Has any one been able to glass a holster into a board or would a shotgun rack be better?
Where where the best place be considering reach and function?
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1577753,00.html
"Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico. "
…only in America …
[hopefully , anyway !]
Sharks with frickin’ laser beams
or perhaps Ill-tempered Mutates Sea Bass???
Drew
Old news in the states, boys. The U.S. Navy had trained dolphins in Vietnam, trained among other places at Pt. Mugu, California.
You have to admit the dolphin thing is a little funny and scary at the same time. I was reading another news wire earlier this morning and it was saying that “its not a good time for divers to be in the gulf” because of the fact that the dolphins were trained to attack people in wetsuits. Its just a little too crazy.
Weird
You win the jackpot!
Dolphins are highly intelligent. And they have the best sonar system in the entire USN.
USN dolphin studies revealed they could detect a 1/1000" difference in wall thickness of a hollow cylinder under water at over 30 yards. They can differentiate between metals too. Best sonar system ever developed in the world.
So they could bring you that can of Coke instead of the Bud or vise versa.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/0328_030328_wardolphins.html
Here’s a happy thought,
Maybe they planed an escape from the naval base to take over the ocean. They are one of the smartest animals and could possibly be smart enough to teach other dolphin how to kill people in order to lead an ocean-wide strike against humanity. On the other hand, I don’t think my government is stupid enough to have had these dolphin equipped with their death-vests at the time of the hurricane…or maybe we just should not ask that question.
As far as protection against marine predators goes, dose anyone out there carry a dive knife while surfing? I use one when spear fishing in case my catch attracts a great white or something along those lines…just a thought.
Cheers,
Austin
Rhino,
Interesting idea. I’ve given some thought to this… Epsecially since I prefer to surf with my wife and my six year old is learning stand-up.
Over here there could be some problems associated with that. There’s the potential legal issue - carrying a weapon in a public place. Probably not an issue when things have gotten sharky - like the last month or so.
On a more practical level… Are you gonna pull a dive-knife out when you have just been bitten? I’d say taking the time to do that could easily mean the difference between life nad death (or at least serious injury). As soon as you know you are bitten you want to yell and pummul the nose and gills. Not fumble for a knife. So a knife is no use in sudden, unexpected attack. What about when you see a shark nearby or circling. Well, maybe. But taking the time to get the knife in hand is going to take valuable seconds paddle-time away from you (you should be making a beeline for shallow water or shore). And have you tried to paddle with something in your hand? It slows you down a bit 
The only practical solution I havce come up with is a quick-release sheath on your upper arm. But that is still probably going to slow you down more than help you.
Just my thoughts. Albeit under careful consideration, after years of reality based martial arts and some interested (and interesting) research on the realities of sharks and shark attacks.
Probably preparation and combining typical/atypical prey behaviour is a better incident/result minimiser.
-doug
I suspect pure luck and not being at that place at that moment is the best way to survive possible bites by sharks.
yep …
I was 5 miles down the beach , safely lying on the sand , while my mate Brad had his shark encounter .
And usually , I would have been sitting right near him in the lineup . We ALWAYS surf together …
How about a bang stick? That isn’t such a crazy thought, I used to carry one sometimes when spearfishing in the Bahamas, 12" stainless steel rod with a 3" magnum shotgun shell on the end of it, that will take care of a shark.
Rolly
LOL! Well, statistically you have to be really unlucky to be attacked anyway.
Experts say your chances can be increased by certain activities or behaviour. And conversely decreased by other activities and behaviours.
None of which matters unless you are in a high-rick area.
-doug
you’d need a reliable safety trigger …
I would hate to wipe out , and shoot myself in the head [or anywhere else for that matter !]
ben
“Honest constable! I was just carrying it for protection against sharks! Can I help it if that shortboarder dropped in on me and ran into the bang-stick?”
-doug
I suspect most victims of sharkbites got surprised by the shark, and therefore didn’t have ample time to load the stick and prime it.
My quick encounter barely gave me enough time to eject off the back of my board away from the circle…lucky I"m a backstroker natural.
Given some time, maybe 20 seconds, I’d have enough time to paddle into an inside wave no matter where I was surfing and however long the lulls were…
Knives, powerheads (bang-sticks), C02 darts, etc. will only give you a feeling of security. Having been a diver for over 30 years, I have observed a lot of marine predators. If they want you, there’s nothing you can do; you’ll never see it coming. There is a product that has been extensively tested in So. Africa and Aus called the “SharkShield” (www.sharkshield.com). This is an evolved version of the original “SharkPod” developed in Natal. They make a version for surfing where the antenna is part of a leash. However, this won’t work with sea snakes, micro killer jelly fish, or crazy sea lions.
Surfers wearing diving knives I’ve seen a couple of times, but the intent was not for protection against sharks.
Quote:
Knives, powerheads (bang-sticks), C02 darts, etc. will only give you a feeling of security. Having been a diver for over 30 years, I have observed a lot of marine predators. If they want you, there’s nothing you can do; you’ll never see it coming. There is a product that has been extensively tested in So. Africa and Aus called the “SharkShield” (www.sharkshield.com). This is an evolved version of the original “SharkPod” developed in Natal. They make a version for surfing where the antenna is part of a leash. However, this won’t work with sea snakes, micro killer jelly fish, or crazy sea lions.
Surfers wearing diving knives I’ve seen a couple of times, but the intent was not for protection against sharks.
Point well taken!
R.
I remember reading an article, years ago, some scientists conducted a study on sharks in the Indian Ocean, they dropped a hydrophone in the water and broadcast music thru it, they found, supposedly, that classical music attracts sharks while rock and roll repels them. I don’t know how true this is.
PeteC,
The first test of the divers’ version over here was interesting. The test-diver in question was killed by a Great White. At Glenelg Reef, just off the metro Adelaide coast. Can’t remember if that was on “Mythbusters” or “Beyond Tomorrow”.
There’s some evidence that the electromagnetic field emitted by the device may attract sharks from a fair distance (don’t think they know how far). Up close it certainly repels small to medium size sharks. And larger sharks that aren’t intent on making a meal of you. But it sounds as if the device may not be foolproof.
Definately agree on the usefulness of a knife or powerhead, etc.
-doug