Shark Attacks

Have a chat about any general surfing related topics.

Postby nz girl » Mon Jul 19, 2004 5:16 am

go to www.surf.co.nz to see the report on that shark attack in aus last week. nasty sh*t.
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deterant

Postby guest » Mon Jul 19, 2004 11:27 pm

that is a pretty cool device. Too bad it only lasts for 2 hrs. My beach is 90 miles from my home and I stay in the water longer than that and don't have anywhere to re-charge.

I would be afraid that if I were to buy it, the battery would get low and put out a smaller field and attract a shark lol. Just kidding. I'm sure its well tested.

I'm unsure of the weight, but I wonder if they could be built into the surfboard and have the antenna run up the board. Holding the unit in the board would allow more room to store batteries. Yeah, someone will say "it will add more weight" but it adds more on your ancle too.
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Postby Guest » Tue Jul 20, 2004 12:33 am

yeah you can get them bulit into your surfboard how ever i hear that they attacked more sharks into the area
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Postby Guest » Tue Jul 20, 2004 12:34 am

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Hmmm

Postby Sergei » Tue Jul 20, 2004 6:54 pm

Interesting posts all of them......have to say that to an extent everyone who posted is right.

First off, sharks inhabit the oceans......we enter the ocean, therefore we accept the dangers - not just sharks, but rocks, currents, waves, hell the whole ocean. If it's respected and you're conscious of the dangers then you already minimise the chances of an 'incident'.

Secondly, it's inevitable that there are more attacks in certain places, i.e Australia.....the waters are warm and full of food, the number of surfers, swimmers etc etc etc is huge and the species that inhabit those places are large creatures.....built to hunt. There are loads of sharks in the water, but attacks are rare.......naivity and carelessness probably account for at least 70% of all attacks (i.e entering the water at dusk, night and dawn - when sharks are known to hunt).

Thirdly, the GW sightings in the UK.....it's true that there have been NO confirmed sightings and the closest was 200 miles away (the Bay of Biscay), however, this does not by any stretch of the imagination mean that they aren't there. British waters have large populations of seals and dolphins because there are no real predators to them, the waters are warmer than in previous years and temperaures appear to still be climbing.......food + nice water = awesome habitat. I surf, swim and dive regularly in UK waters (and abroad) and wouldn't ever fear going in even if there were confirmed sightings of GW sharks.

Sharks are marvelous creatures that demand respect, occasionally they 'attack' humans.....this is unfortunate but hardly surprising when you look at the way in which sharks hunt. Considering the massive number of people that enter into the worlds oceans every day the risk is slim, but still possible. Just adhere to saftey suggestions and be vigilant, especially in areas frequented by sharks.

Finally, thanks for your time and enjoy the ocean......it's a beautiful place.
Sergei
 
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Postby babyboarder89 » Tue Jul 20, 2004 8:32 pm

i think in that one post you managed to sum up 5 pages worth of posts.
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Postby Guest » Tue Jul 20, 2004 8:35 pm

yea, I agree, talked in circles enough, lets move on to something more upbeat.
Awaiting new topic with baited breath....
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Postby Guest » Wed Jul 21, 2004 12:31 am

xXbLiNksGiRLXx wrote:that is a shark look at the fin!

you have the "Jaws Syndrome" like the other 87% who see this pic...
it's a dolphin ;)
Anonymous wrote:Um, people. if that ISN'T a shark...what is it?
The fin, the nose shape, the torso shape.....and the poor guy crapping himself alongside.....yep that's a shark in my books.

I hope he got the next wave in the set.
Can anybody tell us the story associated with the image.....I'd love to hear it?

Brent


you can read all about it here
http://www.whitesharktrust.org/pages/surfshooter.html

so don't worry and be happy :)
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Postby Guest » Wed Jul 21, 2004 1:41 am

epic, thankyou. When looking at the second photo within the link I see clearly it's a dolphin.
Cool story. Thanks.
Brent
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attack stats in Australia

Postby guest » Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:07 am

I saw this site while surfing the webwww.auscyber.net/shark
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comparisons

Postby guest » Wed Jul 21, 2004 5:47 pm

Mountain bikers have to worry about Mountain Loins here in the NW. So do hikers, mushroom pickers, and anyone else out there. Bears are also a threat. Not to mention Sasquach, just this weekend someone was mauled by a Sasquach protecting its young.

Sasquach deaths are up 120% this year in the NW. Stay out of the forests unless you are prepared. :twisted:
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Postby Sergei » Wed Jul 21, 2004 5:56 pm

It's an awesome pic that understandably led people to think it was a shark. I've received it so many time in e-mails that I lost count, never have I thought....hmmmm, horizontal tail-fin, must be a dolphin lol. I know a fair amount about marine biology and in particular, sharks......and I'm ashamed to say that I never spotted it :) . However, I was never convinced it was a genuine photo, I thought it was a clever piece of PhotoShop work.


Anyone know of any secluded beaches near Newquay with decent breaks? Planning on going again in a few weeks, but don't want the hassle of competing with 75 people on each wave at Fistral......and I got taken out by a kite-surfer last time I surfed at Watergate.....SEA HOG!! lol.
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Where to go ...

Postby The new guy » Wed Jul 21, 2004 9:54 pm

Where's the best place to go surfing ? I mean with al those shark crap.
I want to go surfing where there are absolutely no sharks (that can harm humans) at al. With good waves ofcours (I'm a beginner) :lol:



:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
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Postby Sergei » Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:32 pm

Where do you live? No point telling you somewhere good in England, only to find you live in America :lol: . As for sharks, don't worry about them.......familiarise yourself with the beach you're going to and you'll be fine. If you're in the UK then the only sharks you are likely to see are Basking sharks and they feed on plankton, you probably won't even see them. First time I saw one I nearly sh*t myself. Saw a huge fin in the water about 30ft from me and froze.......eventually got to shore and it was confirmed it was a Basking shark - felt like a right idiot. It was at Kynance Cove in June 1998......just a bit further away at Lizard Point there were reportedly over 200 just off shore lol. Must''ve been an impressive sight.
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Postby Guest » Thu Jul 22, 2004 5:23 pm

Sergei wrote:First time I saw one I nearly sh*t myself. Saw a huge fin in the water about 30ft from me and froze.......eventually got to shore and it was confirmed it was a Basking shark - felt like a right idiot. It was at Kynance Cove in June 1998......just a bit further away at Lizard Point there were reportedly over 200 just off shore lol. Must''ve been an impressive sight.


can't even imagine what you felt like seeing that fin :D
basking sharks are not very small :)
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Postby Sergei » Thu Jul 22, 2004 7:34 pm

It wasn't the greatest feeling I've had, that's for sure. I feel no shame in admitting how scared I was, but at the same time I was in awe......it truly was a great sight and I'm sure the coastguards had a laugh at my face :) .

I'm planning a surfing/diving trip to South Africa soon (ish) - gonna have to toughen up before I go....want to do some cage diving and see some 'real' sharks haha.
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Postby Guest » Thu Jul 22, 2004 9:59 pm

wouldn't have wanted to be in your situation at the time :)
reminds me something from movie "Snatch"
"Turkish: Have you ever stepped onto the road, and you turn and a car's almost on you? something very strange happens. Your life doesn't flash before your eyes, cos you're too fleshin'' scared to think - you just freeze... and pull a stupid face."

but it's an experience you'll never forget ;)

i remember when i saw "Jaws" for the first time as a kid. I didn't go near water whole summer. All the beaches, lakes, rivers, pools, even rain puddles were all full of killersharks who wanted to eat me :)

Cage diving (hopefully with a great white) has been on my ToDo list for a quite a while. i'm going to New Zealand myself. Don't know if there is any sharkdiving going on there, but i'm sure i'll find some in Australia :p
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Postby Sergei » Sat Jul 24, 2004 6:44 am

I have never seen Snatch but that is scarily close to what I was saying l ol.

As for cage diving in NZ, should see something....AU would be good......but friend has dived AU and SA and reckons that you can't beat SA. He went for 3 days in AU and only realy saw Bronze Whalers. He went to SA and saw Great Whites, Bronze Whalers and what he claims was a Tiger Shark......but I don't think it was. He also saw some other sharks about. He visited some of the renowned shark spots and went to a place, I can't remember the name, but it's at the foot of a river, he reckons there were 10-15 Bull sharks within a 50 metre vicinity (needless to say they weren't diving there) lol.
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Postby Brent » Sun Jul 25, 2004 7:18 am

Guys,
I live in the north island of New Zealand (Tauranga), but grew up in the lower part of the South Island (Dunedin). I have been involved in water based sports extensively in both islands and I know of no place or business or charter service in this country that offers cage diving, shark chasing or anything even close.
Shark fishing in the Bay of Islands (a town called Russell) perhaps (that's very near the top of the North Island). But no diving with sharks oppertunities (even in cages)....we're much too clever for that madness :-)
Australia is full of mad Aussies and yep, heaps of it going on over there.
Brent
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Postby Sergei » Sun Jul 25, 2004 12:23 pm

lol, there you have it....can't get a better opinion than one from someone who lives there. Maybe there's a niche in that market :lol: , loads of money to be had j/k.
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