Shark Sighting

[eastbound]

just sayin'

was surfing spanish house in fl monday early morning with a proner buddy

first, appx 400 yds away, about 1 oclock looking out to sea, i saw something very big and dark break the surface. it was flopping around a bit, such that i couldnt see any real detail, but whatever it was, it was big.

in my usual haunts in NE, this would always prove to be a whale, as we have had many move through this past year. dolphins in NE are frequently seen but obviously dolphins, given their look and style of swimming-- but also bc they are always in pods of at least 10.

next. like 15 mins later, at about 11 oclock, much closer, like 250 yards, i saw disturbance in the water, followed by a huge fish breaching and flipping over. Its bottom side was white, and the bottom view seemed to show the two pectorals. My proner friend, of course, couldnt see what I saw. He was not concerned and said "they feed on turtles out there and often breach when they hit them from below". I kept surfing, despite wondering if I was crazy to be in the water with something huge feeding close by. I tend to try not to fall, and climb back on my board quickly, when in FL, given the number of sharks Ive see from shore and in the water. But these were always spinners and smaller black tipped reef sharks etc. This thing was a monster. Needless to say I scurried back on board faster than ever after a few closeouts! (as thought thbeing on the board was any real protection).

Went home and learned that many great whites have been tracking up and down the FL atlantic coast. Then googled image of "greast whites breaching" and it was clear I had seen a very big white feeding nearby me.

oh well

my proner buddy lives right at sebastian and is a big ocean swimmer--he swims out and around monster hole regularly! GW's are tracked there all the time

oh well

[PonoBill]

You aren't their food.

I understand the fear of sharks as a phobia, but it really makes very little sense logically--it's a vanishingly small hazard, whether you are a surfer spending lots of time in the water or not. Very few people are afraid of dogs to the degree they fear sharks, but the hazard is much greater and the exposure to the hazard is far greater. Chances of being killed by a dog are three orders of magnitude greater. Chances of being injured by a dog are more than six orders of magnitude greater. Fifty-five shark attacks worldwide per year. 4.4 million dog bite injuries per year in the US alone. 900 thousand injuries require medical attention, half of the injuries are to children.

Seriously, I'll take a great white feeding close to me over a pit bull wandering loose any day.

Every surf shop here in Maui now has a Shark Banz display, and they are expensive P.O.P. displays. Those dicks are making a lot of money on irrational fear, and a ridiculous "technical" solution. I've always been tempted by selling nonsense to idiots, I have several ideas that would be so ridiculously successful that I can hardly contain myself. But I just can't do it. Somewhere down in my cynical soul there's still something of a conscience I guess.

[Bean]

Can't have a shark discussion without at least mentioning OCEARCH.

http://www.ocearch.org

[eastbound]

ok bill, you be the silent partner--your name will be in the crypt--ill launch the sleazy business!

i am poorer than i am ethical! ha

re sharks, i agree with you, generally, and, much as i often skitter onto my board with a soiled diaper, i surf without much angst knowing there are often sharks around.

re stats i will offer that the number of people-hours-in-oceans-where-sharks-live is vastly smaller than that of people-hours-on-land-where-dogs-live, so there will certainly be many more dog attacks on humans

[surf4food]

As long as you don't eat a Snickers before going in the water you should be fine.

[Wetstuff]

I agree with you Bill....  It's like electricity versus fire.  Everybody Fuc's with fire but are scared C'hitless of the electric chair.  The Boogeyman will get you!

Jim

[Floridasup]

I agree with Bill too.  You are less likely to be bit by a pitbull in the Ocean.

[supthecreek]

I was surfing just north of Sebastian last week, when my buddy said
 "Shark fin right behind you"
He went in, cuz he was on a shortboard.

 I am so use to them on  Cape Cod, that I didn't give it another thought.

[PonoBill]

ok bill, you be the silent partner--your name will be in the crypt--ill launch the sleazy business!

i am poorer than i am ethical! ha

re sharks, i agree with you, generally, and, much as i often skitter onto my board with a soiled diaper, i surf without much angst knowing there are often sharks around.

re stats i will offer that the number of people-hours-in-oceans-where-sharks-live is vastly smaller than that of people-hours-on-land-where-dogs-live, so there will certainly be many more dog attacks on humans

Re stats: Obvious, but dog bite injuries happen a million times more often than shark attacks. Shark attacks are so vanishingly rare that there really isn't anything to compare them to. Injuries from opening Skittles bags maybe--anything that happens once a year is in the same magnitude.

OK, here's a freebie sales to idiots idea. The Horoscope diet. "You must have noticed that sometimes it's very easy to lose weight and sometimes almost impossible. We've conducted a deep analysis of weight loss and discovered that eating according to your horoscope makes weight loss easy. You know that the relationship of your sun and moon signs controls your moods and how you interact with the world. It's obvious that it also controls how you should interact with food. Simply go to our website and fill out our horoscope data sheet. Our leading edge software creates a detailed horoscope and a menu plan for each week. This powerful service is offered for only $39 per month. You get ... blah blah. Weight loss is guaranteed if you follow the plan.

Advertise in all the idiot magazines--national enquirer, etc. And of course on facebook keyed on any mention of astrology.

Have at it. I started down the path and just couldn't do it.

[covesurfer]

PB: I would like to sign on for the horoscope diet as an employee. As an early employee of the company, I would stand to make a bundle as you expand.  I could write you several testimonials a day on the website and promote promote promote!

The sharkbanz thing annoys me. I see a lot of people wearing them, some of them are friends. I watched a video where sharks consumed the sharkbanz along with bait with no hesitation whatsoever. But, whatever moral objections I might have to fleecing idiots, I could get over them for lots of money.

[burchas]

We've conducted a deep analysis of weight loss and discovered that eating according to your horoscope makes weight loss easy. You know that the relationship of your sun and moon signs controls your moods and how you interact with the world. It's obvious that it also controls how you should interact with food. Simply go to our website and fill out our horoscope data sheet. Our leading edge software creates a detailed horoscope and a menu plan for each week. This powerful service is offered for only $39 per month. 

Hi Bill,

We think it's an invaluable service and are very eager to sign up. at $39 we think it's a steal. Could you please provide a link to the website?

***
Eastbound, this sound like an on the fly infomercial you can air with your drone. That is if you have enough air time. 

[eastbound]

ya i didnt have my drone down there---i have no problem flying way out over the water--so next time i will bring it and do some aerial along the coast---bet i see many sharks

a few years ago i saw a video on pbs which showed a school of big hammerheads slaloming thru tourists frolicking obliviously somewhere on the fl east coast

between flu a bad cold following and not-so-great conditions, my fitness went from best in 25 years to garbage--had, like 4 sessions in the last month only, and it's been a relatively cold winter--plan to get my ss3 and the drone well-dialed as soon as it warms a bit--no prob surfing in 25f weather---but tinkering with the ss3? nah

what ive missed in adrenaline from surfing, has been well replaced by scary market volatility--fight or flight several time a day--stox are flat today overnight, quiet---doubt they stay this way---certainly the low vol up 50 dow points a day super orderly nirvana rally is over---rally could resume, but the ride will be violent, certainly compared the the last 18 mos--yikes

death by market much more likely for me than by shark!

[Wetstuff]

I remember Creek talking about The Cape.  In that case, maybe a loose Pit is a less scary bet.   

Jim

[burchas]

what ive missed in adrenaline from surfing, has been well replaced by scary market volatility

I saw some rejoice over this. Were you a seller or a buyer?

BTW, if you're still around, off-shore will drop by soon, we can go shark sighting, I'll bring my drone
Maybe we can squeeze a downwinder if opportunity presents. All I'm seeing here in SE FL is dolphins,
turtles and Man o war

[eastbound]

id love to burchas, but i am back in ny--market pain is in my lunchbox: fi rv arb--the stock downtrade and vol pop has caused abberant flight from quality, in instruments that have always been fight TO. i have a sizable structure that puts me long that crap/, and it is where the sun dont shine today. hope it sees sunlight again soon. painful at moment..
regards to offshore--creek might meet you guys--he's down there, tho a touch north of you