SHARKS

I often wondered what you do when they spot a shark and put up the white flag.

To be honest, by the time you're close enough to see the colour of the flag, you're pretty much committed to coming in to Fish Hoek anyway. If I was aware of there being a white flag, I'd just come in anyway, focussing on maintaining boat speed!

My feeling is that you're relatively unlikely to attract attention if it's rough - there's so much splashing and noise from the waves themselves that the splashing from your paddle is lost in the general noise.

Anyway - in 12 years of doing Millers Runs I've only ever once seen a shark. (Mind you, that was fairly spectacular - it did a full breach out of the water about 200m away!)

So Robin...
Did you loose your cameras, or just no time to edit and post your excellent runs? There was a time when we were all regularly treated to some fine downwind vids courtesy of Robin! Are those times officially over? Come on, Robin… just a few more vids for us, aye?!

just no time to edit and post

Mostly time!

I did capture some video a few weeks ago and I'm working on a new clip!

Thanks!

We did an expedition last year where we were about 80km off the Queensland coast for over a week. We paddled through the Capricornia Cays marine reserve which is mostly pink zone, so no fishers or even boats.
Every day we would see big, round Tiger sharks. The ones you saw from in front (as opposed the ones you didn't see behind you) would barrel at you from the deep and then veer away as soon as they worked out we were over 5m long and probably not a great meal choice. The curious ones would then come alongside for a look, or swim under the hull, or in one case actually pull alongside and rub against the kayak.
I don't think we were a snowballs chance of being eaten or even hit in those clear water conditions, the sharks aren't dumb and there are severe consequences for them if the injure themselves. The abundance of big marine life also meant that they were probably pretty well fed.
Truly, the fear of sharks is a Hollywood implant, we should treat them as the regal animals they are and regard it as a privilege when see 'em out there, most people are never so lucky.
Dogs kill and maime way more people than sharks......

And people kill and maim far more people than any other species.
So lets just be scared of ourselves and everybody around us.

I cycle regularly and actually expect death more likely to find me on the road than in bed (I don’t dwell on it). A sheep truck hurtled by this morning as I was crossing Freo traffic bridge with very little room– will it be now? I have been taken out by a truck, sent down the road by a car head over heels and minor surgeries later I’m still in there.

Years and years ago paddled at night alone in my kayak training for the Avon Descent along the coast (Hillarys, Little Island, Ocean Reef Marina return, or south and smash in over reef at Mettams). Swam from Swanbourne to Freo and back, sometimes 1km out. You just did it. Sometimes very recent.

Living 60 years plus in Perth Western Australia I’ve logged a couple of hundred hours diving and hundreds of k’s open water swimming and paddle training/racing. In relation to this post I’ve swum/ paddled/dived in, under or over most of these sites in WA – from the Abroholos to Albany. Not just near, but “at” these places, Green Head to Middleton and most bits in the middle. (Have posted this before on this site in anoher context). Frankly heaps of guys doing same things here would have too.

What’s my point – what a lot of bullshit it is here at least in WA to NOT anticipate the worst? Off the most popular beaches in Perth over the last few years people have been attacked and eaten, plus regular sightings of big whites.

Do I still paddle and swim? Shit yes, but to pretend that the possibility of a meeting the man in the grey suit will never happen to any of us (here) is gilding the lily, painting a pretty golden picture. Like a leash or pfd you acknowledge the potential for getting spat out and being on your own. At present in WA there have been numerous sightings, attacks and deaths. Yup the sharks have always been there - however counter to the underpinning threads here, it’s like it’s this whimsical Jabberwock thing that no-one has ever come across, is some mystical, beast that will never be encountered. Bullshit.

Wise-up: get a shark shield (okay no guarantees); don’t paddle dawn/dusk; keep close to shore and paddle with buddies. But hey EK Sydney, your "snowball’s chance of being eaten” and “dogs kill and maim way more people than sharks..”, sorry sport but you’ve got your hand on it.

“Camel” an experienced hard-core surfer who recently rescued a shark attack victim up north here couple of weeks back was open about it – “ I go surfing here and I’m prepared to die”, and that was about the possibility of being taken by a shark.

Now lean back, it’s alright, it’s ok. I paddle without my shark shield (charging it up now actually, never having used it), I take risks I shouldn’t. But don’t give me crap about everything being ok when it’s not. Know what the risks are and act accordingly; prepare or not, avoid or not, however don’t minimize what is a real and potential risk.

Watto wrote: Now lean back, it’s alright, it’s ok.

This is the best quote so far in this discussion. People who chose to lead their life in fear, will more often than not find something to worry about shark or not. It is our choice to go out paddling in 3m swell and gale force wind. Do we think that we have a chance of coming back from this paddle? if the answer is no, then don't do it!

This morning as I came back from my dawn paddle in chopping seas, I came across 2 sea dogs setting up their fishing sit on kayak... and judging from their equipment and wrinkled skin, I could see that they are serious fishermen and paddlers for that matter. Interestingly, they carry a small yellow device "reskQlink" which they live by. When I asked how far out do they go, the answer was "10 nautical miles", to the peak", where ever that was. There they are 2 fishing/paddling/enthusiasts going out at sea on a flimsy piece of floating plastic as far as the horizon. I am sure that with the thrashing, blood, they will attack sharks! Did they look worried?! NO. Funnily, the older guy was suited up in "Sharkskin"... maybe the philosophy is "if you can't beat them..."

Guy Leech once told his paddling students of a story about him paddling from WA out 10 kms and seeing a huge shark fin coming straight at him. He paddled straight at the shark and the latter dived at the last minute. Waiting to be taken out in "Jaws" style... nothing happened for 10 minutes and he paddled his fastest 10 kms back to shore.

I don't think that this thread will fizzle off anytime soon, I will still be reading about shark stories in 1 year's time no doubt.

Will this stop me from doing my ocean paddling?
"NO"!

Do I sometimes think about sharks.
"YES"

Instead of a shark shield, try putting shark teeth sticker at the front of your ski...


JDF

Watto, in those waters, with the species being a Tiger Shark, we were a snowballs chance of being eaten, simple. I told my story to the chap that runs the marine research facility on Heron Island, and he narrowed his gaze and more or less told me I shouldn't tell tall sharky stories because it adds to their bad rap and there was no way in hell they would hurt us. But boy did we see a lot and they weren't small.

In your local waters, I think I'd probably be more circumspect, especially about when and where I paddled. Murky water, dawn dusk, river mouths etc are a clear amplifier of risk for shark 'accident' - a more appropriate name considering we don't car accident's 'attacks' - so recognise the risk and manage it. If you manage it, you minimise it, which I think you are confusing with denying it exists. That wasn't my point, my point instead was that apart from a few well identified risk spike areas, and yeah you're in one mate, the fear of sharks is irrational and a construct of Hollywood, mostly.

I'll put my hand back on it now if it's OK with you Watto!

Lol. Cheers EK, it's where mine is most of the time anyway.