Author Topic: Do Sharks Attack Us?  (Read 73978 times)

PonoBill

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #15 on: August 04, 2014, 07:24:48 AM »
There was this one here on maui...
Posted by: maui wave warrior
« on: October 18, 2012, 04:46:21 PM » Insert Quote
We were out early this morning on a nice chest to head high day at Kanaha with surf on the rise. Around 8:30am lifeguards advise us we all have to clear the water due to a shark attack. Turns out one of our local SUP shapers Dave Peterson had a shark bite his board and knock him off. He needed to use his paddle to get the shark to release the board and then proceeded to fend off the 6 to 8ft shark until he could get back on his board. Article is in the Maui News today. This took place out in front of Kite Beach which is about 200yrds from Kanaha Beach Park. Glad he was not injured. Those smaller SUP's are looking more like turtles I guess so beware!

Actually Dave was injured--he pulled his shoulder banging on the shark with the paddle. The board with the sharkbite is so VERY cool. It should be hanging in Ponohouse instead of being stuffed in his board rack getting dusty.
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peterp

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #16 on: August 04, 2014, 07:52:13 AM »
We had an attack on a surfer this Friday past at a beach where I SUP about once every week or two......the guys is luckily ok but he got launched 3m into the air by the impact from an estimated Great White.

There were quite a few SUP's in the line-up and they are getting pretty good press for their efforts: http://www.wavescape.co.za/surf-news/breaking-news/shark-concerns.html

Ironically I was out at Seal Island which is in the middle of False Bay (about 6miles from attack) on Wednesday towing dummy seals to try and get them attack and breach - 3hours and we never even saw a shark.......


spirit4earth

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #17 on: March 11, 2015, 02:59:43 PM »
Sorry this is an old thread, but I wonder if anyone has ever had their inflatable sup punctured by a shark?  That would be bad news....

spookini

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #18 on: March 11, 2015, 03:19:16 PM »
I don't really want to be the first to try it, but... I'd think the "whoosh" of air out of punc'd iSUP would scare any nearby critters away for good.  Alot of air comes rushing out of the typical iSUP.  And I think what's left would probably still float you a bit.
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sterbo

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #19 on: March 11, 2015, 05:13:07 PM »
My question (it might be a stupid one, idk) is this, has a shark EVER attacked a SUP rider while they were on their board?
Well, that's answered by a simple search string.

Sharks are about as straight forward as it gets. Live, eat, screw, eat, live. To that end their primal receptors are a thing of beauty, efficiency wise.
Yes, of course they attack us, though it's not about us; not personal. SUPers are less likely to engage their radar than others on and in the water because we don't typically sit with our legs down, dangling and so very inviting. That's why those of us who surf without paddles in shark zones are absolute shark bait - our resemblance to seals, sea lions, penguins, etc. when we assume the position is like Ma ringing the cowbell at dinner time...

OUTSIDEWAVE

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #20 on: March 11, 2015, 05:51:30 PM »
yes and no  Whites no they  just taste   us  bulls tigers probably if we looked interesting.   but on sups  not to likely
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surf4food

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #21 on: March 11, 2015, 06:49:32 PM »
Sorry this is an old thread, but I wonder if anyone has ever had their inflatable sup punctured by a shark?  That would be bad news....

There's an AMAZING spray-on shark repellent you can get specifically for inflatables.  REI carries them and at 9.99 a can they are a pretty decent price.  Simply give the can a good shake and then spray over the entire board immediately after full inflation.  Just make sure you don't get the spray that's for hard epoxy.  A good buddy of mine who is no longer with us made that very mistake.  RIP Chick E. McNugnug. 
« Last Edit: March 11, 2015, 06:52:56 PM by surf4food »

Sup44

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #22 on: March 11, 2015, 11:12:35 PM »
The  answer is mostly no. 99% of attacks from whites on humans happen by accident. A mistake for a seal. And most times when they realize your not a seal,, they let you go. That said a SUP is typically much bigger than a seal. So attacks are even more rare than on a surfboard (which are extremely rare). Sometimes, 1% of the time whites get territorial. There have been a very few cases where race sup'ers are harassed by whites for no apparent reason.

Bull sharks will eat humans just Cuz there pissed off..but SUP's 99.9% of the time are just too big.

I can't speak to behavior or patterns of tigers..
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eastbound

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #23 on: March 12, 2015, 08:59:27 AM »
my impression is that tigers are considered among the most dangerous to humans of all sharks

some attribute the increase in "drowning disappearances" of the last several years in hawaii to tigers--ive read that it's a bit controversial, with some making case that it aint about the sharks, it's about the huge increase in humans playing in the water==>more people playing leads to more drowning--the disappearance part is what make it seem tigers could be complicit--people who simply drown tend to bloat, float and be found--they become "floaters"

i'm sure some living there can comment
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SeaMe

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #24 on: March 12, 2015, 02:00:29 PM »
I'd think the "whoosh" of air out of punc'd iSUP would scare any nearby critters away for good.  Alot of air comes rushing out of the typical iSUP.

It's going to take more than bubbles to deter Bruce.

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PonoBill

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #25 on: March 12, 2015, 02:47:58 PM »
Of course it's the far greater number of people in the water, and the difference between a efficient swimmer/spearfisherman/surfer and a splashy goofball may play a part as well. One of those two sounds a lot more like dinner.

No matter what, the number of shark attacks is absurdly low. Double it, triple it, and you still have far too little data to say anything conclusive except "shark attacks have tripled". Because ten times nuttin' is nuttin'.  But the number of people in the water in Maui has increased substantially. It's still NOTHING like the east coast, where people arrives before sunrise to stake out their ten by ten plot of beach. With all those people in the water, and plenty of sharks of every flavor, including a massive increase in the seal population and a resultant increase in local apex sharks, the number of shark attacks on the east coast is down somewhere in the statistical noise, way below the people killed by tipping over soft drink machines.

The question isn't do sharks attack us. It's why are we so afraid of something that poses no real threat. The answer is--we're nuts. More precisely, you're nuts. I try to confine my fears to things that are real threats. I can't walk by a coke machine without feeling a little frisson of fear.
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Bulky

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #26 on: March 12, 2015, 03:26:56 PM »
I can't walk by a coke machine without feeling a little frisson of fear.

Crap, Bill.  And it was just getting to be that time in the afternoon where I was thinking about grabbing a soda.  Too scared now.
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sterbo

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #27 on: March 12, 2015, 04:50:15 PM »
Huh?
Why are we afraid of something that 'poses no real threat?"

Let's be clear. Of course there's a real threat and of course the likelihood of such a threat has everything to do with where one lives.
By way of example. I currently live, sail, surf, sup, swim etc. on the north coast of California - the infamous "Bloody Triangle". It didn't get that name for no damn reason.
The infestation of Great Whites is something we think about constantly when entering the water. Anyone who considers an average of maybe 2 serious attacks per year to be nothing to be concerned about occupies a reality I can't begin to fathom. While fatalities are rare, the trauma - both physical and mental -  resulting from being attacked and/or maimed is nothing short of horrific.
All of us who spend a lot of time in the water have stories to tell. Sometimes it's someone close to us; sometimes a friend of a friend, and so on. Any laughter upon the telling isn't because it's funny; it's our nervous freaked out coping mechanism.

So, someone close? When I was in my mid 20's one of my best friends who was 17 and born in Hawaii had a brutal scar from back of hip down across his hamstring. He had been attacked by a Tiger shark two years before he moved to Malibu where we both lived at the time. I always admired the hell out of him every time we paddled out. Even though we had no real reason to be concerned on the beaches we surfed I'd always see that scar and marvel that he'd still go at it the way he did. That said, when we were just hanging out, drinking, getting stoned, just doing what friends do, there was a sobering part to him that always saddened me. He made no bones about it but sometimes he couldn't help it and just let it go. His emotion was so powerful, so tragic that we'd both cry.
Sorry, but this subject is way personal.

"nuttin' is nuttin"?
Not...


standuped

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #28 on: March 12, 2015, 05:19:52 PM »
Clint Eastwood survived a plane crash in a Douglas Sky Raider near Point Reyes when he was 21 years old.  He and the pilot swam 3 miles to shore.   That must have been a long 3 miles..............  Later He would go on to do "Quite well for himself "  as my dear old dad would say.
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PonoBill

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Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #29 on: March 12, 2015, 05:49:08 PM »
Since 1900 there have been 108 documented shark attacks producing injuries or fatalities on the west coast, including the excitingly-named bloody triangle. Compare that to the 2000 people who die every year from choking to death in restaurants, never mind the 33,000 people who died in traffic accidents and or the 2.2 million people who were injured EVERY YEAR--millions of them of them far more horrifically than any shark incident.

There's no doubt in my mind that fear of sharks is phobic. The fact that your Aunt Sadie died in a plane crash does not alter the reality that by any measure flying on commercial aircraft is much safer than driving to the store. But who really believes that in their guts? Who doesn't brace a bit when the plane comes off the runway?

Names like "the bloody triangle" are proof all by themselves that it's unreasoned. Carnage on every road that passes by that coast, and the focus and fear is on something that's a lesser threat than eating at McDonald's.
« Last Edit: March 12, 2015, 05:51:08 PM by PonoBill »
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