Dunno if there was any agreement on what a waterman is but I'm pretty sure he's one... Guy's got some serious stones... [video]http://www.surfline.com/video/featured-clips/mark-healeys-shark-encounter_15090[/video]
Yeah any one of those events would freak me the f out. I'm not super skittish around sharks, but I'm not having anything to do with bulls, tigers, or whites. Pulling the kayak, following me around, etc. etc...And the whole time he's not even bothered by it, just annoyed. To me that's more impressive than him free diving with them, as this one was obviously very interested in what he was doing. Guess he was right, it was just looking for a free meal.
If you go to his instagram you'll a couple of crazy video's... 10'-12' Tiger fighting him for a wahoo he speared. The shark grabs the leash of his SUP and drags is around. He ditches the SUP and swims in with the tiget following. Dude is nuts
I wonder if part of it is just like dealing with other large animals and not showing fear. I've seen several instances where people have encountered large animals/predators and by standing ground and even being a bit aggressive can cause the animal to flee. A mental game where you just bluff and act like you're the apex pred and they back off. Would make some sense. I wonder if its something like that. IIRC he even mentions something along those lines. Also predators prefer advantageous attacks, from behind, with surprise, etc. Kinda like this one did, turning and going away then circling back. That's the part that would have freaked me out the most, knowing it was smart enough to double back on me and obviously was tailing me. Of course, when you run into that one that's starving/territorial/having a bad day, doesn't back down, and calls your bluff...could end badly. Fascinating stuff though. I think it was MH that said in another vid where he was free diving with Bull sharks that he was even more afraid of them afterwards as they were a lot more intelligent than he thought.
It's true with White Sharks. You should be aggressive if you encounter one. You are much safer swimming towards it rather than away. They are very smart and do not want to get hurt. That is why they sneak attack from below. If they swim up and circle you most likely you will be ok if you stand your ground. It's when they dart up from below and drill you that you are screwed. I know it make sense in theory, but if I had a big white was interested in me I'd have a hard time not freaking out and paddling away as fast as possible. It's also a big reason why there's no attacks in the NE while they happen out west. For the same reason they have much better surf, the Continental Shelf. Whitey can't hang out in deep water and stalk you in the north east. That's why Shark Week was scary this year when they showed the a big white going in to super shallow water to follow seals. If they adapt and start hunting in shallow water it's only a matter of time before a surfer gets clipped.
this isn't totally true a myriad of factors add to this 1) water temp consistency or lack thereof 2) we wiped out prey (pinnipeds) and whitey was absentee since the buffet was empty, but he will be back since the FWS is seeking to re-establish pinniped colonies 3) sneak attacks can happen in 8 feet ( or less?)of murky (east coast specialty) water
Yeah me too. Pucker factor would be high. I think Doug was one of the guys on here that saw one and since it didn't seem interested he just chilled. The shark tracker showed several on the east coast hanging right outside the breakers. The big girl, Mary Lee, even went up the Cape Fear river a bit and into the harbor at Ocracoke. One interesting theory I've heard though about whites, they don't go into hunting mode unless there are pinnipeds around. So if you're surfing where there are seals, you're odds go way up. I've heard some people say the seal population is coming back to Corolla, and it's already back and growing up at Cape Cod.
Of course there's other factor that exist like you stated. But they are here every summer and fall when the temps are mid 50's - mid 70's. They can blitz in 8' and will if the opportunity presents itself, but it's hard for them to be stealth in the NE with the depths that we have. It's much easier when they can sit in 50' and watch from below. The water is murky right near the shore, but that's only where the sand is churned up. It gets very clear past the breakers. I know that kind of proves your point, but they spend most of their time out a bit further. That's why seeing them move up in the surf chasing seals was scary. If they are successful with that they will spend more time there. They were wiped out, but are coming back strong. Which is a good thing as a whole (as long as they stay away from me).
From the fall at Coast Guard Beach in the Cape, happened within sight of the lineup, several dudes out when it happened. For your viewing pleasure...
Good point about attacking from below in clear water. Maybe I'll refrain from checking out Mary on the SUP if she shows up outside the break. (Should have seen the wife's face when I told her if I see a white I'm taking off on the SUP to check it out...priceless. She banned me from going, but I'm a bad dog and don't listen.)
Awesome pic SS. Was it just dumb luck to get the pic or did she give advance notice it's feeding time?
Thank you sir...pretty sure it was dumb luck. I didn't take it but it got published in a local newspaper up there. I saw another one(couldn't find it when I searched) where you could see guys watching from their boards. That woud been my cue to get the F outta there.
Reminds me of this video.. So sick! [video=youtube;MOtntDW0KnM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOtntDW0KnM[/video]