Whos a shark expert that will make me feel better.

[Hazen]

See ya Sunday Carrolann R!

[Andrew]

Not to worry. Sharks are only man eaters. Women have nothing to fear.

On a serious note. I have been diving and snorkelling on the Big Island constantly for nearly 12 years and have only seen sharks about 3 times and each of those times I was purposely looking for them.

Andrew

Edited by - Andrew on 08/31/2006 15:52:13

[Andrew]

Hey Hazen:

You know why you always dive with a dive knife right?

[Isa]

Lisa, My husband surfs a lot and does see a lot of sharks. However, they never bother him and he has been out there with some really big ones. Sometimes they will come close and swim under his board. He just pulls his feet up and keeps an eye on them. They are looking for their favorite food, honu (turtle) and don't seem to be the least interested in human. My husband has surfed around big whites in northern California and the tiger sharks here with not problems at all. He does know at least a couple of guys in California who have been attacked, but that was above San Francisco is a place that is known to be bad for shark attacks. Maybe there isn't enough food there, or something. In any case, it does work to punch the shark in the nose. The shark attack victims my husband met, did fight the sharks off. So, they are known to back down. We don't know anyone here who has been attacked by a tiger shark. So, I think you are relatively safe. Especially, given that there have been only a few reported attacks here. Someone mentioned not going out at dawn or dusk when they are feeding and that is something that most surfers avoid doing. Really I think the much bigger dangers are the rocks and coral. The conditions are rough and you should be very careful and go with an experienced surfer. Also, what someone said about the river in Hilo is true, it can at times make the ocean really filthy. Especially after it has rained. One other danger is staff infections. They can be really bad. So, if you have even a little cut, be sure to treat it right away and don't go out in the water unless you put something like liquid bandage on first. Locals/Hawaiians tend not to have as many problems with staff infection, but a haoli fresh of the boat should be very careful. My husband is hapa and hasn't had any problem with staff, but has a friend who almost lost a limb he had it so badly. Anyway, with all of that said those are just things to be careful of, but that shouldn't keep you out of the ocean. It's like most activities, just be careful and have fun.

[Les C]

I asked a local friend who surfs the east side regularly. She doesn't feel that sharks are much of a problem. She also noted that during and after heavy rainfall, there is almost always a pig carcass near the river mouths. These are known to attract sharks.

Les

[Hazen]

Andrew: Well i don't know about you Andrew but i use a dive knife for picking my teeth, oopening beer bottles, and occasionally fighting off the gaint squid that always seem to be around whenever i'm looking for pirate's booty. But... i'll entertain you, why do you always have a dive knife Andrew?

Only good reasons i can come up with are fishing debris, and to knock on one's tank so as to get another soul's attention. I abalone weren't so rare, one might use a dive knife for their collection. I kind of look at dive knives like guns or gloves, they just encourage their own use. Unless i'm doing research or fishing i don't use one.

[Andrew]

Hazen:

Well it's certainly not for aggravating any shark that might come around. But if a shark does come around you can use your dive knife to jab your dive buddy in the @ss and then swim like he11.

[mella l]

HELLo you guys are so funny!

I was once at a beach in Mexico called Playa Los Cocos, very rustic in fact we had the only shack on the beach for our camp gear, a palm frond roof and rudimentary see thru walls! LOL But hey it worked and we stayed dry and were a little organized.

Young boys would walk the beach each morning selling lobster usually or other fish! With a few spices and a little rice we lived like royalty for 3 weeks. We had a fresh water waterfall for showering and the Pacific for a playground almost entirely to ourselves, 1970.

One day while out in the ocean in front of our little grass shack, I was the only one in the water, my DH shouted out to me 200 yards off shore "SHARK"! Well I think I left a trail of steam in the water, getting to shore, former competitive swimmer high school saved my akole! When I got in everyone was LTAO as I choked and sputtered, it was a joke. I almost killed I saw so much red!

But being a woman, I could change if I wanted, but well guess who didn't get any for a long time, the honeymoon was over, lesson learned and overcome!! LOL, Mella

PS This was way before Jaws, the movie.

mella l

[punafish]

It reminds me of a story author Barry Eisler tells to describe practical, effective home security. He says if you and your buddy are swimming in the ocean and you meet an aggressive shark, to survive you don't have to swim faster than the shark, you just have to swim faster than your buddy. And so it goes for home security: like the shark, a burglar can get you if he really wants to, but he'll almost always opt for the easy target. So logically your "home security" (a fence, a dog, etc.) just needs to be a little better than your neighbor's and you're okay. (Not much aloha to THAT theory, is there?)

Tim

"My baby, she run away with the garbage man...please come home to me darlin', my garbage can is overflowing." Muddy Waters

[Isa]

Lisa, I just asked my husband a few more questions about sharks. He said the largest one he has seen out there is 18-20 feet. It's the oldest shark he knows of here. Most surfers get out of the water when that one comes around. Last time it was out there my husband didn't have his glasses on and thought the shark was a sperm whale it was so big. He did notice he was the only one out and was happy to have the waves to himself. When he came in he asked if anyone had seen the whale. Then he was told that it was a huge tiger shark, not a whale. It had come within 50 feet of him, which he thought was pretty cool when it "was a whale". Anyway, he says that in Hawaii you surf with sharks (it's their home). Really, the bigger danger is the conditions. It's not Malibu, Gidget. : ) You are surfing in areas that have shallow rock reefs, fast water coming out of the river mouths, and surfing up against cliffs while being propelled by fast, strong, waves that seem to come out of nowhere at times. Just about every surfer who is out there consistently ends up getting stitched up at some point during the year. So, be very careful and find out as much as you can about the break before you go out. Good luck!