No Al, I’m not kidding. He was freaked out a little but kept surfing for another hour. Hell, he surfed 3 times on the next day at some of the sharkiest places north of here. He should be out logging at second peak right now- go chat with him about it. I’ve stepped on Halibuts, got pinched twice by crabs but this is a first for a sand shark bite. It was like a bunch of cuts from barb wire or sharp chickenwire across all five toes. We were out with a bunch of biologists from the marine lab (that’s where I work these days)- they were checking it out heavily. He’s fine, thanks for your concern.
Since sharks are attracted to electrical fields, It seems that it would make more sense to make a suite that hides your energy, not one that makes it stronger. Occasionally, I squeek my hands across the nose of my board, I figure, If people hate it, sharks might too.
Cheers
- Sharks actually have 2 known ways of detecting enery fields. The first way is through their ampullae of Lorenzini, Which are pore-like structures towards their nostral. The second is by use of their lateral line, which runs along either side of their upper back you couuld say. Ampullae of Lorenzini are only found in sharks, but lateral lines are found in all osteichthyes and most or all chondrichthyes I belive (not sure about skates and rays).
How It Works…
Yeah, it was more of a joke at how many “ingenious” and novel ways people try to prevent shark bites. here’s another one…
Shark Shield™ creates a unique protective electrical field around the user, which is detected through receptors located on the snouts of sharks. The field causes intense discomfort to the shark, resulting in them leaving the area.
This technology does not affect any other marine life. It has no known harmful effects on the wearer or the shark.
The benefits Shark Shield™ technology brings to marine activities is not only in shark protection, but greater focus on the underwater task at hand, be it work, e.g. harvesting abalone, or play, enjoying the wonders of the sea. The effectiveness of this technology is attested to by our growing list of customer testimonials.
Statistics show that the chance of shark attack is remote, but they do occur. Just the thought of being harassed by a shark can, for many, detract from the enjoyment of water sports.
Shark Shield™ has proven over many years, in both scientific tests and real life situations, that it is effective in deterring a wide range of sharks, including Great Whites.
Shark Shield™ products currently provide protection from sharks for professional and recreational divers, snorkelers, swimmers, surfers, spearfishers, kayakers, boat owners, commercial fishermen, as well as emergency, police and military personnel around the world.
For those who still want to interact with sharks - you can still do so, but at a safe distance.
Shark Shield™ technology is increasing the levels of participation in a number of water sports.
For those engaged in commercial water activities it offers personal protective safety equipment that can contribute to a much safer working environment and assist both employers and employees in meeting Occupational Health, Safety & Welfare obligations.
…Heheh.
anyone remember sometime around the mid-late 80s – SHARK STICK? Saw it advertised in one of the surf mags back then.
Basically a piece of cocobolo or iron wood about a foot long and 1.5" diam. When the shark comes at you, you shove it in his mouth (in the right position, of course) so he can’t close his jaws.
It was packaged in plastic, with a nice diagram of how to properly use it – AND it had teethmarks to prove it.
Some Hawaiian genius thought of that one.
A great item to hand behind the bar, next to some 4ft diameter tigershark jaws.
ran into an old thread here…
In response to dragging your finger nails across your board, I don’t know man. I was diving once and the dive master attracted a bunch of sharks with the crinkling sound of a plastic coke bottle. It’s weird what draws em in.
by the way, sand sharks at cowells? looks like I’m putting the booties back on.
Pat
I just watched a “mythbusters” episode and it involved two lemon sharks. They said lemons are sort of the guinea pigs of sharks. Anyway they had the sharks in a tank and first dropped some little mackeral in the tank. Sharks immediately reacted. Then they flushed all the water and filled it up again. This time they used human blood…no reaction at all. Not even an interest. Maybe there was a slight, very slight acknowledgement, but might as well not have been. Then they did it a third time, this time with human urine. With urine there was less reaction than human blood. Myth busted y’all. Pee in your wetties as much as you want…but then again, these were only lemon sharks.
HERE’S SOME GENERAL RULES :
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NEVER SURF ALONE
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SURFING AT DAWN AND DUSK INCREASES RISKS
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KNOW YOU BREAKS
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NO FRESH BLOOD/CUTS
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REDUCE THRASHING IN THE WATER
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REDUCE EATING MEATS,ESPECIALLY SEA FOODS
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RIVERMOUTHS AND OCEAN SPILLWAYS ARE HAVENS FOR CHARKS
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LEARN HOW TO DEFEND/TREAT/GET HELP FOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS,INCASE OF ATTACK
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NEVER SURF WITH SEA TURTLES OR SEA MAMMALS
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STUDY AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE OCEAN AND IT’S LIFE UNDER THE SURFACE
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Heres a trick my friend taught me (and its worked so far)
Step 1- …orcas are an acceptable substitute.
Pissing off an orca - now there’s a survival strategy :->
-Samiam
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2- in order to keep said marine mammals close, well disposed and obedient, you’ll need to be carrying a bag of fish chunks. Overall, this probably isn’t a great strategy around the gray-suited guys.
Yeah, I’ve been doing some surfboard fishing the last 2 summers. Rule #2: No live bait. Rule #1: ABSOLUTELY NO CHUMMING…
-Samiam
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IDT’s !! io , io, i’m suppose to be workin’, you know…
This is another method I use often. I usually take a “chum” with me when I surf. Usually its one of my sons. Which ever one has been givin me grief lately. And I affectionately call them “Chum”. I usually have them surf about 1/4 mile away from me.
Like the old saw about the hikers and the bear. 1st hiker: “Why ya wearing those running shoes”? 2nd hiker: “This trail goes through grizzly country”. 1st hiker: “Stupid! You can’t outrun a grizzly no matter what shoes you wear”! 2nd hiker: “Don’t need to, just need to outrun you…”.
-Samiam
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Ha! I’m with Soulstice. I don’t ever eat shark, so I figure karma is on my side. It was either that or law school (professional courtesy), and this way’s cheaper.
I surf a lot with a woman who’s husband is one of the GWS researchers out on the Farallones. She passes on all the same conventional wisdom stuff, but says he tells her it decreases the risks significantly enough to the point that, if you pay attention to enough of the risk factors, you couldn’t get a shark to bite you.
No dusk, no rain, no outgoing tides at rivermouths. No bleeding, no peeing, no boogieboarding over rivermouth sandbars. Surf a 9’ + board - they didn’t get to be apex predators by picking on the big guys, they cull the weak & young. Stay over kelp & rocks when you can, predatory behavior in water less than 15’ deep is 99% over sand. Deep water predation, on the other hand, is over rock (which is why people get bitten at Salmon Creek - shallow sand - and Mavericks - deep rocks - but not Santa Cruz).
So, catheterize yourslf, never get hurt, and only surf long boards at deep water non-rocky point breaks, and you probably won’t get attacked? Surely that won’t impair the surfing experience for anyone… Wasn’t that guy who lost most of the meat of his right calf while wading with sharks one of those “experts”?
-Samiam
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Re: surfing in the Red Triangle - seems like I heard or read that Fall is the worst time of year for attacks. Anyone know if that is true or if there is some seasonal trend based on mating, migration, feeding or other? Not that I’m going to not surf in the Fall - just curious.
Jim
I think that depends on the species. On the right coast, some kinds of sharks seem to have somewhat predictable seasonal migrations, while others can pretty much show up anywhere, anytime. Also, if you subscribe to the theory that man-eaters are typically rogue animals, well, that is the definition of “rogue”…
-Samiam
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The “force field” doesn’t shock them. It overloads their electroc-magnetic sense.
When the first live test run was done by a diver over here (at Glenelg Reef) he was bitten by a 5 meter great white.
Also, the field probably attracts sharks from a considerable distance and repels them from close range. So don’t surf anywhere near someone using one… And if you use one hope the batteries don’t run out
Forgot to add “always surf with a partner” to my list.
-doug
“Always surf with a partner who doesn’t paddle as well as you…”
-Samiam
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…
If the shark still fails to get the message and bites the suit, it gets a shock in the mouth and – hopefully – gives up for the day.
…
Be my luck to get a shark that likes “spicy”…
-Samiam
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anyone remember sometime around the mid-late 80s – SHARK STICK? Saw it advertised in one of the surf mags back then.
Basically a piece of cocobolo or iron wood about a foot long and 1.5" diam. When the shark comes at you, you shove it in his mouth (in the right position, of course) so he can’t close his jaws.
It was packaged in plastic, with a nice diagram of how to properly use it – AND it had teethmarks to prove it.
Some Hawaiian genius thought of that one.
A great item to hand behind the bar, next to some 4ft diameter tigershark jaws.
The term “shark stick” (aka “bang stick”) goes back much further than that. Back in the late 50’s - early 60’s there was an ex-Navy UDT free diver who hunted sharks with what was essentially a waterproofed firing chamber for a 12 Gauge shotgun shell affixed to about 18" of broomstick. He would free dive to a large shark, & ram it into the top of the shark’s head. This would force the chambered shell to slide back and strike the fixed firing pin. As best I recall, this guy met his end when he pushed his luck one too many times, and either the device misfired, or he missed the ~7" circle on the shark’s head that resulted in instant fatality.
-Samaiam
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Shark Shield™ creates a unique protective electrical field around the user, which is detected through receptors located on the snouts of sharks. The field causes intense discomfort to the shark, resulting in them leaving the area.
This technology does not affect any other marine life. It has no known harmful effects on the wearer or the shark.
The benefits Shark Shield™ technology brings to marine activities is not only in shark protection, but greater focus on the underwater task at hand, be it work, e.g. harvesting abalone, or play, enjoying the wonders of the sea. The effectiveness of this technology is attested to by our growing list of customer testimonials…
I wonder how much they want for their mailing list? I have this great tiger repellent that I offer for only $25 per 6 oz. bottle. I have customers who have been useing it for 20 years and have yet to be attacked by a tiger :->
-Samilam
I know those - what we call bang-sticks or power heads.
Nope, what I was talking about was like a gimmick thing - just a short wooden baton about 12" to 18" long and 1-2" diam, packaged in clear plastic with like a cardboard backing – it was advertised in an edition or two of Surfer or Surfing in the 80s. On the cardboard it said something like, “actually tested on sharks in Hawaii”, and they all had like these cuts on them from shark bites during testing.
It was marketed as Sharkstick, or something like that - “perfect for divers, surfers, beachgoers…”
Although it was a serious attempt to market a sharkstick - - everyone thought it hilarous.
You know, I live in northeastern Brazil and my city, Recife (http://www.recife.pe.gov.br/cidade/projetos/fotosdorecife/index.html check this, it’s a beautiful place although), was claimed to be the place of greatest registered ocurrences of shark attacks in the world since 1994, as a global institution for shark attack said, it became such a thing that simply surfing was banished from the city waters to far south spots. What I’ve learned from these attacks? That nothing can stop a shark when it’s in feeding frenzy, that a bunch of small-sized tiger sharks can torn you apart in pieces in 30 seconds if they want (and they are never alone), that a bull shark is the fiercest shark that exists and it can kill you in a single bite despite not being as big as a great white… We’ve missed many friends, to each registered attack there were ten other unsolved, here is even worse than South Africa, cause we don’t have the barrier nets around the beaches. People simply don’t go outside more than a couple of meters, knee-deep it’s the safe bath depth.
Avoid, if you are surfing in a risk area:
Surf with any bleeding injury;
Pee your trunks;
Surf alone;
Surf at dawn;
Surf at sunset;
River mouths;
Fishing areas.
Prefer:
Bigger, floater boards;
Sunny days;
Dark boards, suits.
It’s not a magical formula, but it can prevent or, at least, reduce the risk.
Otherwise, use a $3000,00 electronic shark repellent.
what was that about never yell ‘shark’ in a crowded room of surfers? 
in the end, you’re much safer in the water than on the drive there. the same applies to skydiving.
have fun on the water today everyone.
Pat