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15 foot+ Tiger at Kihei Boat Ramp..

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tallguy:
Aloha all,
Quick question for those who are familiar w/ the South Side.  How common is it to encounter big tigers on the South Side?  4 days ago we wer 250-ish yrds off from Kihei Boat Ramp and a 15ft+ possibly pregnant female checked me and da wifey out.  Swam directly under us both, about 5-6 ft down.  Clear water, light chop, so got a REALLY GOOD look at her, we were on 14ft boards, so my size estimate is not exaggerated.  No bumps, but couple of sideways curl moves to check us out, then she cruised off.  Needless to say, we made the boat ramp in record time..... Still cleaning my boardshorts out......

covesurfer:
Yikes, we did a light wind, downwinder yesterday afternoon from the boardwalk in N Kihei to Sorrento's, just past the boat ramp. That is a big shark. I once saw one that size just outside of Maliko, that was on a summer day about 3 years ago. It was cruising fast along the bottom in crystal clear water and the girth was enormous.

Have seen a handful of tigers while downwinding on both sides but not that up close and personal. The Maui Tiger Shark Tracking Project, http://oos.soest.hawaii.edu/pacioos/projects/sharks/ has mapping that shows just how intensely concentrated Tigers are on the south side. Bottom line, they are everywhere, all the time.

You happened to get a good look a a big one that checked you out and swam away. I suspect strongly that they see us ALL the time, almost whenever we're out but are, for the vast majority of pass by's, uninterested. However, there was a woman with extensive water time in south Maui killed last Spring while swimming by the Dumps, if I recall. She was out a ways but was not flailing around and knew how to handle herself in the water from everything I read. And, last winter, some friends were harassed and chased all the way into shore off of Keawakapu while paddling around looking at whales on a flat, windless day. 

tallguy:
Covesurfer,
Thanks for the info. Have looked at the tiger tracking site before, very cool.  Ya, we are starting to figure out the downwinding on South side from Boardwalks, working towards a North side glide.  But we just went out from Kam 3 for a quick exercise cruise upwind 'bout noon, which was south that day, wanted to check out where we had been snorkeling the day before, out front of the Mana Kai.  Didn't expect to see that, but have always known that if the water tastes salty, then there be shark potential.  Find it interesting that we get the honor of having such a close encounter w/ the Man in the Grey Suit, yet we are pretty new to the Maui SUP scene.  We live in Colorado, where sharks are only found on the dinner plate, but we average 6 wks a yr for the last 3 yrs on Island, on the water almost everyday.  That is small kine compared to some of our local friends, who are grown not flow on Maui, who have surfed, SUPed, and worked as snorkel/dive guides most their lives....both in their late 40's.  They told us they have never even seen a tiger!  Wow!

As you suggest, tigers are probably there a lot, we just don't know it.  Have also heard this is the time of yr for more incidents, possibly due to "birthing".  Very grateful "Hawaiian shark ancestors" were so generous with us and allowed us to pass unscathed....   

PonoBill:

--- Quote from: tallguy on October 25, 2015, 04:05:39 PM ---Covesurfer,
Didn't expect to see that, but have always known that if the water tastes salty, then there be shark potential.  Find it interesting that we get the honor of having such a close encounter w/ the Man in the Grey Suit, yet we are pretty new to the Maui SUP scene. 

That is small kine compared to some of our local friends, who are grown not flow on Maui, who have surfed, SUPed, and worked as snorkel/dive guides most their lives....both in their late 40's.  They told us they have never even seen a tiger!  Wow!..

--- End quote ---

There are a lot. And the water doesn't even have to be salty, there's a lot of sharks that are very comfy in brackish to fresh water. Bulls, for example.

Not hard to see Tigers in Hawaii, but I'm always surprised how few people see them, though I understand how it works. after you've seen a few you see a lot, in part because you know what you are seeing. A few weeks ago driving back from Cali I pointed out in a field and said "look at all the elk" to my wife. As a longtime elk bowhunter, if they're there, I see them. She didn't see a thing, even though some of them were no more than 50 yards away, and there were at least ten. I stopped, pointed them out so she could see them, And showed her how to look for the yellow heart-shaped butt with a darker vertical line and stub tail. Or the dark head and chest with lighter body. And then she spent the rest of the trip pointing out elk to me.


You'd think anyone could see something like this, but when you're not used to pulling an elk out of the background, it's just an amorphous field.

"Where are they all coming from" says she.

They were always there, she just didn't see them.

Congratulations on seeing such an amazing sight. Something to remember. If you ever see a big shark underwater, it's even more unforgettable. They look like huge jet aircraft.

tallguy:
Very wise words PonoBill, ya the elk pic is very familiar to me, we do see lots of them here in Colo, and like you suggest it is because we know what were looking at.  Good comparison to Sharks.  As I mentioned we are new to the Oceam Maui SUP scene, so they have probably been there once or twice and we just didn't know what we were looking at.

Also, thanks for posting to this, I have been meaning to say thanks to you for the very cool south side DW vids you have posted in the past.  As newbies, those vids have really help us learn a bit about it before hand, and we have had some very fun short runs from the boardwalk down to Cove Park or there 'bouts.  Just getting our feet wet on the south, hoping to work up to the North side, Maliko.

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