shark sightings

It's their world. We're just allowed to swim in it.

 

murder by shark is pretty funny - why stop there? How about:

Sharks are the Terrorists of the Ocean. You're either with us or against us.

 

Yeah I agree...the risks of

a) traffic accident to or from surfing:
b) spinal cord injury being driven into the sandbar

probably exceed the risk of shark attack by at least 1000:1 anywhere on the east coast including florida. With that said, clearly nobody cares about statistics, and the devil you dont know is always scarier than the 1000 devils you do know.

 

I am leaning towards the shark in the video being a White Shark. I got bored at work and did some Google research; last year a few White Sharks were tagged off of the Massachusetts Coast. These sharks were tracked in their yearly migrations which parallel the East Coast, specifically along the continental shelf. Now we all know that one reason why the OBX is such a premier surfing spot is because of the narrow continental shelf, which is close to the barrier islands.In the fall the White Sharks would be coming from Northern areas on their Southern trip to winter off of the Florida Coast



White Shark fin close up:




Keep your toes up everyone!

 

Some good info being posted!

The dorsal fin on the video looks tall almost like a small orca (killer whale). And flops sideways like an orca. No tail fin like an orca. I know it is too warm for killer whales. Now an ocrca is truly the king of the sea. Nothing messes with them! They have been known to kill great whites. I have seen video of them circling a huge sperm whale mother and her calf for half a day, then the calf was eaten after giving up from pure exhaustion.

The shark on the video could be a great white, tiger or a bull.

I have always respected the Australians as waterman. They will surf spots where agressive great whites have killed people like it's nothing. But they are proactive with stuff like shark nets, spotters on hills, shark patrol planes, ect.

 

Shark advice

If you're ever surfing with another guy, and you happen to see a large shark swimming your way, your first thought is to paddle to shore..... faster than the shark!.....but all you really have to do is paddle faster than the other guy!

 

Orca dorsal fins are 6 feet, there are populations of the species in the Atlantic.



Notice the size of the bull shark dorsal fin in proportion to the body.

 

WOW. No kidding. I used to live in Monterey, CA. Not much different there. Sometimes I'd be out, and a big fog bank would roll in, so thick you could barely see the shore (or not at all). The Northwest gets super creepy. I buddy of mine had a spear-fishing story about a guy who "hid" from a Killer Whale swimming by. Sharks are scary, but a KILLER WHALE??!!! Now that would be a bad day.

From my responses, I think I gave some the false impression that I just disregard the danger. Not true. I am always evaluating things, trusting my instincts, etc. I've been within 10 ft of a big croc in Costa Rica, got circled by a Tiger Shark when out by myself at Jocko's in HI, and had an angry sea otter bite my leash in half in Monterey (Boneyards, in case anyone wondering)...it definitely happens, but you just acknowledge that the risk is the price to pay to get waves. For sharks, the research shows over and over that often the best bet is to stay calm (low heart rate). Bull sharks in particular have been scientifically proven to respond aggressively to an increasing heart rate (sorry, can't find the link, saw this on a Discovery channel show). Murky water also shows a higher risk, though the mid-Atlantic is pretty much always murky. The key, I believe, is to trust your gut. If something doesn't feel right, it's probably not. If sharky comes between you and land, stay calm. If he attacks, punch the crap out of his snout, scoop the eyeballs out with your hand, make him uncomfortable. It's also been shown that those two specific things offer the best chance of survival.

Good stuff can be found here: http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/unprovoked_surfer.htm