@kayamedic said:
@PaddleDog52 said:
Take a cyanide pill when attack starts bite down. You won’t feel a thing.then when shark eats you, you know he’s dead too. Just because you can’t see shark’s they say they are everywhere.
Are you for real? You have a comment for everyone…
It’s winter and he’s bored like a bunch of us.
A lot of great responses, thanks everyone. I’m worried about a sighting/attack in general, not just necessarily death and there has been a handful of stories of kayakers and paddleboards being followed off the cape in recent years, even a few with “test bites” on their boats. The idea of zebra painting the hull seems intriguing if for nothing more then for peace of mind; it doesn’t help that my boat is a perfect seal-colored grey.
@kayamedic said:
@PaddleDog52 said:
Take a cyanide pill when attack starts bite down. You won’t feel a thing.then when shark eats you, you know he’s dead too. Just because you can’t see shark’s they say they are everywhere.
Are you for real? You have a comment for everyone…
No it’s a joke can’t you tell? No sense of humour?
I’ve been scared by sharks (and by cownose ray wings that look like shark fins) while kayaking myself, but I know it’s irrational. Intuitively, a huge shark trying to eat a kayak because it thinks it’s a seal, and it wants to eat a seal, seems about as likely as me trying to eat a rock because it is roughly the same size as a potato, or eating sticks on the ground because it is roughly cylindrical like a carrot might be. Sharks have all sorts of sensory receptors, including ones that we don’t have, finely honed by millions of years of evolution, that are designed to make them interested in actual food items and to not be fooled by other things. I know investigatory bites are not unheard of but the actual incidence of sharks nibbling on kayaks is, I would think, so low as to not really be a significant concern no matter what color your hull is. Having said that, I confess that I too would be apprehensive in paddling in areas with seals and known populations of seal-eating Great Whites and would probably just avoid those areas, at least while paddling alone.
@Peter-CA said:
And as a kayaker, you are also protected somewhat (as compared to a swimmer or surfer). If a shark does bite, the boat will take most or all of the damage.<
Peter, didn’t you see Jaws 2. They’ll eat a helicopter, pilot and all, straight out of the water.
@Monkeyhead said:
I’ve been scared by sharks (and by cownose ray wings that look like shark fins) while kayaking myself, but I know it’s irrational. Intuitively, a huge shark trying to eat a kayak because it thinks it’s a seal, and it wants to eat a seal, seems about as likely as me trying to eat a rock because it is roughly the same size as a potato, or eating sticks on the ground because it is roughly cylindrical like a carrot might be. Sharks have all sorts of sensory receptors, including ones that we don’t have, finely honed by millions of years of evolution, that are designed to make them interested in actual food items and to not be fooled by other things. I know investigatory bites are not unheard of but the actual incidence of sharks nibbling on kayaks is, I would think, so low as to not really be a significant concern no matter what color your hull is. Having said that, I confess that I too would be apprehensive in paddling in areas with seals and known populations of seal-eating Great Whites and would probably just avoid those areas, at least while paddling alone.
You seem to contradict yourself in the thoughts above. They have been attacking kayaks down under.
@Monkeyhead
Valid concerns by both you and the OP. While this article is dated, The Tsunami Rangers are quite expert in what they do and advise, plus the comments and stories following the article are quite interesting. https://tsunamirangers.com/2010/10/27/how-to-deal-with-sharks/
He gives that to every class so they will do what he tells them! 
I did a fair amount of diving I left the water if a shark as big as me showed up. My sister had a 12’ hammerhead swim under her while diving she looked around to warn to her boyfriend, and he was already headed quickly to the boat without trying to warn her. That relationship didn’t last. However we were never attacked in any of our sightings
So if you see one avoid it. Leave if you think you should. And always let your partner know if you want to keep your partner (double entendre)! 
Truth is they follow the food up and down the coast. We are routinely visited by Mary, the Great White, in Northeast Florida. She often cruises within 100 yards of the beach, so her tracking collar says.
I did a fair amount of diving I left the water if a shark as big as me showed up. My sister had a 12’ hammerhead swim under her while diving she looked around to warn to her boyfriend, and he was already headed quickly to the boat without trying to warn her. That relationship didn’t last. However we were never attacked in any of our sightings>
Speaking to the psychology of this, I have found sharks to be considerably more fear-eliciting when viewed from my kayak than when I have been diving with them. Maybe I would feel differently diving with a 12 ft great white or hammerhead, but I’ve been on several shark dives with pretty big bulls buzzing all around and it hasn’t worried me in the slightest. More like awestruck by their beauty and general awesomeness. I’m not even sure why other than perhaps under water, I see them just swimming around with a calm demeanor going about their business whereas from my kayak I can only guess what they’re doing, where they are, etc. and I impute to them some sort of malevolent intention and interest in me that I’m sure they don’t really have.
@Monkeyhead said:
Speaking to the psychology of this, I have found sharks to be considerably more fear-eliciting when viewed from my kayak than when I have been diving with them. Maybe I would feel differently diving with a 12 ft great white or hammerhead, but I’ve been on several shark dives with pretty big bulls buzzing all around and it hasn’t worried me in the slightest. More like awestruck by their beauty and general awesomeness. I’m not even sure why other than perhaps under water, I see them just swimming around with a calm demeanor going about their business whereas from my kayak I can only guess what they’re doing, where they are, etc. and I impute to them some sort of malevolent intention and interest in me that I’m sure they don’t really have.
I have also been on scuba with plenty of sharks around although they were reef sharks and the occasional bull; I’ve never seen a great white or a tiger… They are beautiful creatures and fascinating to watch but I agree that being out in kayak makes you feel a little differently. Last August my wife and I were kayaking in St. Margaret’s Bay, Nova Scotia and knowing that the great white Hilton had been tracked at the mouth of the bay did make me think twice.
@PaddleDog52 said:
@Monkeyhead said:
I’ve been scared by sharks (and by cownose ray wings that look like shark fins) while kayaking myself, but I know it’s irrational. Intuitively, a huge shark trying to eat a kayak because it thinks it’s a seal, and it wants to eat a seal, seems about as likely as me trying to eat a rock because it is roughly the same size as a potato, or eating sticks on the ground because it is roughly cylindrical like a carrot might be. Sharks have all sorts of sensory receptors, including ones that we don’t have, finely honed by millions of years of evolution, that are designed to make them interested in actual food items and to not be fooled by other things. I know investigatory bites are not unheard of but the actual incidence of sharks nibbling on kayaks is, I would think, so low as to not really be a significant concern no matter what color your hull is. Having said that, I confess that I too would be apprehensive in paddling in areas with seals and known populations of seal-eating Great Whites and would probably just avoid those areas, at least while paddling alone.You seem to contradict yourself in the thoughts above.<
Well, yes and no.
@Monkeyhead said:
@PaddleDog52 said:
@Monkeyhead said:
I’ve been scared by sharks (and by cownose ray wings that look like shark fins) while kayaking myself, but I know it’s irrational. Intuitively, a huge shark trying to eat a kayak because it thinks it’s a seal, and it wants to eat a seal, seems about as likely as me trying to eat a rock because it is roughly the same size as a potato, or eating sticks on the ground because it is roughly cylindrical like a carrot might be. Sharks have all sorts of sensory receptors, including ones that we don’t have, finely honed by millions of years of evolution, that are designed to make them interested in actual food items and to not be fooled by other things. I know investigatory bites are not unheard of but the actual incidence of sharks nibbling on kayaks is, I would think, so low as to not really be a significant concern no matter what color your hull is. Having said that, I confess that I too would be apprehensive in paddling in areas with seals and known populations of seal-eating Great Whites and would probably just avoid those areas, at least while paddling alone.You seem to contradict yourself in the thoughts above.<
Well, yes and no.
That’s what she says.
@Overstreet said:
Truth is they follow the food up and down the coast. We are routinely visited by Mary, the Great White, in Northeast Florida. She often cruises within 100 yards of the beach, so her tracking collar says.
Im wondering. Who does the collaring? I have hit a nurse shark with my paddle by incident but nurse is no great white Do most Florida sharks with collars get named?
They aren’t collars, and I think much of the tagging has been done off the coast of Massachusetts.
Do any groups other than “Ocearch” plot shark tracks on the web?
@castoff said:
They aren’t collars, and I think much of the tagging has been done off the coast of Massachusetts.
I don’t keep up with it, but here is a link about Tiger, Hammerhead, and Bull sharks around FL.
https://sharkresearch.rsmas.miami.edu/research/projects/gps-for-sharks
You can google for more info of studies.
Here is info on shark attacks.
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/maps/na/usa/
http://blog.batchgeo.com/every-us-shark-attack-fatality-since-1900-on-a-map/
One of our members here has been hit by sharks > @kayamedic said:
@Overstreet said:
Truth is they follow the food up and down the coast. We are routinely visited by Mary, the Great White, in Northeast Florida. She often cruises within 100 yards of the beach, so her tracking collar says.Im wondering. Who does the collaring? I have hit a nurse shark with my paddle by incident but nurse is no great white Do most Florida sharks with collars get named?
There is an organization studying great whites. Just the GW are tagged. The spinners and black tips and bulls are photographed by aircraft…swimming around the beach swimmers.