Author Topic: Do Sharks Attack Us?  (Read 73972 times)

breakbad

  • Rincon Status
  • ***
  • Posts: 235
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #30 on: March 12, 2015, 07:15:10 PM »
I agree with Pono. But that doesn't mean you can just ignore sharks. You can still manufacture the conditions that will get your ass bit. Like my favorite past time: fishing with a pocket full of live bait in waist deep water, in the failing light, wearing bright flashy colors, and kicking and splashing in the water. Or even worse, having a picnic under a coconut tree.

covesurfer

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1936
    • View Profile
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #31 on: March 12, 2015, 07:19:35 PM »
I think it's actually called 'the red triangle'.

Statistically, you make a case that we don't have a rational fear that is in proportion to the actual 'threat' (at least on the west coast of the US). Ok, I get that.

But, if you're Bethany Hamilton, or the woman that was literally bitten in half off of Oluwalu (where the MPH race is this weekend), or if you regularly surf in South Africa or Western OZ or even Florida, with its Bull Sharks, it's a bit more apparent that there is an actual threat, even though the odds are stacked in your favor.

Guys have been bitten at S Turns (fatality) and off of Halama Street (injury), at Ulua Beach (injury) and at Makena (fatality); a guy was just bumped off his SUS in the harbor a month and a half ago. The logo on my DP Maui board includes the shark, which, as you know, was inspired by Mr. P's own encounter with an overly friendly tiger off Boneyards. A spear fisherman was mugged for his catch off of Waiehu and on and on. There are plenty of documented stories. Some years many, some years none. But, it happens. And, for many obvious reasons, it's a lot scarier than contemplating a vending machine tipping over on us.

My point is, there is a threat and there is certainly evidence to support that conclusion. But, if you look at the sheer numbers of people in the water vs actual unprovoked encounters with the man in the grey suit, yeah, statistically the threat recedes to what would appear to be insignificant. I'm just arguing that when we go in the water, we don't know the outcome. We, the people that use the water a LOT, know we'll probably not have a shark encounter/investigation or even attack. But, you always kind of hope, somewhere in your primordial brain stem, that if we do have that encounter today, we will prevail and be ok somehow. At least that is deep down in my brain...I think.

PB, you and I and our pals are all in the water a tremendous amount of time. I've paddled next to and over small and large sharks in the past couple of years and am happy to say, that's the extent of my encounters. I LIKE to see them. I have fear and respect for them. And, after a few years doing lots of ocean time, I no longer worry (like I used to) that 'today might be the day' when I go paddle. But, I also know that it isn't impossible. And, unlike the Coke machine, which might be capable of smooshing you, we are dealing with an intelligent, apex predator that is fully capable (if mostly uninterested) in tearing you apart, piece by piece, chomping on that visceral fat with a big, toothy, shark grin. ;D

SUPcheat

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 2677
    • View Profile
2013 Fanatic Prowave LTD 9'3"x30.5x@134L
Sunova Speeed 8'10"x29.12@131L
Sunova Flow 8'7"x30.25"@121L
Carbon 9.3x32@163L Hammer
Me: 6'1"@230 lbs 68 years old

stoneaxe

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 12084
    • View Profile
    • Cape Cod Bay Challenge
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #33 on: March 13, 2015, 05:41:25 AM »
I've had a pretty good life and I'm lucky to have lived this long, when the day comes it comes...I don't fear it regardless of the form it takes and I'll take two minutes of primal fear and pain over 6 months of cancer eating me anyday.
Bob

8-4 Vec, 9-0 SouthCounty, 9-8 Starboard, 10-4 Foote Triton, 10-6 C4, 12-6 Starboard, 14-0 Vec (babysitting the 18-0 Speedboard) Ke Nalu Molokai, Ke Nalu Maliko, Ke Nalu Wiki Ke Nalu Konihi

Off-Shore

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1663
    • View Profile
    • HksupaHK SUP and Downwinding
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #34 on: March 13, 2015, 08:25:48 AM »
I've had a pretty good life and I'm lucky to have lived this long, when the day comes it comes...I don't fear it regardless of the form it takes and I'll take two minutes of primal fear and pain over 6 months of cancer eating me anyday.

+1 Stoneaxe. You got it spot on man.
SB 9' x 33' x 4.1" - RPC 9'8" iSUP - SB All-Star 12'6" - Blue Planet Bump Rider 14 - SB Ace 14 x 27 - RedAir 14' Elite Race - SIC Bullet 14v1 TWC - SICMaui F16v3 Custom

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/HksupaHk_SUP_and_Downwinding

eastbound

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 2995
    • View Profile
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #35 on: March 13, 2015, 09:53:43 AM »
i have never seen a shark in the northeast in all my years in the water (40+).

never been to any hawaiian islands ever

in florida i have seen many, and people get bitten frequently down there. few deaths but plenty of damaging bites.

what's funny is that, back when i proned exclusively, i would get a little queasy at times, but generally relax and forget after dangling my legs in the water for a while. now that i sup exclusively, when i fall in the murky waters of the NE, i climb out quickly, and do wonder if that "shadow" might be....
Portal Barra 8'4"
Sunova Creek 8'7"
Starboard Pro Blue Carbon  8'10"
KeNalu Mana 82, xTuf, ergoT

Sup44

  • Rincon Status
  • ***
  • Posts: 160
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #36 on: March 13, 2015, 10:04:32 AM »
I'm with Sterbo. The odds may be small but they happen and when they do the it's too  traumatic to have no healthy fear.

On a side note...I did see one at Jalama two weeks ago...  :-\
8'2 Mad Dog Naish
8'0 Starboard Pro
7'10 Hokua Naish

PonoBill

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 25864
    • View Profile
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #37 on: March 13, 2015, 10:37:49 AM »
There's nothing wrong with phobic fears individually, as long as you understand what they are. Unfortunately as a society, our phobic fears have consequences. We don't care that millions of sharks are finned every year--serves them right. We don't mind building coal plants, destroying the mountains of Appalachia and dumping vast amounts of carbon dioxide and pollutants into the air, because we have a phobic fear of developing nuclear power. Unfortunately nothing really changes those phobias, they are part of our psyche. And it's almost impossible the change society's mind about anything important.

So it goes.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

eastbound

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 2995
    • View Profile
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #38 on: March 13, 2015, 02:26:49 PM »
PB--my resistance to nuclear isnt about whether it can be better or cleaner--it's about whether greedy humans can be trusted to take expensive, proper care with such a potentially catclysmically dangerous technology

with proper care nuclear is the best energy alternative we have, at the moment--whether run by gov't, or by for-profit (regulated heavily), i just dont trust that expensive proper care would be taken--i have a house 2 mi upwind (usually) from a nuke on the CT coast--it was shut for several years recently for funny business with improper storage with spent fuel rods--fukishima, without the storm, luckily--i was shocked when it was reopened, given they'd done all the usual wrong--villified the whistleblower, stalled, pr'ed, aggrandized the nrc, etc--finally the plant was shut and the fuel rod issue remedied--but i dont trust the corporate technocrats for a minute, and their behavior in the case of millstone makes it clear they can't be trusted with something so important.

the plant sits on the LI sound where sharks are extremely rare, if not non-existant--that's the thread tie in!
Portal Barra 8'4"
Sunova Creek 8'7"
Starboard Pro Blue Carbon  8'10"
KeNalu Mana 82, xTuf, ergoT

OUTSIDEWAVE

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1894
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #39 on: March 13, 2015, 04:26:31 PM »
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

I have heard the exact same thing about   the east coast  of florida  That a number of "drownings"  where no body was found were  attributed to shark attacks.
 As a side  note one of my ex's nephews had done a kayak trip down some river  that empties into the gulf  . He had gone out for a swim and was walking   back up the beach  when a 12  foot saltwater crocodile  was walking down the beach from the swampy area around the  river walked right by him 50 yards away like he wasn't there. The croc didn't even act like it noticed him  by my nephew sure noticed that crock...
SEA BIRDS THEY DO TOUCH AND GO AS THE WORLD JUST TANGOES BY.... SO I SADDLE UP MY SEAHORSE WITH MY FLYROD IN MY HAND.... 10'3 King custom  10'6"  c4 da beachboy

ron.c

  • Sunset Status
  • ****
  • Posts: 417
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #40 on: March 13, 2015, 04:44:49 PM »
How may of you have had a close encounter with a shark?

I did in late October on my windsurfer at beach where no one would have expected it.  How close? If I had a go pro, it would have made the national news! 

It splashed me as it jumped out of the water right next to me.  Close enough for me to jump on its back for a ride.  Its thrashing tail splashed me.

Like traction control, my brain went into stutter-step mode.  0.25 seconds to 1.5 seconds OMF'nG, 2sec to 3 I'm still on board and know how to sail, 4sec to 6, pump baby pump, 75 seconds out OMG, has my life on the water changed forever?

Trust me, several months later, and I still get the chills. 

If you guys are still talk'n about this next fall, Ill give you an update.

RC

ps - all those so-call "shark" products -vacuum cleaners, car washes, cereals and cheap SUPs; they're all marketed by someone who's never met one!!!

sterbo

  • Malibu Status
  • **
  • Posts: 91
  • sailordog...
    • View Profile
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #41 on: March 13, 2015, 04:48:15 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?
I'm not clear as to how this has anything to do with the topic of  "Do sharks attack us"
I'm not equating the fact that sharks do attack us with digressing off into the comparison of statistical data relative to the number of shark attack incidents vs plane crashes, traffic accidents, pit bull attacks, black widow spider bites, tripping while wearing high heels and breaking an ankle, psychiatric visits resulting from phobic reactions to a first viewing of the movie Jaws, etc., ad nauseum.

Quote
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.
Clearly you don't understand the reason for the name "Bloody triangle" (and yes, it's also referred to as "The Red Triangle")
It's not called that just because the the triangulation between Ana Nuevo, The Farallon Islands and Bodega Bay are uncommonly dangerous shark wise to humans. It's because it's a feeding frenzy zone with our great number of sea lions, harbor seals and harbor porpoise constantly frequently the area. Not to forget my other spirit friends, the gulls and pelicans who occasionally get caught up in the mix
For what it's worth I paddle every day with the seals and sea lions (and sea birds). They hang out and breed not 40 feet away from the boat that I live on. The house that I'm currently building looks out on the approach to the Golden Gate Bridge and it's common to  look down and see school after school of Harbor Porpoise breaching the surf zone around Dead Mans and China Beach below.
Yea, blood upon the water. Whether you want to believe it or not, it's as real as it gets. And note - this isn't about fear - undue or otherwise. It's about basic common sense.
:Sigh: We're the local watermen and aren't remotely 'phobic': we're well reasoned and smart.
You may be a non believer, overly skeptic (and, I think, missing the point) but still, if you ever venture this way, give me a heads up and our crew will do what we do daily with each other - watch your back.
Not that you need it of course
lol...



pdxmike

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 6186
    • View Profile
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #42 on: March 13, 2015, 06:05:20 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?
I'm not clear as to how this has anything to do with the topic of  "Do sharks attack us"
I'm not equating the fact that sharks do attack us with digressing off into the comparison of statistical data relative to the number of shark attack incidents vs plane crashes, traffic accidents, pit bull attacks, black widow spider bites, tripping while wearing high heels and breaking an ankle, psychiatric visits resulting from phobic reactions to a first viewing of the movie Jaws, etc., ad nauseum.

The original question, which asked whether anyone on a SUP has ever been attacked, got answered last July with a yes.  Everything after that has been discussion, and showing statistics that put the answer into perspective is absolutely relevant. 

« Last Edit: March 13, 2015, 06:12:17 PM by pdxmike »

PonoBill

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 25864
    • View Profile
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #43 on: March 13, 2015, 08:30:55 PM »
I'm not clear as to how this has anything to do with the topic of  "Do sharks attack us"
I'm not equating the fact that sharks do attack us with digressing off into the comparison of statistical data relative to the number of shark attack incidents vs plane crashes, traffic accidents, pit bull attacks, black widow spider bites, tripping while wearing high heels and breaking an ankle, psychiatric visits resulting from phobic reactions to a first viewing of the movie Jaws, etc., ad nauseum.

:Sigh: We're the local watermen and aren't remotely 'phobic': we're well reasoned and smart.
You may be a non believer, overly skeptic (and, I think, missing the point) but still, if you ever venture this way, give me a heads up and our crew will do what we do daily with each other - watch your back.
Not that you need it of course
lol...

The point is not that other things are more dangerous, it's that 108 attacks in 114 years is an incredibly small number compared to even the most trivial accident. With the vast number of people in the water of the west coast throughout that 114 years, the answer to the question "Do Sharks Attack Us" is "not really".

Sterbo, thanks for the invitation, I might take you up on it when I make my way back up the coast after my usual Battle Of The Paddle trip. I've never lived where you live--other than six months on Treasure Island in the Navy, and a few months working as a motorcycle mechanic in San Francisco, but I've played in the water there a lot. Lots of sea life, yes. I've done perhaps 30 dives in the vicinity of the Farallons. Saw a few big sharks, lots of sea lions, and the biggest ling cod I've seen or heard of. Wall dives being what they are, I got swept out to sea in the current almost every time. Good thing I had knowledgeable diving buddies running the boat. Sailed a lot in the Bay and up and down the coast with a great friend who is sadly no longer with us. Windsurfed all over there, surfed in the cold, cranky water. Ate a lot of oysters in Bodega Bay. Great place to be a waterman. I suspect our differences would not exist if they were shared over a beer. At the very least, like all my other friends, they wouldn't matter once you knew how full of shit I am.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

mrbig

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 2465
    • View Profile
Re: Do Sharks Attack Us?
« Reply #44 on: March 14, 2015, 12:06:53 PM »
Yes they do!
Let it come to you..
SMIK 9'2" Hipster Mini Mal
SMIK 8'8" Short Mac Freo Rainbow Bridge
SMIK 8'4" Hipster Twin
King's 8'2" Accelerator SharkBoy

 


SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal