Shark attacks

Greenheart

Greenheart

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Not even sure why I'm asking this, except that big scary oceanic predators are one thing that I tend not to worry about whilst on the boat...but the pleasant winter idea of heading into warmer waters must encompass the terrifying possibility of an encounter...so I wonder how much, if at all, it crosses the minds of yachtsmen?

Here are some compellingly terrifying acounts, not yacht-based: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ca/6984067/Worlds-10-worst-shark-attacks.html
 
The most northern attack was in Wick apparently so maybe not quite so safe in the UK :D
I have seen some photos of some pretty big beasts pulled up by Scottish trawlers including Porbeagles, Mako and Greenland Sharks all of which would give you a nasty nip. By all accounts Biscay is full of Great Whites so it is not unimaginable that they could be about the South Coast of the UK and they are recorded in Nova Scotia which has water as cold if not colder than ours. To be honest I think the UK tourist lobby is behind a pretty concerted push to bluff off White shark sighting in the South West as other species.
Personally sharks scare the wits out of me. When you see those schools of mackerel, sprats and sardines off the coast you can be sure there are bigger fish feeding on them to cause them to ball up.
 
Certainly if you are in your boat you have no real worries. Just one attack by Orka Killer Whales that I am aware of. Now if you like to get in the water then perhaps you have more reason to be concerned. Here around Perth we get attacks several times per season. Aircraft patrol the beaches in summer looking for sharks. There is a network of beacon receivers around the beaches picking up transmitters that have been attached to big sharks before they were released. These receivers often cause swimmers to get out of the water. Now this week a new idea to transmit the sounds of Orkas which are apparently the only thing that scares off sharks.
Meanwhile in the last few weeks. One guy got most of his swim fins bitten off by a shark and another lady up the coast got attacked by black tipped reef shark at a popular swimming spot. They are normally considered not dangerous. I have swium in that spot and seen these smaller sharks.
Justy few months back an abolone diver made the news as having been attacked twice over about 15 years. he said after the first attack that he would go back in the water and guess what??? Australia is generally known best by europeans for the nasties that bite.
Anyway for all that I keep swimming in ocean and estuary river. There must be more tasty moprsels than me for em to choose. olewill
 
Thanks for that. I was mainly wondering if British sailors in lower latitudes, moderate their enthusiasm for swimming/other activities which might put them on a shark's menu...

...though I hired beach-cats in Australia and regularly swam without thinking, at Adelaide & Gold Coast, so I slightly doubt if predatory sea-life is much on the minds of Brits abroad.

As to sharks' presence in UK waters, there's a fairly comprehensive article here: http://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/british_carcharodon.html
 
Once swam (badly) a couple of times round the becalmed boat in about 5 miles depth of very clear deep blue water, just one striped pilot fish under the keel. As these usually follow sharks it made me distinctly uncomfortable.
 
around our coastal waters I would be more worried about what you might catch from all the detritus in the water than getting eaten by big whitey
 
Absolutely doesn't worry me in the least. Do you get scared when you pass a dog in the street? They are FAR more dangerous than sharks. I'll happily swim in any water. Swim with sharks all the time. Little known secret....they don't attack people.
 
cryan said:
The most northern attack was in Wick apparently so maybe not quite so safe in the UK .
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If memory serves, that was an 'attack' by a shark caught by fishermen, so I guess that it looked a little different from the fish's perspective.
Nonetheless, there's evidence that Great Whites frequent British waters; they certainly live in the Med, a fact that wouldn't do much for the tourist industry if better known.

Favourite sharky reference: Winston Churchill, in answer to a parliamentary question about naval losses, declared his government "entirely opposed to sharks". He may as well have assured Fighter Command's potential casualties that he was equally opposed to gravity.
 
beany_bot said:
Absolutely doesn't worry me in the least. Do you get scared when you pass a dog in the street? They are FAR more dangerous than sharks. I'll happily swim in any water. Swim with sharks all the time. Little known secret....they don't attack people.
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Dogs are not more dangerous than sharks there is just more human interaction with them. Some sharks are known to enjoy a bit of a nibble on humans, Bull Sharks have attacked people hundreds of miles up rivers which doesnt seem like fair play to me?
 
macd said:
If memory serves, that was an 'attack' by a shark caught by fishermen, so I guess that it looked a little different from the fish's perspective.
Nonetheless, there's evidence that Great Whites frequent British waters; they certainly live in the Med, a fact that wouldn't do much for the tourist industry if better known.

Favourite sharky reference: Winston Churchill, in answer to a parliamentary question about naval losses, declared his government "entirely opposed to sharks". He may as well have assured Fighter Command's potential casualties that he was equally opposed to gravity.
Click to expand...

I think your right about the Wick attack however that article posted above says the most convincing reports of White Sharks were in the North Minch and Pentland Firth.
 
cryan said:
Dogs are not more dangerous than sharks there is just more human interaction with them. Some sharks are known to enjoy a bit of a nibble on humans, Bull Sharks have attacked people hundreds of miles up rivers which doesnt seem like fair play to me?
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Im sorry but you are wrong. If you take 100 sharks, and 100 dogs. You are more likely to get bitten by one of the dogs than one of the sharks.
 
cryan said:
Dogs are not more dangerous than sharks there is just more human interaction with them. Some sharks are known to enjoy a bit of a nibble on humans, Bull Sharks have attacked people hundreds of miles up rivers which doesnt seem like fair play to me?
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Bull sharks (also known as Zambezi sharks) are generally considered aggressive but there are other factors: they prefer coastal and estuarine waters which obviously makes them more likely to come into contact with humans; equally, such waters are often silty making their identification of their quarry more difficult. For the most part sharks don't seem to like the taste of us, although that's little consolation if they make a mistake.
In terms of global fatalities, sea-snakes and jellyfish are far more dangerous than sharks.
 
Trust me, they are out there. We had the absolute privilege of seeing this adult female blue shark 2 years ago in Lyme bay. Excuse SWMBOs shaky footage, she was too busy giggling and swearing. As was I...


Although it was hardly an "attack" it was very bold as you can see. Definitely would have been new undercrackers time if I'd been I in a sea kayak...
 
Having dived and snorkelled with a variety of sharks, I'm not worried about encountering one aiming to make a snack of some part of me. For the most part, they either completely ignore you or check you out before carrying on with whatever they were doing.
Much more worrying are jelly fish: nasty things and much more common than they used to be.
 
cryan said:
Personally sharks scare the wits out of me.
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On an almost windless day, I was taking a swim being slowly towed with a rope at the stern of the boat. All of a sudden I saw a grey/white shadow in the water, passing just in front of me.
I popped out of the water like a champagne cork, heartbeat in the high 200s :D
Once onboard I saw it was a dolphin.


We should blame Spielberg :)
 
I wouldn't worry at all about sharks, we've never even seen one in the Med although they are here of course. What you should be worried about are jellyfish, they are really on the increase....
 
Apparently, you are twice as likely to be injured by a vending machine as a shark.

But nobody does anything about it!
 
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