Well, I guess I've technically never seen a shark in the water, but back in May while in the Outer Banks I did see the kid who was fishing maybe 30-40 yards away from me reeling one in just as I was getting out of the water 
. No idea what kind, but it was just a little guy...probably wouldn't have taken much more than a finger or toe off 
Furious_E wrote: Well, I guess I've technically never seen a shark in the water, but back in May while in the Outer Banks I did see the kid who was fishing maybe 30-40 yards away from me reeling one in just as I was getting out of the water
As the Daytona area is absolutely crawling with sharks we see them frequently. I've seen them while swimming, while in my boat, and in my kayak. They are usually small guys 3' to 6' --- but not always!
I'll admit, that although you always know they are there when you are in the water, seeing them in the water with you is a bit unnerving. I usually wimp out, and get out of the water if I'm swimming and I see one. It's irrational---- but most fear is.
Surfers see them all the time--- of course they spend more time in the water than just about anyone else. Most divers will tell you that sharks don't bother them.......Barracuda do--- those things are erratic, mean, and fast as lightning!
I occasionally surf-cast for shark with a buddy of mine. We'll kayak the bait out past the break, and then wait..... sometimes we don't use a kayak, which is a little sketchy. Walking in chest-deep water in the middle of the night, with a huge chunk of fish dangling from your pole can give you the heebee jeebies--- as a very, very large animal can hide in chest-deep water!
I haven't got one yet, but my buddy recently caught these cute little guys!
Hopefully none of those seals has gotten a taste for mammal blood...
Given that the first couple hundred yards from shore are known as the "feeding zone" chumming the water you walk through is an interesting tactic.
I was bitten by something smallish when I was a kid (sand shark?). I have a nifty little scar on my foot from it.
The one that gave me the heebie jeebies though was the moray eel that lunged at me off Key Largo. He actually tried to bite my face and was defeated by my mask.
^^ not chumming---- but holding the rod above your head while walking through chest-deep water. There is generally a sand bar about a hundred yards from shore. We walk out to it, and then cast past the break. We'll then walk back to shore and place the rods in PVC piping stuck in the sand.... and wait.
I used to chum up sand sharks and the occasional bull shark to 6.5' behind seacrets in ocean city, anchoring just outside of the channel on the ocean side on an outgoing tide. In about 20 minutes you'd have a boil, shark on and here waitresses screaming and quitting. I've had a few shark encounters, and used to open water dive at wreck sites that had healthy populations. Tigers I was wary of, others didn't bother me. My parents used to have a house in Avon, NC in 1998 or 1999 a couple from Virginia was honeymooning there and decided to take a nighttime dip. A bull shark attacked them, killing one. So it does happen, but if you're smart and aware of your surroundings (clear water helps) then there's nothing to fear, only something to respect.
The sighting earlier in the post sounds like a blue shark, they're curious creatures. During Hurricane Bob i was on a 23' center console returning to Hatteras from Bermuda and i was flanked by a 16'+ tiger shark om the surface, i took my PFD off deciding that id rather drown.
Cownose rays taste like scallops, tasty stuff, I have no issues with people catching them to eat, but theor reproduction rate is very slow, 1 pup a year per a female, so I wouldn't encourage a commercial market.
captdownshift wrote: The sighting earlier in the post sounds like a blue shark, they're curious creatures. During Hurricane Bob i was on a 23' center console returning to Hatteras from Bermuda and i was flanked by a 16'+ tiger shark om the surface, i took my PFD off deciding that id rather drown.
They make 23' center consoles that will go the 600 miles between hatteras and Bermuda?
In reply to Flynlow:
Deck loaded fuel
Joe Gearin wrote: One thing I've learned living in the "Shark attack capitol of the World" is that if you are in the ocean......sharks are with you. Another thing I've learned----- sharks don't want you. I get that folks are intimidated by the increasing # of Great Whites around Cape Cod, but how many shark attacks have been reported? Have there been ANY Great White deaths in New England.....ever?? Some of the same Great Whites that frequent Cape Cod migrate down here to FL at certain times of the year. This has probably been happening for years and years, with no problems. Start tracking them and realize how close you are to them.... and people freak out. For instance Katherine--- a 14 foot Great White is kind of a star, she frequents the Daytona area every year. She never causes any problems, but folks freak when they hear a big shark is in the water......like she's the only one! Don't wear shiny things in the water, don't look like a seal in seal infested waters, and you should be fine. Sharks are much more intelligent than we've given them credit for in the past. And Orcas? Heck....they are probably smarter than humans.
Was reading a Sci-fi series where the protagonist were two species form earth (Men and dolphins) and a third off-world species.
The off-world species was trying to instigate something by asking the Dolphins if they resented the fact that humans hunted and killed them before they realized that Dolphins were sentient.
The Dolphins reply was " Well, you have to put this in perspective, us Dolphins never did figure out that the humans were intelligent"
captdownshift wrote: In reply to Flynlow: Deck loaded fuel
That's pretty badass. Hopefully my first comment didn't come across as snarky, wasn't intended that way. My folks have a 55', and its range is only about triple that with 1000 gallons of bunkerage. I did the math on tanks, size, and weight on a 23' planing hull and came up short. Did you have enough crew to rotate shifts? I'm assuming there must have been some sleeping on a trip that long...
In reply to Flynlow:
You're fine :) the vesseller was a 23' mako with a single (yikes) mercruiser i/o and a t-top. I was young and stupid, as in high school. But i had possessed a power squadron license since the age of 8 and a commercial license since 13. In hindsight I wouldn't make the trip without twins, but I did run the boat 5 days a week and it was in excellent working condition. I took a friend who was quite green at operating a boat along, he did alright on the way there, but lack of sunscreen reapplication nearly enough doomed us. Funny how in the early 90s spf 15 was considered the strong stuff unless you were a toddler. We were both blistered by the time we got to Hamilton. Between the weather and sun burn he bailed on the trip back opting to fly into Baltimore then Norfolk instead. The trip back actually resulted in me coming into port in Cape Charles, VA due to the storm, prevailing winds, current and fuel. It's not a trip I'd consider doing again by boat under 70' and with fuel cost it's just more efficient to fly. The only net positive is that the experience was a factor of me landing a spot on the crew of the Pride of Baltimore for 11 weeks after my senior year of high school (completing course work 3 weeks early to skip graduation and catch a flight to Tokyo) before reporting to 2 a days. During that time I was able to sail across the pacific, down the west coast of the US and Baja and through the Panama canal.
^^^ That huge a distance in the open water on a 23' boat with ONE outboard? Damn---- you are a much much braver man than I!
A 23' boat looks pretty big on a trailer----- but feels very very small once you get far enough offshore that land isn't in sight.
In reply to tr8todd:
I must ask, why did you call in the Great Whites & Orcas instead of the Japanese & Canadians?
In reply to Joe Gearin:
Yeah I wouldn't do it again. I had zero mechanical issues, but that's certainly a case of being lucky as opposed to good. Coming through the storm on the trip home seas were rough enough, I estimate 25-30ft, that it was uphill and downhill for 28+ exhausting hours, hence the change in landfall location. Thankfully the majority of the swells were "just" massive rollers. The amount of force that the weight of a wall of water of that size carries is absolutely astounding though. Seeing how long you can ride on the uphill portion of the backside of a wave is critical to fuel consumption and vessel stability.
It was a while until I even made a run out to the canyons for marlin after that trip. It was inshore for Mahi and footballs for about 6 weeks.
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