trident209
Guest
Unfortunately, I do not have pictures, but I do have an interesting shark story from my time in the US Navy:
It was not on an actual dive, but a surface swim. In the third and final phase for a training school, we went to San Clemente Island in CA (off of San Diego). We arrived at sun down and after storing our gear we were directed into a classroom. We were in the classroom for a safety brief of the island we would call home for the next 4weeks. They told us about the civilians on the island, wildlife, don't touch it, etc., etc. and they concluded with a video (documentary-like) about the ocean area surrounding the island. Now the video looked very professional and real although after the years past, my suspicions have grown about it. So anyway... during this 30 minute long video, it explains how the waters surrounding San Clemente are a perfect breeding ground for Great White sharks.
It also stated how they would be attracted by chem lights (don't remember the reason given). Nobody thought much about it at the time as it was a safety brief and we thought ok be alert on swims, etc.
At the end of the brief, we were immediately led outside with all this Great White info fresh in our heads and we were taken to the water with instructions to prep for a night swim. :shocked2: The swim was aptly named, "The Shark Swim" and was a 1000 meter swim. We had about 40 people in our class at the time and were broken into 2 groups of about 20. I was in group 2 and we waited on the shore listening to our classmates yell in horror thinking a Great White was going after them and then sighing in relief that all they were attacked by was a giant strand of kelp. Note: on night swims we had to have chem lights attached to us for "safety" reasons. The instructors even trailed us in a boat "in case there was an emergency." This was the only swim I did in entirety with my KBar knife literally in my hand. Obviously there were no issues with any sharks during this time. There was one issue (no one was hurt) a few weeks later with a Tiger Shark though. A close encounter one actually. But that's another story.
It was not on an actual dive, but a surface swim. In the third and final phase for a training school, we went to San Clemente Island in CA (off of San Diego). We arrived at sun down and after storing our gear we were directed into a classroom. We were in the classroom for a safety brief of the island we would call home for the next 4weeks. They told us about the civilians on the island, wildlife, don't touch it, etc., etc. and they concluded with a video (documentary-like) about the ocean area surrounding the island. Now the video looked very professional and real although after the years past, my suspicions have grown about it. So anyway... during this 30 minute long video, it explains how the waters surrounding San Clemente are a perfect breeding ground for Great White sharks.
It also stated how they would be attracted by chem lights (don't remember the reason given). Nobody thought much about it at the time as it was a safety brief and we thought ok be alert on swims, etc. At the end of the brief, we were immediately led outside with all this Great White info fresh in our heads and we were taken to the water with instructions to prep for a night swim. :shocked2: The swim was aptly named, "The Shark Swim" and was a 1000 meter swim. We had about 40 people in our class at the time and were broken into 2 groups of about 20. I was in group 2 and we waited on the shore listening to our classmates yell in horror thinking a Great White was going after them and then sighing in relief that all they were attacked by was a giant strand of kelp. Note: on night swims we had to have chem lights attached to us for "safety" reasons. The instructors even trailed us in a boat "in case there was an emergency." This was the only swim I did in entirety with my KBar knife literally in my hand. Obviously there were no issues with any sharks during this time. There was one issue (no one was hurt) a few weeks later with a Tiger Shark though. A close encounter one actually. But that's another story.
