Attention ATS: there are Sharks in the ocean. That is all.

Well #. I was at the beach 5 of the past 7 days. Went swimming everytime. Gulf shores and orange beach in AL as well as Pensacola beach. I was out there on the boogie board each time as well. The waves at Pensacola beach are insane! Glad I am not the type with anxiety over these things..cant let fear do away with fun but Ill certainly be thinking about this more now.

I don't think I know anybody that isn't, or wasn't afraid of Sharks either before 1975 or after..they ain't exactly a cuddly toy, sadly a Polar Bear is a cuddly toy, but it will still eat the arse off you.

a reply to: seagull

man you are missing out. Some of my best experiences of tranquility is diving off a boat into the abyss miles offshore where I can not really make out the bottom. The sun above, and darkness below, and the quiet, its a very surreal moment just floating there. A kind of yin ad yang moment. But again, you are more likely to be struck by lightning in a give year, than attacked by sharks in even a five year period.

Many attacks occur when people look like a seal or sea lion on a surfboard from the sharks POV. I don't really have a explanation for the shore attacks, but they are usually by smaller specimens. Plus as has been repeated, most sharks will just taste a bite, spit you out and leave with a nasty bitter taste. I suppose we taste to them like those big nasty grasshoppers that show up in spring that no birds want to eat.

a reply to: network dude

What is the warmest water a shark will swim in? if the seawater in the beach is warm (over 40Celcius) will there still be possibility of sharks?

a reply to: combatmaster

If the water was that warm I would be more worried about venomous jellyfish! They love to hit warm waters.

originally posted by: seagull
a reply to: Sublimecraft

I think it's the "jaws that crush steel" that bother most folks...

I

Amen to that. I was going to say for your mob to watch our for the Seals too, but since you aren't a sea going Seagull, you should be fine. Then I find that Seagulls also eat Seals, even though Seals eat Seagulls..comfusing innit?

I listened to an archived TED Radio Hour this morning while I was working on painting and remodeling.....

a woman who had finally, after decades of working at it, swum without stopping from Cuba to Florida.

On her almost-there (second to last try) she got stung by a box jellyfish - That beached her.
Some years later, totally determined, she and her team brainstormed about how to make it happen.

And they did it.
She was completely protected from the jellyfish...and near death, her coach pointed out the lights of the Keys, and it was only fifteen more miles!!! So she kept going. She was in her 60s.

a reply to: AmericanRealist

Oh yes for sure... jellyfish are aplenty... they can be spotted easily enough though and pretty easy to dodge.

but the question of sharks still puts the fear of god into my heart... will they still swim in this temp?

if so, get ready for sharknado!

After surfing In Alaska I started wondering if Orcas would ever attack a surfer?

That would be so freakin scary.

Another Alaskan one that gets me is stellar sea lions. I have a buddy who had a sea lion chasing him around on a wakeboard once.

Those things are huge and terrifying up close!

a reply to: smurfy

Nope.

I actually followed that. ...and that worries me to no end.

a reply to: AmericanRealist



And then there are the odds of getting attacked by a shark while flying in a jet ...

If stung by a jellyfish you can pour Vinegar on the bite and it will minimize the damage.

Sharks, errr not so much.

combatmaster:
Sharknado! trying to imagine that actually happening yikes... lol

originally posted by: GoShredAK
After surfing In Alaska I started wondering if Orcas would ever attack a surfer?

That would be so freakin scary.

Another Alaskan one that gets me is stellar sea lions. I have a buddy who had a sea lion chasing him around on a wakeboard once.

Those things are huge and terrifying up close!

How about a leopard seal? They're Antarctic, but they're big and they don't live around people at all so they have no notion they should be afraid, and they're apex predators.



At 13', that's some serious critter with a very large mouth.

a reply to: Identities

the sharkies are vegitarians

Now, why do I think that is code for "Candy Gram..."

CF

Here is a cool site where you can see where sharks that have been tagged have been. They have an interactive map and you can see what kind of shark, where it was caught and tagged, the length and weight, and trace where it has travelled.

www.ocearch.org...

a reply to: GoShredAK

As far as I know,no-one has ever been attacked (in the wild) by an Orca.They really are very clever.Sharks bite surfers because they are just total idiots.

a reply to: network dude

And most importantly, there are no sharks in the pool. Enjoy your summer, and don't be part of the food chain.

In Fl you got to watch out for these little guys in the pool .

originally posted by: network dude

originally posted by: syrinx high priest
I was in cape cod a few years ago and there was a great white sighting at the beach we were at only the day before

the seals at monomoy bring them in

I really wish I could have seen one, total bucket list right there

I hope you mean seeing one from "afar" or at least from the above side of the water.

lol, no doubt, dorsal and tail fin from the beach.....

a reply to: interupt42

BBC just reported that a woman has been crocodiled in Cairns, Australia.

originally posted by: interupt42
a reply to: network dude

yea thats familiar. They sit there acting like they been caught too when you walk up on them. Bastards love to go straight to the bottom when someone tries and get them out. Man, it just seems no matter where we go in the water,something is trying to eat us.