Would You Continue Surfing After a Shark Attack?

  • Thread starter SOS2008
  • Start date
  • Tags
    Water
In summary, a surfer in Australia fought off a seven-foot shark with his board — and kept on surfing, a lifeguard said.
  • #1
SOS2008
Gold Member
42
1
Man fights off shark attack, keeps on surfing
The Associated Press
Updated: 3:58 a.m. ET April 17, 2005

CANBERRA, Australia - A surfer in Australia fought off a seven-foot shark with his board — and kept on surfing, a lifeguard said.

Simon Letch returned to Sydney’s Bronte Beach 30 minutes after surviving the attack, despite the beach being closed because of the danger, lifeguard Aaron Graham said.

Letch was sitting on his board about 100 feet offshore when the shark attacked. He told a newspaper it was a bronze whaler. “I shoved the board at it like a barge pole,” Sydney’s The Sunday Telegraph quoted him as saying.

“There were two big puncture mark bites on the board, but it didn’t actually bite a hunk out of it so he was able to ride it in...He came back 30 minutes later to surf with a replacement board," Graham said.

Last month, a 20-foot great white shark tore a man in half, killing him instantly as he snorkeled off Australia’s west coast.
Is this guy into surfing or what? What would you do?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
SOS2008 said:
Is this guy into surfing or what? What would you do?
Something else. As else as possible. (Preferably shark-fishing with Mark 48 ADCAP's. :biggrin: )
 
  • #3
they should lock him up for few years.
 
  • #5
SOS2008 said:
Man fights off shark attack, keeps on surfing
The Associated Press
Updated: 3:58 a.m. ET April 17, 2005

Is this guy into surfing or what? What would you do?

Incredible! For one, sharks are territorial hunters so it probably stayed nearby. Next, a person on a surfboard looks like a seal or sea lion to a shark, so surfers are prime targets. Not to mention that the shark certainly knew he was there. Seems like a really bad choice to me.
 
  • #6
Ivan Seeking said:
Seems like a really bad choice to me.
Evolution In Action. :biggrin:
 
  • #7
a 20 foot great white??

That's a BIG shark.

They're usually like 12-15, IIRC.
 
  • #8
Last month, a 20-foot great white shark tore a man in half, killing him instantly as he snorkeled off Australia’s west coast.

This is what I find surprising. I had heard that great whites weren't that aggressive towards humans and usually attacked with "test" bites.
 
  • #9
A minor correction, territorial may not be the right word. But they tend to stay in one area until the food is gone.

Not long after JAWS came out, a 20 foot great white was caught near Catalina Island, just of the Coast of Long Beach, California. I used to swim in those waters on fishing trips!

When we started going to Hawaii regularly and began learning about the area from the locals, one interesting lesson came from a lifelong fisherman. I asked him if they ever dove off the side of the boat for a dip. "NOT IN THE BLUE WATER!" he roared. [blue water is the deep water off shore] Apparently, to a Hawaiian fisherman, this was an incredibly stupid question. "You're just bait out there", he explained.
 
Last edited:
  • #10
SpaceTiger said:
This is what I find surprising. I had heard that great whites weren't that aggressive towards humans and usually attacked with "test" bites.

We are not what they're looking for, but at times, we'll do. But I believe that it is relatively common, as compared to the total number of attacks, to get bitten but not eaten.
 
  • #11
Ivan Seeking said:
We are not what they're looking for, but at times, we'll do. But I believe that it is relatively common, as compared to the total number of attacks, to get bitten but not eaten.


Again, a 20 foot shark is a monster. THe norm is 12-14. And just cause he tore the guy in half doesn't mean he swallowed. It was a BIG shark afterall.

Although, i suppose its a moot point really. Dead is dead, eaten or not.
 
  • #12
Well, most attacks involve smaller sharks. But at 20 feet, with a mouth as big around as a trash can, yep, even a love bite is bad news.
 
  • #13
Ivan Seeking said:
Well, most attacks involve smaller sharks. But at 20 feet, with a mouth as big around as a trash can, yep, even a love bite is bad news.

Now that's what I call tough love. :redface:
 
  • #14
Do sharks have natural predators? If so why not paint that natural predators eyes on the bottom of the board? Or just paint a big picture of Oprah on the bottom.
 
  • #15
Scratch said:
Do sharks have natural predators? If so why not paint that natural predators eyes on the bottom of the board?
As far as I know, the only shark-eating creatures are people and giant squids. There aren't that many squids around, and the sharks obviously aren't terribly impressed by humans. Dolphins and porpoises kill them for fun or self-defense, but aren't really predators of them.

Scratch said:
Or just paint a big picture of Oprah on the bottom.
Good grief, man, are you nuts?! Think of the ecological repercussions. Even the coral reefs would pack up and leave.
 
  • #16
I think sharks eat sharks.
 
  • #17
Ivan Seeking said:
I think sharks eat sharks.
True... definitely if one is wounded or something, but I don't think that they actually hunt each other.
 
  • #18
how about killer whales and other bigger whales like sperm whale.sperm whale hunts giant squids so i guess when really hungry he would go for sharks.
 
  • #19
Right on! Good to see that those aussies are not scared of a little shark. If I was surfing in Australia I would go back in the water too. I am not going to let some punk shark ruin my surfing vacation.
 
  • #20
Scratch said:
Do sharks have natural predators? If so why not paint that natural predators eyes on the bottom of the board? Or just paint a big picture of Oprah on the bottom.


Great Whites are apex predators.

Wikipedia said:
The only animals known to attack them are other Great Whites, sperm whales, humans, and orcas

i.e, other apex predators.

And mind you, these sharks eat the orcas too, if they can catch one alone. And sperm whales are DEEP water animals.

Danger said:
Dolphins and porpoises kill them for fun or self-defense, but aren't really predators of them.

A dolphin could defend itself against other sharks, but not a Great White. Wouldn't stand a chance, short of swimming as fast as it could to get away. A normal great white is twice the size of a dolphin already.
 
  • #21
franznietzsche said:
A dolphin could defend itself against other sharks, but not a Great White. Wouldn't stand a chance, short of swimming as fast as it could to get away. A normal great white is twice the size of a dolphin already.

Hey, Flipper did!

Its seems like I've read that dolphins have been known to gang up on and kill large sharks. I'm not sure though, I read about this stuff as a kid.
 
  • #22
Would I get *back* in the water? I wouldn't get *in* the water!

I hate the ocean! I went swimming in the Atlantic once, and I was so creeped out that something was about to snatch me under. No, this Chicago boy likes the Great Lakes. No salt, and nothing that can eat you.
 
  • #23
Tom Mattson said:
No, this Chicago boy likes the Great Lakes. No salt, and nothing that can eat you.


great lakes are polluted you get sick from swimming in them, but is still better than being eaten .

check this picture, is that a shark or dolphin in that wave ?? i think it is dolphin.
 

Attachments

  • 267649210kl.jpg
    267649210kl.jpg
    18 KB · Views: 399
Last edited:
  • #24
Shark attacks on the western coast of Australia are a daily concern of surfers and divers. Maybe the fear kind of fades after a while. I think I would have waited at least until tomorrow before I went back in the water.

Is the whale shark really a shark? It's not predatory, but it can reach over 50 feet in length.
 
  • #25
stoned said:
great lakes are polluted you get sick from swimming in them, but is still better than being eaten .

Pollution? Bah! Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

check this picture, is that a shark or dolphin in that wave ?? i think it is dolphin.

I don't know, but if I saw it from where that guy is sitting, I can tell you that I would definitely pollute the water myself! :smile:
 
  • #26
That picture looks like a shark to me. It looks a little large to be a dolphin, but that could just be the light through the water. All dolphins have horizontal tails and the shadow of that tail does not look horizontal. It is hard to tell, but when in doubt assume it is a shark. Much safer that way.
 
  • #27
Hmm, after looking at that picture, I would probably run my ass off screaming like a girl if I saw a shark :smile:
 
  • #28
Tom Mattson said:
I hate the ocean! I went swimming in the Atlantic once, and I was so creeped out that something was about to snatch me under. No, this Chicago boy likes the Great Lakes. No salt, and nothing that can eat you.

I practically grew up at the beach, in S Ca.. But as I get older I find that I am more aware of my place in the food chain out there. It really gets my attention when an ocean fisherman says that he is afraid to go in the water. Of course, Hawaii is sitting out in the middle of the pacific where the largest of deep sea creatures are just a little way off shore; unlike a typical coastline. But Australia is notorious for its shark infested waters. No way would you catch me there. At least not the problem areas.
 
  • #29
wow that's a frickin shark for sure.
The dorsal fin isn't as rounded for a shark as it is for the dolphin not to mention that it's clearly a vertical tail like you guys said.
What the hell would you do in that situtation?
I'd be pissing my self if I saw that and would never go into the sea again.
 
  • #30
terrorist shark
 

Attachments

  • sharkcopter1hi.jpg
    sharkcopter1hi.jpg
    35.9 KB · Views: 437
  • #31
Holy crap, is that real? :eek:
 
  • #32
Is that the Golden Gate Bridge? They got seals there and great whites love a good seal. They might hunt for food there some seasons. It looks like a real picture, but who knows?
 
  • #33
Tom Mattson said:
No, this Chicago boy likes the Great Lakes. No salt, and nothing that can eat you.
When I was living 2 miles away from Lake Erie, the stuff in there would eat a Buick.

stoned said:
terrorist shark
It probably thinks that the chopper is a large relative dangling food for it. The similarity in shape is pronounced.
 
  • #34
Danger said:
When I was living 2 miles away from Lake Erie, the stuff in there would eat a Buick.

Wow, like what? Being from Chicago I only went to Lake Michigan. No carnivores there.

Hmmm, maybe I'll just stick to indoor pools...
 
  • #35
Tom Mattson said:
Holy crap, is that real? :eek:

Yes,Tom,it's real.And the other photo on the previous page has a dolphin in it,not a shark.I remember seing it on a "debunking" site,where there were 2 photos,the second one proving it wasn't a shark,but a dolphin.

South Africa is the other famous place for its big sharks.Not necessarily great white,tiger sharks,too.

Daniel.
 

Similar threads

Can You Catch a Shark with Bare Hands While Drunk?
Replies
5
Views
3K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top