Scared of sharks

[BigJetDriver]

OK here's your chance to make fun of me at my expense...
Michelle
Cold water diver - for a reason...

Michelle,

I realize that some of the folks are having a little good natured tease about the subject.

I would like to complement you on (1) recognizing the problem, and (2) dealing with it in an adult manner.

Sharks are to be respected. They are animals in the wild, and we are out there with them.

By the same token, if sharks acted as Hollywood depicts them, I and many others would not be writing to you.

I have been in the Galapagos, with a top cover of Hammerheads swirling around so thick they blocked much of the light at times. This while being down on the rocks with Galapagos (Bull) sharks swirling around us. I am not exaggerating in the slightest.

The Hammerheads paid us no attention at all, and the Galapagos sharks came in to investigate, found that we were not very interesting, and went about their business.

Another time, I was diving in Belize with a friend, and we were snorkelling beside the boat in the shallows while off-gassing between dives. The boat crew was feeding the sting-rays, and we were watching them eat.

Suddenly, I realized that it was indeed possible to shout clearly through a snorkel. An eight-foot Gray Reef shark had cruised by her, gently nosed the stingrays out of the way, and was snacking on the bait. She said, very loudly and clearly: "Holy (bad word)!"

We continued to watch as the shark and the rays had a great lunch! It was indeed a great experience!

I do not mean to make light of the subject. Again, they are to be respected. But they are beautiful creatures, and I hope that some day you will find an appreciation for them.

Sincerely,

Rob Davie

 

[MikeFerrara]

What happened? They got mad after losing the growling match with you? heh heh.

They just didn't know me well unough to know that I'd bite back. LOL

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

I think we all have some sort of security blanket or another. Check this out. http://www.sharkshield.com/.

It may help build enough confidence to allow you a few dives. After that the thrill of the experience should be enough to keep you going.

Good luck, and nothing is funny about fear. It keeps you safe!

I know nothing about these things, but noticed one of these for sale on eBay. In case you are interested:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1300&item=7142598524&rd=1

I have no connection to this sale, and can't even tell you if it's a good deal.

 

[Nay]

Hi Michelle,
Something else to seriously consider is to spend some quality time with google. Learn everything you can on sharks in general and then more specifically sharks common to where you will be diving. The more you understand about something the less you have to fear. I'm admittedly a research nut myself and you can feel free to PM me if you want to give me more detail on where you're going and what your concerns are.
Happy Diving

 

[kayleeb]

OK here's your chance to make fun of me at my expense...

I told my husband I would never scuba dive because I know I have a phobia (meaning it doesn’t make logical sense) so I wouldn’t want to put him, myself or anyone else in danger. One day I decided to try scuba because I’m landlocked and in colder climates. Well, now I am freak about diving.

I've been meticulous about following information about GW's because I’ve had a phobia of them since I was a little girl. I know I’d be very lucky **more chance to get struck by lightening twice** to ever see one in person. I know they don’t like to eat me… I know… but I’m still REALLY paranoid about them.

Now that I’m going for my first warm water dive.. I’m a little nervous about it. Any suggestions? (Again here's your chance to make fun of me at my expense...)

Michelle
Cold water diver - for a reason...

Knowing that fear is by definition irrational and there is nothing to be said to talk you out of it.

I saw "Jaws" before I ever saw the ocean! I can't jump into a swimming pool at night if it is not lit. I hate snorkling and hyperventilate if I'm swimming in open water. But I love breathing underwater! The first time I saw a shark while diving I started giggling with delight. My first night dive my light went out and I didn't even notice until the DM gave me his.

I admit my palms were sweating before my first OW dive, and they were REALLY sweating before my first night dive. But once I was in the water - the fear just got lost in the wonder.

My advice - just do it - I have a feeling you'll be surprised - listen to yourself breathe - practice all your OW excersizes from class - check your gauges - you really won't have a chance to talk yourself into a panic.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

With the exception of one instance my husband dove for almost 20 years before he saw anything other than a nurse shark. From the tale of his first experience I learned you should never repeatedly flash a camera strobe at a shark during a night dive (my husbands buddy was doing that) it makes them very unhappy. The shark came in after them and his buddy bonked it on the nose with the camera then flashed him with the strobe again. The shark came back and the buddy turned off all of his lights leaving my husband there with his little dive light and the shark coming for another pass. My huband bonked the shark on the nose with his light and the buddy flashed the strobe again and the shark left. They immediately ended the dive and hit the nearest bar, my husband said he never needed a drink that bad in his life :biggrin:

You are actually far more likely to be killed in a bicycle accident than by a shark. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there were 9,361 bicycle fatalities between 1990-2001. There were 8 shark fatalities in the same time period. I'll dive with the sharks thank you but you'll never see me surfing.

Good luck working through your phobia. The first time you see a shark is going to be a little freaky. I was snorkeling my first time and nearly drowned my husband as I went over top of him to put him between me and a 3-foot reef shark that was probably the better part of 100 feet away. They are amazing to watch though, so graceful in the water. Maybe you could try having your first time seeing one be in a more controlled situation such as an organized shark feed or even at Disney's Epcot in the aquarium. There is a shop in Nassau that has a scuba certification class for people who want to learn hand feeding of sharks while wearing a chainmail suit.

No matter what you decide you must tell yourself that no matter what you will not bolt for the surface. Use visualization before you go to a dive site where there might be sharks to see yourself watching a shark underwater and maintaining your depth. You can do it if you really want to, the mind is an incredibly powerful thing once you learn how to use it.

To be perfectly honest though, the odds of seeing a shark are usually on the small side so there is more thrill and awe to the experience than fear. You might even find that if you carry a camera with a large lens and point it at them they turn away. The lens looks like an eye to them and critters with big eyes get more respect. Think about how many salt water creatures have a spot that looks like a large eye on their tail, a Four-eye butterflyfish comes to mind as do juveniles of other types of fish.

Good luck on your quest for the solution to your phobia!
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Ishie]

I dive the CA coast, USA home to the big freekin' sharks.
Now, I've logged about 58 dives, so the fact that I've never seen a GW isn't impressive.
However the fact that my instructor, who primarily dives the CA coast (and occasionally spearfishes) hasn't seen one in over 5,000 dives... and this is one of the regions known for them.
Like others have said, the big nasties aren't in much for warm water, so you're unlikely to be mistaken for food, so caution and respect should serve you well.
The best way to be mistaken for food by big nasty sharks is to silhouette yourself against the surface resembling a seal. Funky, noisy, skinny, bubble blowing, ackward, hard to ambush, weird looking divers are not their meal of choice and we're partially covered by metal. Surfboards, on the other hand...

I saw my first two sharks in the Channel Islands. One was a two foot horn shark, which had less potential to damage me than the lobster I was going after, and the second was a four foot mako shark that I saw on the outskirts of the vis. What's funny is the mako was so completely disinterested that I almost felt offended.

Sharks can rub my sense of horror too, primarily because I *hate* being startled, but the risks are just so absolutely minimal that it's not worth stressing over. What's also funny is that I think about sharks when I'm out of the water, but the second I descend, I forget about them entirely.

 

[MSilvia]

You are actually far more likely to be killed in a bicycle accident than by a shark.

Not while diving. Your chances of being attacked by a shark while bicycling are also very low. Anyone who never leaves Colorado is also pretty safe from fatal shark attacks.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there were 9,361 bicycle fatalities between 1990-2001. There were 8 shark fatalities in the same time period.

In order for that (or the overused but equally meaningless shark vs. lightning strikes statistic) to even remotely resemble a valid comparison, you'd have to adjust the numbers to reflect the fact that there are WAY more people exposed to the dangers of bicycles in a given two year period than there are people in the presence of sharks. In other words, if 100,000,000 people rode bicycles in that period, and 9,361 of them died as a result, then you have something like a .009361% chance of being in a fatal accident while bicycling. If there were 8 shark attack fatalities among 10,000 people who were in shark-infested water, then a person in shark infested water has a .08% chance of being fatally attacked. I would hardly call a .08% chance "much less likely" than a .009% chance.

I made up those numbers, so don't let the results scare you, but I think the statistics as presented are close to meaningless.

 

[mrobinson]

LOL!! too funny - very glad I have thick skin for comments, not big enough for the big sharks.

 

[doole]

I made up those numbers, so don't let the results scare you, but I think the statistics as presented are close to meaningless.

No kidding.

In the water, statistically, you need to worry a *lot* more about box jellies.

Whoever made the analogy to bears had it right. You don't freak because you saw a bear; you just excercise common sense. Don't leave the peanut butter out overnight, and so forth.

And - just as they say, 'don't feed the bears', don't feed the damn sharks. Again, duh.