Sick Little Sketch Session

last trip obx at s-turns saw a 6ft shark in the face of the wave; warned other guys (who stayed) but i
retreated...only to be creamed by mosquitos.

 

Not OBX but VB. Stepped on a large stingray/skate last summer while hopping off my board after catching a ride in. Startled the heck out of me at first. Then felt fortunate its tail didn't get me. They concern me more than sharks. Their empty, black egg cases are scattered all over the beach

 

Agree with DosXX concern with 'rays: not OBX, but those burrowing-in-the-sand-shallows hand-sized lil fukkers in Costa Rica. I do the stingray shuffle like nobody on earth but it's probably only a matter of time before I get hit.

Been brushed by 'something larger' in the water in OBX & VB, and seen the sandbar sharks eating things in the trench at AI, but it's dolphin rape caves that scare the hoo-hah outta me.

 

I was on the S side of Frisco pier last century. The ocean was alive with critters. Chest to head with tons of people at the best spot. I took a wave with 20 of my closest friends, and ate doo. was in the washing machine and felt a sharp pain in my finger. came up bleeding like a pig. a got out past the break and checked it. looked like a razor cut. blood running down my hand, off my elbow and into the water. Amazing how fast that cleared the line up. I stayed out to get a solo session. My wife was disappointed with my decision.

 

if u mean assateague - man, have i seen wildlife there as i have often camped there. one that stands out
(disclaimer: I KNOW YOU DONT BELIEVE ME; now go away) is a full breach complete w/3d spin by a
4 meter great white….never, anywhere seen something li dat)

 

The year before I moved to the banks (4 years ago) I was here on spring break surfing with some friends when a mom and calf Wright Whales came swimming by about 30ft out from us. That was really amazing. The baby's dorsal popped out first, the the mom's. Her's had to be at least 5ft tall. I have also had spinner sharks jump just a few feet away from me, definitely a sight to see. On new year's day this year I was out alone at the north end of Buxton and had a VERY close encounter with a Oceanic White Tip. The space between the dorsal and tip of the tail was easily 8 to 9 ft so I think in total it was 11ft+ and only about 15 ft away. Sea turtles are cool but has anyone seen manta rays jumping? I have seen a few smaller ones, maybe 2-3ft across on quite a few occasions but last summer I saw one of the massive ones jump a few times at least 5 ft out of the water each time. The Outer Banks are so cool.

 

So did you get outta dodge when you saw that white tip or what? I wouldn't been on the beach in no time after that.

Remember when Damien Hobgood and Taj Burrow were surfing J-Bay like 6-7 years ago, and there was a BIG dorsal fin spotted right by the lineup. Both surfers saw it. The aussie (Taj obviously) immediately rode the white water in, while Damo saw the fin, but stayed in the lineup and ultimately won the heat. When asked about it afterwards, Damo basically said, I am from central florida. If i ran out of the water ever time I saw a shark, I wouldnt have gotten very far in my surfing career.

Always wonder what guys do when they ACTUALLY encounter it. I have had a few run ins with leopards and what I think were some smaller Makos. That was sketchy enough. I continued surfing. But these were ranging from 3 feet to about 6 feet max. Luckily, to date I havent seen what lurks beneath. I can't imagine how many times the big boys have scoped me out.... But I guess ignorance is bliss sometimes.

 

Oh, I believe you. Just tell us how many beers you & spliffs you consumed prior to 'The Sighting.'

For the record, there's never been a documented shark attack in Maryland. Or Delaware, if you care.

 

That is correct, and I don't know the exact numbers behind this, but I also read in the local Delmarva newspaper a few years ago that the Maryland/Delaware border has the highest concentration of "different species" of sharks on the entire east coast... I don't remember if they were refering to the fact that out of 100 sharks in question, they have 20 different kinds, or they meant both volume and species. Either way, the report went to show me that there are plenty of sharks up there, but its interesting that they have had no human interaction to date.

This is also true on Hilton Head. You hear folk lure about attacks down here, but there is not one officially documented bite or attack. A small girl got nibbled in the leg up on Fripp a few years back, but this region is notorious for shark fishing and stuff, and the water is so warm there are people in the water all year long and thus far, not interaction... Glad there is plenty of natural fish food around here I guess.

 

That you know of.

 

Yeah, problem is out there that when there is an incident, it ain't never a nibble. I.E. Fletcher cove. That place sketched me out for years after the fact. People always said that the kelp beds kept larger animals to the outside, but sitting in that super deep channel water on the cliffs all the time, it was easy to let your mind wander. I have seen posters and notes at Garbage on numerous occasions claiming great white sightings that day, but seriously I think it was just the locals keeping the lineups in check.

 

It's not just shallow water, either. Watched a buddy of mine get hit in chest-deep water at Guiones. That 'ray put a hole in the top of his foot the size of a half-dollar. He was howling. Later said it was the worst pain he'd ever gone through. Couldn't walk for several days.

Apparently, the tails also convey MRSA when someone gets hit. So, not only do you have to contend with the venom but you could easily die from something that no anti-biotic can kill. That makes Z's comment regarding sewage-soaked barbs kinda prescient.

 

How many years ago was it that a bull shark killed that 10 year old boy in waist-deep water at Sandbridge...?

 

Think it was in 2001 or so. In may. Such a sad story. The dad was teaching him how to surf all day, and the dad fought with the shark trying to save him... So sad man. I think that was the same year the two russian tourists got attacked in OBX. The boyfriend died and the girlfriend lost like 2 limbs. They speculated that it was the same shark, but I doubt that. Both attacks were super violent. The shark just wouldn't quit.

 

Your wrong there has been attacks on hhi and quite a few.

 

Not the same shark. Bull shark in 2001 in Sandbridge, only fatality I have ever heard, horrible random tragedy. It was a tiger in Avon that took out the clueless Russian honeymooners. I was vacationing in Rodanthe at the time and word spread fast. They were on the outer bar in neck deep water at 6:30pm in the evening splashing around. Don't want to sound harsh, but clueless indeed.

Only had two close ones: one was in Rodanteh in the spring in shin deep water - a school of smaller sharks like oversized dog-fish swarming. We had to walk in from the surf and feel them all hitting you in the shins hoping they didn't latch on. Weird feeling.

The closer one was back in Sandbridge - cloudy head high glassy day, back in the 1990's. Sponging at the time, I surf now. I was paddling and as I lifted my left arm out of the water, I saw to my surprise the black eye and grey head of a roughly 6' shark come out of the water trailing my hand, then go under again right under me. I fkking flipped and pull all four appendages out of the water and waiting for the 'big hit' for like 10 seconds. Nothing. I finally paddled straight in and proceeded to yell at my friend to get the fk into the beach. He ignored me. Nothing more happened that session. Random, random scare, but a big one.

 

damn, thats wild about your sister...

The one in 99' you are referring to is part of OB folk lure. It happened on Sunset Cliffs. The reason it never made it on the shark records, is because the autopsy wasn't definitive that the shark "killed" her. There were huge chunks taken out of her body by a large white shark. But witnesses say they last saw the woman partying at home with some people on Sunset Cliffs... Supposedly on acid and god knows what else. Anyway, they said she walked down to the beach in the middle of the night and no one saw her again. I think weeks went by until her body showed up on shore. So, the point is, they basically said that she had drown and after she was dead, for who knows how long, a white shark smelled her corpse tangled up in the kelp beds and came in for a snack. So she was mangled by a huge white shark, but was apparently already dead...

And the Fletcher cove was the 66 year old swimmer that got nabbed probably back in 2010. I was working in Del Mar at the time and it was a pretty big deal up there. Like i said, i never really got in the water in or around Fletcher cover again. lived way south of there, but a post work session never brought me anywhere near though. I know thats silly, but once you have a horrific vision of a certain place, it sticks in your head.

 

Last June @ mid town OC, felt spray on my face from a huge gray body flying over me from behind, the guy near me yelled 'did you see that" I replied please tell me that was a dolphin? It was .............. had to flush my 3/2.


If you ever surfed New Smyrna Beach well known for being Sharky