wildwood coast guard beach access?

Well actually now that I think about it, it was probably one of the more surreal experiences of my life. My first thought was that I was in Hawaii or somethin. It was like walking through a forest then walking down a beach then like a 3-5 minute paddle out to the sets with absolutely no one near you on the beach in clear water. Definitely didnt feel at all like New Jersey, but them damn sharks gotta scare me outta the water..

 

Do you get out of the water every time you see a shark? They do live in the ocean after all. 99.9% of them have zero interest in you. That being said, I'd turn towards shore and crank the wavejet up to 12 if I saw anything approaching my size in the ocean.

 

I'll only get out depending on the situation. When theres only 2 people on the beach at around 8pm with a 15minute walk to the car there's no way in hell I'm risking anything. But, if I was on a popular break with 5-10 other people and lots of people on the beach I wouldn't freak out at all.

 

I know what you mean, but that's just a false sense of security IMO. Those people on the beach aren't going to be able to help you if something comes up and rips a limb off. We roll the dice every time we paddle out, whether it be alone or with a crowd. I paddle out before the sun even comes up most times and nobody is around, not in the water, not on the sand, and probably won't be anybody for a good hour or so when people start showing up finally. Sure I have my sketch moments out there alone, but I think it's a healthy fear to overcome and keep going. The more I do it, the less it bothers me. Just my .02, be safe out there no matter what, don't listen to people like me.

 

paddling before the sun comes out always f*cked with my head. i've always felt like the monsters slip back into the deep once the sun comes up. too bad im wrong

 

That place is on lockdown now. Even paddling down or taking a boat in can get you hassled.

 

If I have surfed a break enough times in my life and became comfortable with it I would have no problem ignoring the shark and just waiting for it to leave. Problem was that was the first time I was at that particular break and since it's a "wildlife preserve", I figured the shark was eating some fish in the area and more were bound to come at any time. Also my friend that I was with said that his friend fishes here a lot on a boat and he's seen bull sharks (I thought it was a large sand shark) and I have absolutely no idea if those things like the taste of humans or fiberglass.

 

It got it's name from a bunch of Jersey guys who surfed in California, and came back to that spot and it reminded them of Trestles... not super hollow, but a really clean, rippable wave, with a long walk to get there.

As for sharks... see my earlier post in this thread from 2011. No joke... Way out there on a good sized day, fishing boats coming in, cleaning their catch, seagulls circling overhead, feeding frenzy behind the boat... and I get a nosebleed. Then, about 4' away from me, on my left, (I can still remember this vividly) I see a freakin' shark! Nearly jumped out of my Birdwells...

 

I hear you man, but what I've found is that it's really quiet at that time, not a whole lot of wild life breaking the surface or making any movement that is too noticeable. I find that when the sun has finally risen that it starts poppin all around with pods of bait fish, dolphin, shark, etc., not to say they aren't there the whole time, but I think they like sleeping in too

 

i think my paranoia comes from my fav spot growing up on the central coast CA. it's the worlds largest elephant seal breeding ground. never saw anything at that particular spot, but lots of dead seals ripped to sh!t on the beach.

thought about sharks a lot for some reason last time i was in your neck of the woods. but i won't take any **** from some sneaky FL shark... i'll fight against that sh!t. j/k

 

I always thought dawn and dusk were the most active times for the landlord.

 

i thought that to... but the only time i've ever had an encounter was mid day. giant fin came straight at me, submerged, then nothing. and this happened during a lull. didn't know what to do for a minute. paddle in almost having a heart attack. lunch was all-time that day.

 

Was this on the central coast? Obviously just curious cuz of the prevalence of whitey out there...either way i'm sure that was a tastey lunch.

 

yep. been false charged by pissed off elephant seals too. but nothing like the real thing to make you shrivel.

 

Definitely spooky.

 

Until I found this forum I never really gave sharks much thought. Saw a few here and there but whateva. Now that I read about someones fear of sharks on a weekly basis, being out solo near dusk kind of creeps me out sometimes.

 

sharks are one of the best topics! im a little paraniod sometimes...yes, but doesn't affect my decisions about when and where to paddle out. i think it's the same for most people.

 

It's only really in the back of my mind if I'm solo w/ no one else around.

 

Yeah i'd be A LOT more careful if I saw seals torn to sh*t on the beach, that's like a message to all comers letting them know what time it is

 

That's normal, when the sun isn't out yet I tend to keep my hands and feet "on deck" while I wait for a set to come, but once the sun starts shining I tend to let them dangle more often then not, but honestly it don't matter, if they want you they'll have you for breafust