: when you need to, breathe in air until your lungs feel full, kind of like your stomach does when you eat. Hold it in for a few seconds (use a watch to be sure) then exhale all of the air out. Repeat as necessary. Use a mirror to see if you start turning blue. That will signal that you need to repeat the process again.
hippos
kill way more people a year than sharks, although i’m aware that we don’t have hippos in the everglades, yet.
here’s a great tip …
if you’re paddling in shark infested waters with a buddy and you both find yourselves in the water, you don’t have to be a great swimmer … you only have to be able to swim faster than your buddy.
Paddle in Maine
Very little shark problem in Maine even in the summer…
hippos!!??
Yikes!!! get me outta here.
Hungy, Hungry, Hippos!
Thanks Cuda !
last winter while in the Keys I tried to hook one o the lil guys , no luck , or was it good luck . Did however land half a fish a few times . oh BTW Celia , the largest recorded Great White was taken off White Head Is. in the Bay o Fundy about 13 miles from the coast of Maine.
Not to speak for anyone else…
“Do we really, as a nation, need to be told not to swim in fish guts and blood or raw sewage.”
LOL. I sure don’t!! Going by the general lack of diving boards at sewage treatment facilities, I’m guessing most other folks don’t either.
- Big D
My Perspective Is Different Than Yours
– Last Updated: Dec-14-04 2:24 PM EST –
I quess my perspective is different than yours...
Something about seeing a shark attack victim with a mangled leg getting put into an ambulance at New Syrna Beach just changes the way you look at the issue.
My perspective is also influenced by three in the water close encounters. A Tiger Shark off South Carolina, and two encounters with large Bull Sharks around The Florida Panhandle.
And about ten years of paddling in the Red Triangle. The main Pacific Great White Shark breeding grounds are right off the NORCAL coast. In late summer, sightings are common on the beaches I frequent. A GWS killed an Abalone diver at Fort Brag this summer, and another ripped up a surfer at point Reyes this fall. Last year a boggie boarder got ripped really bad near Santa Rosa.
That getting struck my lighting thing included all those people worldwide who were born, lived, and died without ever seing the ocean. Those odds change a lot if you spend any time in good shark habitat.
Obviously, I did not post this for the benefit of Kansas boaters. If you don't think it applies to you, feel free to ignore it...
Read Some Water Quality Reports
– Last Updated: Dec-14-04 2:40 PM EST –
Hundreds of thousands of people swim in water contaminatd by human waste every year and they never know it.
More often than not, popular beaches have unaccetable levels of fecal contamiantion. On the east coast and west coast.
Sufers on both coasts are warned not to go into the water for 24 hours after a heavy rain, because heavy rain leach waste from spectic tanks.
How are you going to know if there is a treatment plant miles upriver from the mouth of that river that flows into the bay?
I just assume any source of fresh water flowing into the ocean is contaminated. Odds are that it is.
Gee, You guys didn't know this was a major problem in the marine environment?
I wonder what kind of $hit you been swimming in all these years....
the specific quote is
"Avoid areas where animal, human, or fish waste enter the water." As a warning, I find that humorous. I am otherwise well aware of the worldwide use of the planet as a toilet.
While the article does not demonize sharks, the title is “Shark Attack Tips.” The media, including N.G. has done sharks a disservice over the years by the barrage of shark specials that still blanket TV and print. It remains that the actual risk of attack is infinitesimal. Yes, it is unfortunate that people get hurt and die but, millions of people die every year from all sorts of completely avoidable circumstances, circumstances that should change our perspective, but don’t. I race motorcycles at 160 mph and know people killed, seriously injured, including myself, and paralyzed due to the sport. I haven’t quit but I try to manage my risk by being as proficient as I can. By analogy, it is no help, and both annoying and funny, to hear advice that I should stay off motorcycles because they are dangerous. My and their perspectives have changed but we haven’t lost our senses of humor.
No Profile?
– Last Updated: Dec-14-04 3:36 PM EST –
I quess if you live in Kansas the risk of shark attack is almost non-existance.
The list is a useful reminder for people who paddle in regions where this is a real issue.
If that doesn't include you, why not refrain from posting to a thread when you nothing about the subject?
well I do
live in a region where this might be of concern so I guess that means I can keep posting. My point is that I find some of the advice to be comically obvious or useless. It looks like the kind of thing one would read in USA Today.
Really???
Your regularly paddle in the ocean around Florida, or NORCAL?
Have you ever seen a shark in the wild? While you were in the water? Ever seen a shark attack victim?
The advice is far from useless. Most regular ocean boaters would have a hard time avoiding areas that might be a source of human waste or fishing waste. That would include any harbor with fishing boats, and most any source of fresh water flowing into the ocean.
The amount of human waste entering…
… the water (or your cockpit) is directly proportional to the size of the shark!!!
LOL!
– Last Updated: Dec-14-04 4:34 PM EST –
Now that was funny!
Check This Out!
– Last Updated: Dec-14-04 4:43 PM EST –
Think it is easy to avoid areas with raw sewerage?
Check out this list of California Beaches and the reasons for closure.
http://www.healthebay.org/brc/closures.asp
I gaurantee the east coast is no better.