How Afraid are you of Sharks?

[Gambitt]

While diving the C-53 wreck in Cozumel, the DM at the other end of the ship, made the signal for shark... My dive buddy swears to this day, that he could not have kept up with me with a 40 horse motor... Towards the Shark!!! I'm actually planning a dive trip to Caya Santa Maria in Cuba, just to dive with the bull sharks.

 

[SSharkk]

Sharks are not nearly as dangerous as women.

Sharks can only kill you, and then eat you.

Women on the other hand, can make you glad you were born; they can make you wish you were dead and, they can put you in debt beyond your wildest dreams.

And, since they are gifted at multitasking, they can do all three at one time. - Caxambus Pass, a wag and rascal.

 

[Jrock1062]

My first shark encounter was on my 3rd dive after being certified. We saw nurse, lemon, and reef sharks. I was to dumb to realize just what i was looking at that day and have seen these types of sharks again and have never felt like i was in any danger. I will say you gotta love Jupiter diving for big fish encounters. It never fails to amaze me just how beautiful those animals are, they are so graceful in water i never understood why people hate them.

 

[Blair Mott]

I find sharks very fascinating, they are truly amazing. My mind will only really drift into the fear when I am swimming the buoys out in the ocean, but then it is fear itself?

 

[shark girl]

Sharks are beautiful creatures and I love diving with them. I've been in the water with reef sharks and bronze whalers and they either seem to ignore divers or swim away. I'm sure my opinion might change if I came face to face with a great white with the munchies, but for now I find triggerfish far more terrifying!

 

[Cacia]

Women on the other hand, can make you glad you were born; they can make you wish you were dead and, they can put you in debt beyond your wildest dreams.

lol...why get married? find a woman you hate and buy her a house.

I am fascinated with sharks but watch their body language. When the back hunches, and the pec fins go down, I mosey on back to the boat. I admit I hid inside a wreck once, Tigers make me nervous. All those surfers with missing limbs made an impression. I don't like poor viz. Other than that....I love shark dives unless they get worked up.
I was shooting some Riffe catolog shots and called it after about 20 minutes because I was the only one without a speargun. They were getting aggressive taking fish off spears, etc. I offered my camera up to another guy. he thought a minute and realized he would need to leave his speargun ...and said no. That is when I knew I was making the right decision, lol. I felt wimpy, but it was getting dark and that gives me the creeps too.

I like to think I am "respectful."

 

[Vie]

Where do sharks rank on your fear factor?

Way, way, waaaaaaaaaaaay below box jellyfish...

Are they a consideration where you dive? Should they be

Most of the sharks commonly encountered in my area are harmless but we do have a relatively famous site where bullsharks (so far not aggressive) congregate, and sometimes the visibility there is not great - yes, one would have to exercise caution and common sense before jumping in and swimming with a bunch of large predators

 

[lazyturtle]

It really depends on what they are doing at the time I see them....

 

[Theunis]

I have respect for sharks, not fear. I have been diving with Bull sharks, Tiger sharks, Sand Tigers, Black Tips, etc, without feeling threatened.

But I can tell you something else, I will not get out of my car to take a few pictures of lions!! So what I am saying is that I fear lions but respect sharks!!

 

[caymaniac]

I have dove enough with sharks that I actually look forward to seeing sharks. Now if there was a great white or a big tiger then I would be thinking how can I get to the surface saftely. The biggest shark I've seen was off south Africa, it could have swallowed my wife and I whole, it appeared to be a big Raggle Tooth but I'm not sure, I just know it was BIG like over 14 ft. in size.
I have dove with nurse, greys, blacktips, lemons and even a time or two bulls in the Caribbean. In the Pacific we've been with white tips, black tips, gray whalers, and silvers of which the silvers I was the most wary.
Sharks are some of the most beautiful creatures, have you ever noticed their skin as it so different from fish? The colors range from bronze to a silvery gray. Their eyes at times appear to be like a cats' eyes