SHARKS......REAL ONES THO.

craigtrilivas
January 2008
Sup everybody,

I been surfin for years and years and it never even crossed my mind.
Then I moved to London for a while and while I was there oddly built up a MASSIVE pheobia of sharks!!!
U see i dig national geographic and every time i tunes in theyr filmin great whites in Cape Town!!!
Its really killin me man cos I cant stop thinking of them every time i get in the water.

And u kno theyr not like other sharks who will leev u with a nice fat scar,theez okes leev u with just ur torso!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Laters!!!!!!!!

Recently i have decided to give WP trials a go,sumthin i should hav done when I was a wee bit younger but nonetheless, and Im just worried it might psych me out during contests cos we all kno that there are certain breaks that r known to harbour more of the beasts than others.

Places like Hoek,Long beach etc.... freak me out and i am tending to surf more Llands,glen,derdesteen side.
I just wanna know if there are any peeps out there like me who share the same curse and who could maybe offer some advice or peace of mind.

Stay kiff.

Miscellaneous 2,566 views

18 Replies

dcmike
January 2008
Eish China! Only you can get over that one!

I got invited to go shark cage diving a while back. Okay, so the weather was so kuk we didn't dive but I still got to see them mamas pretty close up and having their fair share of blubber for breakfast! Freaky! - The next day I was surfing Krans on my ace, drifting around waiting for sets and of course it was on my mind but in the end I realised it's more honourable and probably a better way to go than getting hit by taxi driver on tik driving 140 in an beat up, overloaded minibus on your way to a safe game lawn bowls! Besides, somewhere I read a statistic that claimed you're 40 000 times more likely to have a car accident driving to the beach than getting chomped...

As the locals say: "Surf with buddies, it evens out the odds and when you hear the cello music it's time to head for the beach!"
Elementree
January 2008
Firstly...well done on deciding to give WP a go!...it's worth it and i look forward to meeting you.

Ok on the issue of Johnny's.

I was one of those kids who was convinced that the Kreepy Krawly in my swimming pool was a shark. I also thought that sharks were gonna come streaming out of the pool light to attack me - yes i do have a very vivid imagination!

Possibly the result of watching Jaws one too many times.

As a hobby i took up an interest in sharks and did loads of research as a kid...I was like a walking encyclopaedia on sharks.

I've been surfing for many years and in all my time in the water I have only ever seen 3 sharks. 1 Basking Shark, 1 Great White and 1 I Don't Know What the Hell It Was ...all of which have been seen between Big Bay and Yzerfontein.

So thatâ€™s not bad...14 years, 3 sharks.

Sure if I surfed the spots you mentioned more often then I would probably have seen more, but hey...Iâ€™m a Wes Kus Kid...we've got plenty waves this side.

There are times when surfing spots like Koelbaai that I tend to get a little freaked out(especially when while driving there you see a seal being chased by a monster sized Johnny) and I never surf alone - ever!

Sharks are an inevitable and important part of the ocean...when we surf, we are in their turf and must merely be wary.

Sharks vary rarely attack straight away (especially not Great Whites, others like Tigers and Bulls...maybe), they are cautious predators and will investigate before they pounce. Often a shark will circle you and take 2 or 3 swims underneath you to try and figure out what you are before they attack(sharks see silhouettes so they swim under you to look up and identify food by its shape - too bad surfers and boogers look like food)...so just be aware of what is happening around you. Attacks on humans, as you may already know, are nothing more than mistaken identity.

On the issue of sharky beaches...

Don't be fooled...I hate to inform you...but there are sharks all over - not only in False Bay or Long Beach.
Yzers is apparently one of the sharkiest spots there is (phat seal colony on the island)...and the massive seal colony (Iâ€™ve been told exists), on Robben Island is home to many Big Feesh...

In False Bay and at Hoek there are shark spotters, so youâ€™re probably safer surfing there...

I recently picked up a copy of Spikeâ€™s (wavescape) new book, Surfing South Africa, in which there is a great piece about sharks and some solid advice. I'm not going top give you all his advice, you'll need to by the book for that...but some of the pointers read something like this.

1. Don't ever urinate in your wetsuit - its one of the signs sharks look for while hunting seals. Seals (and most other creatures) urinate when scared, so sharks smell urine and think: FOOD!

2. If you're bleeding get out of the water...NOW! Sharks can smell 1 part blood in 6 million parts water, so don't tempt fate (ladies stay out of the water during your menstrual cycle)

3. If you see a shark. DON'T PANIC! Easier said than done, but seriously itâ€™s another sign sharkâ€™s look for - their food would try and get away a.s.a.p...and cause a fuss in doing so. No splashing, no furious paddling...just try and slowly move away from the shark and get out of the water as calmly as possible.

4. Another thing you could try...and Iâ€™m not willing to do this, but Iron Man might. Let the shark know that you aren't food, by getting off you board, going under water and swimming towards it (in almost a challenging kind of way)...now thatâ€™s hard core!

Personally Iâ€™ll try the first 3 and leave the 4th to Super Man.

Yeah I get freaked out sometimes and sometimes it spoils my surf, but for the most part if I get spooked...I look around at Derdesteen and count the 30 or more other surfers in the water and quietly think..."hey, if there is a shark out here today Iâ€™ve got a good chance that someone's gonna see it and if they don't see it...Iâ€™ve got a 1 in 30 chance of being the person it eats!...did I just pee in my suit?"
January 2008
wowsers I'm on my 3rd year of riding the foam now and I've seen more than 10 they do like prowling around koelbay. But seeming as there is a better chance a falling coconut will kill you, I scheme you just have to hope you aren't reeeeeeelly unlucky. haha, good luck tho
JAMES bye
January 2008
I also read in spikes book that sharks arnt out to eat you... they have been in the see for way longer that we have been in it for and they have survived that long without eating humans... Why all of a sudden would they be out to get us...

I hav also heard storys of guy flying over beaches and spotting like 13 sharks within 4 kms of coast with hundreds of bathers in the water and there was not one attack that day... why COS SHARKS DONT LIKE THE TASTE OF US...

I am a durban boy an was in CT these hols it was pretty big at koel bay an i was surfing out there by myself for about an hour... never realised it was such a sharky spot...

I myself am not skared of sharks as i have done enogh research to determine that sharks are not man killers... i am however weary of them and im not goin to surf shark infested waters by my ace
Elementree
January 2008

JAMES bye wrote:
I myself am not skared of sharks as i have done enogh research to determine that sharks are not man killers... i am however weary of them and im not goin to surf shark infested waters by my ace

You already have...

Yeah...another point i picked up on a few years back that makes sense is that sharks generally stick to open waters and the theory is that they come into shallower waters, like the ones we surf in, to rest. You see, a shark needs to keep moving in order for water to flow over their gills so that it can breathe and in shallower water their is greater water movement cased by the swell reaching land. This increased water movement allows the sharks to relax a little and use less energy swimming around absorbing O2...

So they aren't always on the prowl for food, while cruising the coast, they're just chillin.

Another thing is that sharks are opportunistic hunters - if they stumble across something that might be food, they're gonna have a nibble to see if it tastes good...which we don't.

I once went to the Natal Sharks Board (great place), and they suggested that humans taste to sharks like lemons do to humans...bitter.
Hence the reason most sharks only bite once and leave the victim.

There have been cases where the shark came back for more...Bruce Corby (Nahoon Reef) and a young diver from Stellenbosch Uni (not mentioned in book).

I will never forget the footage shown on the news of how Shannon Ainsile, 15, was attacked by 2 Great White's at the same time, also at Nahoon. Both came in for the kill (you could see them clearly through the wave he was paddling for), one veered away and the other, jaws open, got spooked, caught Shannon's hand and didn't finish the attack - leaving Shannon with bad lancerations to his hand. Flippin intense!

Another interesting fact from Spike's book is that in 25 years only 7 people in South Africa have been fatally wounded by sharks...
MichelleDaniels
January 2008
So amped to get Spikeâ€™s (wavescape) new book, Surfing South Africa, I ordered a while back from Factory 7--can't wait to read it

I suppose most of us have an infinity with sharks, whether it be a fascination, fear related or a little of both~~A RESPECT! Correlated to almost a God-like feeling to some--so many questions, so many theories, that not all quite understand and one questions if anyone really knows??--
Quote:
I will never forget the footage shown on the news of how Shannon Ainsile, 15, was attacked by 2 Great White's at the same time, also at Nahoon. Both came in for the kill (you could see them clearly through the wave he was paddling for), one veered away and the other, jaws open, got spooked, caught Shannon's hand and didn't finish the attack - leaving Shannon with bad lancerations to his hand. Flippin intense!
That footage sounds epic!! I wish there was some way to view it. FLIPPIN INTENSE is THE WORD!

Had a good laugh reading the pointers from the book; Actually, mainly the 4th one.
Quote:
4. Another thing you could try...and Iâ€™m not willing to do this, but Iron Man might. Let the shark know that you aren't food, by getting off your board, going under water and swimming towards it (in almost a challenging kind of way)...now thatâ€™s hard core!
Would it be a comparable rush riding BIG, MAMMOTH WAVES?! You know, the "ride of your life" big waves! Then I thought and laughed "PETER WOULD DO IT" "PETER WOULD GO" Hahahahah!
I suppose if you were THAT close to a shark and had the feeling, it's your last shot and psyched yourself up--and then the pun comes to mind "I have nothing to loose" I have also heard that sharks are almost blind and that's why humans are often mistaken for seals. I wonder if anyone has actually tried the "FACE-OFF" approach and if there are any documented cases?

I have heard the "face-off" approach to be true of an accidental confrontation with a vicious dog. Now, I have even used that approach with a dog! I knew if I turned around and attempted to outrun him, I would be DEAD MEAT! In fact, I wish I could have video-taped it, because it was such an intense situation yet so funny looking back on it and picturing the "look" of that dog and his inability to make eye contact with me--looking everywhere but--. I was already down to the road and crossing it to get the mail from the mailbox. Out of the corner of my eye, at almost the second I spotted him, was a large, teeth-bearing, ferociously growling, CHOW dog, running toward me from a neighbor's driveway. Thinking fast, I stood facing him, braced over, with both hands on my knees. With every ounce of confidense I could muster up, I shouted at him "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?? (Well dah??) "YOU GET BACK THERE RIGHT NOW AND SIT DOWN!" It was so funny I almost "ROFLAO" as the dog immediately stopped in his tracks, sat down, looked in every direction like as if to say "Are you talking to me?" I was shocked and so overly relieved that it worked!

I know, soooo random
Oh well--I like random people--different people as well--people who stand out in a crowd--whether they are EMO, GOTH, HEAVY METAL, FLAMING GAY, PUNK or their bodies covered like a canvas in artful tatoo's or sexually suggestive ones as well--I admire their strength for being different--Oh and can't forget the snooty church lady who makes it her mission to let all the kids know when they have failed in HER eyes--
When everyone else is mocking them with the regular "teen slang", I can't wait to meet them, talk to them, pick their brains and figure out
where they come from and what prompts them to have the confidence or false confidence to proceed or succeed? Amusing--
Everyone is differerent, but I feel everyone has something interesting to bring to the table that we can learn from.

Hmmm, rambling again, still adjusting, occasionaly overwelmed with the "enlightenment factor" affiliated with head injuries not to mention staying on task--what was the topic?
Oh yes, SHARK STORIES--
Elementree
January 2008
Speaking of the confrontation method...

I once saw a documentary where a shark expert tested two methods on Great White's.

The diver went in the water near Gansbaai, super shark territory and also known to be frequented by none other than Peter Lambert and his insane friends. The only thing he took in with him was a big "cut-out" of a Great White's head, jaws open as if about to attack - picture the Jaws image, big shark, thousands of teeth...etc

He swam around, waiting for a shark to come near. When one did and it got too close he would show it the "cut-out" and immediately the shark would back off as if confronted by another shark - something it doesn't want to mess with. So it worked.

The next experiment he tried was to do the same thing using a large mirror. Once again it worked and the sharks would back off.

This got me thinking...

If having a scary image of a shark with you in the water could prevent an attack why not get yourself an ATD Custom Graphics board with that picture printed on the bottom?

If it works for divers it might work for us!
MichelleDaniels
January 2008
Fascinating! Hahah, I think I have Peter pegged--"Go all out and has No Fear!" That's good though. Beause when you hold back, is usually when you get hurt.
What a great idea on the ATD board, G! Maybe you should look into a patent on that
craigtrilivas
January 2008
Wow!!!

Awsome responses guys,thank u so much!!!
I hav heard a few of them b4 and to this day I still draw sumthin big on the bottom of my board that has big eyes cos they reckon if a shark feels its bein looked at it wont attack?

My vipers giv me sum piece of mind to cos they hav the dots on em and could also resemble a pair of eyes
I think the face-off is probably ur best chance of survival but come now......its just not in us to do it.

If i dont encouter one sum day,I dont think it would b able to see me cos i would sh*t its eyes closed!!!!!
Please excuse my French but its how i feel.

Just hope the fear coupled with the first time contest nerves dont get the better of me tho.
We'll just hav to see.

I look forward to meeting alot of new peeps in the competitive community here in WP (im originally from Durbz) and if u see me please dont hesitate to say howzit.
Im quite a shy dood even tho alot of people wouldnt think so,so chances r im gonna just keep to myself when in contest mode unless i see sum1 i kno.
I drive a black golf with ATDBODYBOARDS.COM on the back windscreen.
should b eezy enuff to recognize

Much repect to all and i look forward to meeting u all soon.
For now gotta get sum practice in if I can find sum decent waves!!!

B kiff.
craigtrilivas
January 2008
Yo elementree,

I see ur in melkbos.
i spent the weekend in kraalbaai.
OMG.
one of the most beautiful places i hav been to in my life!!!
Stayed on a mates cat.

Cant wait to go again!!

stay kiff.
Spy Dude
January 2008
'kraalbay, yeah that place is wicked.. you do a spot of wakeboarding?
craigtrilivas
January 2008
Na couldnt cos sum bastards stole the sweet motor my bud had.
Now all they got is a tiny "4" to pitter patter us around from the boat and back
Had a sooper time anyways.
Was so jelouse just watching everyone doin it tho.

weeoo weeoo.....
Chilternburt
January 2008
Lol @ Elementree : bro i feel you pain, i stil to this day wont swim alone in my pool for fear of the James Bond style sharks coming out through a hole in the wall

@ Michelle, the footage can be seen on youtube... search for Shark Attack, there are a couple.. this is the one ----> http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qnZ5a0OXKe8
Elementree
January 2008

Chilternburt wrote:
Lol @ Elementree : bro i feel you pain, i stil to this day wont swim alone in my pool for fear of the James Bond style sharks coming out through a hole in the wall

@ Michelle, the footage can be seen on youtube... search for Shark Attack, there are a couple.. this is the one ----> http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qnZ5a0OXKe8

Ha ha...yeah those kinda films messed with my head as a lighty!

That footage is intense...too bad the quality isn't great...would have been nice to see the sharks a little clearer.

Still scares me tho...lol..."wimper wimper, tail between legs"

craigtrilivas wrote:
Yo elementree,

I see ur in melkbos.
I spent the weekend in kraalbaai.

Life in "Die Bos" is pretty schweet...not quite as laid back as the rest of die Wes Kus, maar dit is meer rustig dan ander mal plekke heer in skaapstad. Lived in The View (Table) all my life, grew up as the area boomed, surfed all the spots before they became infested with forgein kite surfers/wind surfers trying to surf on windless days.

Life out this side is still great tho...

I haven't spent much time in Langebaan other than the odd lunch, but i did get to go sailing with a mate of mine in and around the lagoon and it is stunning on the South side.

I'd dig to do a a bit of fishing there...
Len at Science
January 2008
always surf with a buddy that paddles slower than yourself. for me it gets more difficult every year.
lyle
January 2008
i must be a lucky one then.... well i consider myself luck. been in the water since im 13, im noe 22, and ive never seen one!!!
January 2008
hmm saw another 2 like yesterday. aadam and hankus schemed that it was a big ole whitey not nice
craigtrilivas
February 2008
DOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!

where were u okes surfin???

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