Surfing Waves

I just came back from Tahiti and surfed some incredible waves at Teahupoo! I mean those waves are thr most insane I've ever seen... deadlier than Pipes! Also I met some locals there and they were catching some heavy 6-8 feet waves and damn I stayed in the lineup and got the scariest session I've ever dreamt of... Is there any other surf spots scrier than this one? I mean I'm not talking about gigantic waves like Jaws or like that! Just 6 to 10 feet pounding like a few olympic swimming pools were going to slam on you!
I also met some guys who just opened up a shop surfing teahupoo and ...also a site! I got some insane stuffs at really cheap...! Anyways I got my best sesion ever at this incredible spot! Still making me some chills...

Yea chopes is heavy but what about shipsterns and shark island not to mention the almighty cyclops. You go to cyclops you end up like the green guy.

Do you know that every year a few guys and girls got injured (pros) at the Billabong Teahupoo. This year Nathan got slammed on the reef at the finals against CJ Hogwood on his first wave. He got rescued by my brother-in-law Vetea David (ex top 16 for so many years) who yanked him out almost inconscious with a dislocated shoulder)! Last year 3 girls went to the hospital. One almost died after a long coma!!! Can't beat the awesome power of this heaviset pound-fo-pound world championship spot!

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Really? I surfed J Bay regularly for 15 years and never saw a single shark. Sure you don't mean dolphins?

im possitive i dont mean dolphins. its one of the sharkiest places in the world. Alot of South Africa is. There was a guy who got attacked by 2 sharks at the same time about 5 years ago.

I don't recall that one about the two sharks. Sounds nasty. Got a link?

South Africa does have a lot of sharks and places like Durban have to net the beaches to protect swimmers/surfers. Fortunately shark attacks are rare, however there have been a spate of attacks recently in Cape Town and further up the East Coast.

There are 2 reasons:
1) over-fishing is reducing the number of fish and hence there are fewer seals. So less seals for the sharks to eat means they look elsewhere for grub - and we all know how much a paddling surfer/bodyboarder looks like a seal....and
2) ....there are more sharks. Many sharks, including the Great White, were added to the endangered list a decade ago after questionable scientific studies claimed their numbers were way down. So it is now illegal to catch Great Whites. Their numbers are now really exploding, with no change to legislation in sight. Add this to the popular activity of shark diving, where sharks are being "chummed" and therefore become less afraid of people.

All adds up to a problem for surfers everywhere. Wish South Africa had a policy like Hawaii where the largest "man-eaters" eg. Tigers are culled - although I hear that is also under threat right now?

Thweres a 3rd reason...and this is proberly the real/main cause for increse shark sightings and attacks near shore..

Tourism - l the tour boats that go out chumming the water, drawing them nearer to habitated and surfed coastline. The sharks are beginging to associated humans with food and are thus going closer to shore.

ya, at gorda last weekend, we counted about 18 big bull sharks, in a frenzy out between the 2nd and third sand bars. that can kinda make u want to paddle in when u see that.

oh my god. paddle in! try faint!

Dont let big fish keep you back from being true to your sport.

babyboarder89 wrote:oh my god. paddle in! try faint!

I know what you mean, were so innocent to the whole shark-attack/sighting things here in England, sharks must be a regular sighting to most surfers on a daily basis. Makes you think eh!

Ohhh, Babyboarder, how did your comp go at Saunton a few weeks ago? Did you enter in the end?

Hang Loose

ah it was great!!!! i came fourth!! (out of ahem, 4) but i nearly came 3rd! hurrah, i was great fun, thankyou for asking.

AH! Well done! Thats so good, so what if you came last, you still competed!
Congrats!!

thankyou i thought so too. cant wait for the next one...

J Bay is scarier. the wave isnt quite as scary as Teahupoo, but the big fishies are. lots of waves, lots of sharks.

It's true bout JBay being pretty shark-infested. Not to mention really difficult to get out to I believe. Lots of not so nice rocks you have to jump off to get outback while getting nasty cuts in the process. :cry:

I'm not talking from experience but my mates boyfriend surfs there all the time and she says they always come out totally battered and bruised.

A lot of SA has a fair few sharks about, it's fairly common to spot them but as for getting chowed by one, if you're out there in a big enough crowd the odds are in your favour. :)

Nah, J-Bay isn't too tough to paddle out. Wait for a set, then paddle hard just as the last wave breaks in front of you and head left for the channel. Going out further up the point is better - trying to duck-dive in a couple of feet of water at Impossibles will hurt.

The rocks in J-Bay are actually a piece of cake compared to somewhere with a coral reef bottom! Those coral heads will shred your feet and knees (& head if you are unlucky) and your cuts can easily get infected. Nasty!

I can't ever recall a shark attack at J-Bay? Neither can my Dad and he's surfed there since the late 50's. In fact the only "fish" I've seen there are surfboards. Plenty of dolphins at dusk and some seals too.

Still, doesn't hurt to continue the shark propoganda a bit - might keep a few people out the water. Mmmm, actually no, that won't work. Anyone who sees J-Bay firing at 4ft + with a gentle SW offshore won't be able to stay out of the water, even with a dozen hungry Great Whites cruising the lineup!

Hi guys,

The subject about sharks really makes me think about UK waters. Ok, we don't have the larger known aggressive sharks (we do have the secound largest shark in the world, the Baskin, though its harmless, at up to 34ft its an awsome site). But we do have the following in our waters:-

Thresher Shark (19 1/2ft follows Mackerel scholes around)
Blue Shark (6-8ft like the Thresher, follows Mackerel)
Mako (12ft not sure which species exactly but it is aggressive)

One year a Hammerhead was spotted in my local bay of Looe on the South Coast. It was a very hot summer, but thats kinda worrying. In Cornwall we do have a Grey Seal population, and many of them come into our harbours at times for fish scraps thrown overboard by fishermen. They always gut the fish on the way in, which inturn my bring in the sharks following the fish and sea birds.

I agree strongly with what has been said about the sharks now coming closer to shore to look for food. I believe that soon sharks in ALL waters will be coming into shore and into contact with humans. I DO possibly have a solution to help protect surfers, but its an idea i closely guard and need to approach the right people. It may save peoples lives, but as i said, i need to test my theory on some certain species of sharks. The only worry is a very hungry Tiger shark. As many will know, its not what it eats thats the problem, its what it does'nt eat!

Guess the only tip when surfing alongside area known to have Great Whites, Tigers etc, is not to isolate yourself. There's safety in numbers (sounds a bit tight i know), but atleast there's more eyes looking out and help. Go for the eyes & nose - its been said, that if your grabbed by a shark, try and rake the eyes, punch the nose (its highly sensative and its brain is partialy in the nose section), or sensative gills also. The shark should let go, but never put your hands into its mouth to losten its grip, you'll lose your fingers.

I hope everyone knows this anyway. I just added that incase someone did'nt. I study sharks in my spare time aswell as having been a BBC NHU (Natural History Unit) researcher. One of my specialities is sharks.

Stay safe guys and happy surfing! I'll keep everyone updated with my test if some companies want to help me help all surfers round the globe.

Blue Shark (6-8ft like the Thresher, follows Mackerel)

one of the divers i know that goes spear diving off portland clamed to have seen a blue shark attack a cod he had speared this must have happend a good 7/8 years ago though