What would you do if a Great White started circling you and were far from the boat?

[aquagirl]

Hey, I thought divers boast about the beauty of sharks and how they normally are not aggressive and that JAWS gave sharks a bad name?? I thought I was one of the few that was afraid of sharks. Well, in my case I think I would be afraid of any shark. Is this fear for the rest of you only for Great Whites? For sometime I've been hearing from dive instructors and dive masters of how sharks are misunderstood. And just when I began getting comfortable in the ocean and diving, bam...

 

[drbill]

that's what I hope I'm wearing under my wetsuit if this happens, Depends.

Seriously (must I be), "all" the divers I've talked to who have encountered a great white off Catalina or the other Channel Islands indicate they are curious but essentially swim on by when they realize you're not a fat juicy sea lion. "Often" they swim away fast... perhaps more fearful of us than we are of them. Perhaps... Depends!

Dr. Bill

 

[Braunbehrens]

drbill once bubbled...
that's what I hope I'm wearing under my wetsuit if this happens, Depends.

Seriously (must I be), "all" the divers I've talked to who have encountered a great white off Catalina or the other Channel Islands indicate they are curious but essentially swim on by when they realize you're not a fat juicy sea lion. "Often" they swim away fast... perhaps more fearful of us than we are of them. Perhaps... Depends!

Dr. Bill

That was the funniest post I've read since I joined this board!LOL

 

[zeN||]

I think there is a lot of hooey about sharks among the diving community; it's obvious we are not considered fine cuisine among fish with teeth but it's absurd to think a GW won't eat you if he is particularly hungry,or just in a mood swing; some attacks are suprise and some are not; you can mount some defense by striking at the GWs eyes (usually your torso is in his mouth at this point however, hmmm), attacking a shark to scare him off seems to make sense with other sharks, bulls, white tips etc. but I would question that approach with GWs, which appear to be fearless., 2+ ton dinosaurs. Often a GW bites and leaves you to bleed to death (sometimes to come back) so often you have a chance to get out of the water (that does not include people who get their heads bit off however). I do believe they smell your adrenaline (fear) so stand fearless in front of those gaping teeth (hah), luckily for some of you crapping your pants won't make a difference either way. Hope this helps!


PS There are no shark ex spurts zeN||

 

[PhotoTJ]

...as these animals are primarily ambush preditors, and usually attack from below, behind, and from the left, my guess is if you see it, you're ok.

(Note extensive use of qualifers, ie. primarily, usually.)

I'd still soil my wetsuit, I fear.

 

[diverjed]

Use the Jedi Mind Trick on the mighty beast.

 

[coliseum]

Or Crocodile Dundee's Hand Trick!

As mentioned in a previous thread... statistics of people dying from shark attacks are extremely low, people dying from a heart attack when they see a Cockroach are probably higher...

but again, bummer if you are the .000001% of people who get attacked by a GW!!!

 

[DougFL]

Sharkweek starts Aug 10th on the Discovery Channel and the buzz is they have uw video of an actual attack!

 

[Dirk Pitt]

Five important stages to follow when confronted by an potentailly aggresive shark:

1. Definitley poop your wet suit, don't worry if you forget this... probably do it without realising

2. Bite down on regulator: This will hold your air supply firmly in place whilst your bottom lip wobbles uncontrolably as you try not to start blubbling

3. Approach the shark cautiously and attempt to flick him in the 'love spuds' with your snorkel to warn him off

4. Get your dive knife out... won't do you much good but it'll look 25% bigger underwater and make you feel better

5. As a last resort attempt to surface, remove your tank, shove it in the sharks mouth during the inevitable attack....... then when he comes back shoot at the tank (with your handy dive gun) whilst shouting 'smile you sonofab**ch!'

Hope this info is useful, but if in doubt don't get in the water with sharks unless you are really bored with life!

Regards,

Dirk

 

[zeN||]

Doug re: Shark Week-that commercial is a hoot, where all these swimmers are looking disdainfully at a swimming pool, at the last you see a couple of kids staring at their wading pool, with their rubby ducky-"(No way I'm divining in there!)" Then, the announcement, "It's shark week on Discovery..."
hehe zeN