Sharks

[PUGMASTER]

I got me one of those crunching fears about sharks. You read up alot on these creatures on the forums, but surely they can sense the stark fear I would protrude.
I don't ever want to let this intefere with my desire to dive, dive, dive but...

I heard the have a product out that is made up of liquified dead shark and if sharks are around and they smell this, they disappear quite quickly. Has anybody ever used this stuff?

I'm thinking about getting a titanium samarai sword.

 

[johnny_bravo]

Even here in Florida where the waters are crawling with sharks it's sometimes difficult to even see or get near one. As a diver you tend to hope for an encounter...shark attacks on divers are prob limited to speardivers.

Now if I was a surfer or a swimmer splashing around on the surface I would be concerned.

Get in the water and don't give them a second thought.

Cheers.

-J.-

 

[Walter]

The biggest single factor in how sharks act around you is how you act around them. You must present a confident, comfortable figure in the water. Do not swim with your hands. Do not swim fast. Do not swim away. Do not go to the surface.

Sharks are rarely aggressive. When they are, it's usually our fault, we did something to trigger the aggressive behavior. Keep your head about you and it's extremely unlikely you'll ever have a problem.

 

[REII]

Here on the East Coast of Florida, its the same as Johnny Bravo said. They are a rare sight. Maybe they are around, but stay out of the divers' reach, but you rarely see them. When you do, you have to be quick with the camera because they don't stick around to chat.

TOM

 

[Thalassamania]

Over the years I have been in the water with any number of many different species of sharks. I've only had one, oops ... this isn't fun, moment. I'll admit that in the early days they scared the crap out of me, even blue sharks. Now I look forward to each next encounter rather than worry about it.

 

[PUGMASTER]

Over the years I have been in the water with any number of many different species of sharks. I've only had one, oops ... this isn't fun, moment. I'll admit that in the early days they scared the crap out of me, even blue sharks. Now I look forward to each next encounter rather than worry about it.

That seems to be the census. Makes me feel a little better, Going diving in 3 days, they say there's not much other than nurse sharks so...

Gotta ask you though, need more info on the oops.:shakehead

 

[waynel]

PUGMASTER

I'm a relatively new diver and I have yet to see a shark. In fact, my closest encounter with a shark was in 3 ft. of water. I was staying in Gulf Shores on the beach. I waded out to about 3 ft. and turned my head to avoid a wave splashing me in the face. When I turned back to face the water, there was a 6 foot Bull Shark about 4 feet away pointing straight at me. At first I wasn't sure 100% sure it was a shark until it turned and started swimming parallel to the shoreline, keeping one cold eye on me as it did so. It's true what "they" say. You have more chances of being attacked wading on the beach than you do diving. Relax and go diving!

 

[downdeep]

If you are lucky enough to actually see one your reaction may be quite different than you expect. I thought they would scare the whiz out of me, but instead I was fascinated.

I also had an oops moment on a night dive on Bloody Bay Wall with a juvenile Bull. Quite, um, exhilarating.

 

[Thalassamania]

My bad time was with a bull also. They can be difficult and tenacious.

 

[PARADISE HUNTER]

If you do get the liquified dead shark juice stuff...please don't dive with me. I love seeing sharks and have many more on my "to see" list.

Seriously, no worries. From what I've seen, if you leave them alone, they leave you alone. There are more important things to be concerned when you first start diving. If you are really have alot of anxiety about an encounter, set some goals before the dive, bouyancy practice, fish identification, etc. and concentrate on those.

It is the giant squid that I am worried about!