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luke
The man in the gray suit. Old toothy. The landlord. Jaws. Whatever moniker you prefer, sharks are out there almost any time we’re sailing in salt water. And just because you’re not dangling your feet like a prone surfer doesn’t mean you’re not at risk.
Stories involving sharks and sailors are few but they’re real. Joe Dihl of Davenport Surf and Sail in Northern California relates the story of local sailor Mike Sullivan, who in 1995 was knocked off his board by a great white. How did he know it was a great white? After it knocked him over it bit the board, and marine biologists were able to identify it by the teeth marks.
Alex Pang, another Northern California sailor, has kept a record of the times he and his buddies have seen sharks while sailing — and it’s a little bit more often than you’d like to think. More recently, an attack that killed a experienced kiteboarder and former windsurfer in Florida has got folks worried about what might be swimming below.
“They’re out there,” Dihl says. “Attacks on windsurfers certainly don’t happen often — but as close as we are in NorCal to major breeding grounds like the Farallon Islands, it’s a possibility.”
So does a windsurfer look like food to a great white — or are we big enough to be intimidating? Considering that the great whites swimming in the surf zone in Northern California eat 5,000-pound elephant seals for lunch, probably not.
How do you know when a shark is around? Salty old surfers and sailors talk about the “heebie-jeebies” — an uneasy feeling for no apparent reason. And perhaps windsurfers could take a cue from surfers and adopt the international signal for a shark sighting (one hand, palm open, held over the head with the fingers pointing up.) If you see that, it’s a sign to go in.
But shark attacks still remain statistically rare, and fatalities even rarer, so sail on — just keep your eyes open.
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That’s exactly one of the reasons why I like to be on the water (on a yacht) and not in the water (on a board) good post should scare a few more people off. I’m gonna be looking for that sign
though it will be from the deck of a yacht or from the shore.
Happy and safe windsurfing, just watch your back or wait for the hand signal. Anyway, everyone to their own thing and I’m sure you enjoy what you do: as I do.Good Luck and have fun.
The most dangerous place to be is at or near the mouth of a River after a heavy rain. Bull Sharks, the most dangerous and aggressive shark, love to congregate at the mouth of a river after a heavy rain to scoop up all the unsuspecting fish.
I think the best way to solve this problem is proactively. You should always sail with surfers in the water. When they start to disappear or start frantically paddling into the beach it is then time to sail in. Remember you don't have to out run the Bear you just need to bring slow friends while camping.
I experienced the “heebie-jeebies” myself while windsurfing in the Virgin Islands. I had a close encounter with a Hammerhead Shark. I felt his presence before I actually saw him. Even tought I was super scared, I felt great admiration for that prehistoric beast.
Today, 10 years later I’m not scared of sharks while windsurfing.
What are the odds of having a second close encounter with a shark?
The 'heebie-jeebies' are real! Sailing at Sprecks in '96, it was a lighter air day w/lots of passing squalls–felt like great bass fishing weather, if back on the mainland. 1/2 mile out, what I thought was Flipper Jr. was about a 7 ft tiger 20 feet in front of me. Nobody else around. Most nervous jibe of my life, esp because the wind had really faded. Talk about times you appreciate a floaty board! No incident really, just a close sighting, but definitely spooked me (buddies on shore said they'd never seen me so white). It had just felt 'fishy' leading up to the sighting. Having anything pop out of the water in front of you at Waddell is nerve-racking as well (like an 18 ft elephant seal!). I'm a 210 pound guy and will only go out in salt water w/plenty of board, a good sized fin, and some extra sail area–don't want to be swimming.
As a freshwater windsurfer in Northern Ontario, I don't have to worry about sharks….I also don't experience, as often, the sailing conditions of the ocean…..like anything else, it's "give & take", boys.
I saw a bull shark about 200m in front of me one day while sailingboarding.I gybed & went back to shore & waited for it to move out of my sailing area.It was on a mission and knew where it was going.I then went out sailing hoping like hell it didnt decide to come back & if it did Id see it.My harness lines pinged off 2 x so I had to sit in the water kicking my feet around while I fixed them & I was on a new board so feel heaps & had to waterstart.I know it hangs around where I sail..almost turns you off sailing.
When at Key West, I dropped in on a sleeping shark off the White Street Pier,,,,,,It was a light wind day and I was passing time jibing on tiny wave faces and pumping to catch these same waves for a short ride over the shallows and sand bars,,,,,, Well, having fallen off a jibe at the end of the pier my foot bumped into something fairly life like,,,,,,,Upon looking down I saw a gray form curling back around my leg,,,,,,Having felt something digging into my foot, I started kicking like mad hoisting my shaking body scrambling on to the deck of my 160 l Thommen Race board,,,,,When ashore my buddies told me that it was likely a bonnet head shark,,,,,,There were hundereds of them hanging out at the pier,,,,Small but fearsome when awakened from their sleep I guess,,,,Well that was my close encounter,,,,,Pretty scary for a land locked Great Lakes sailor,,,,,,
Wellington, NZ. We occasionally get orcas (killer whales) here which can be a bit disturbing but they are only very curious and apparently eat sharks (as well as seals etc.) so maybe we should feel safer with them around. No sharks to speak of.
I was doing a high speed slalom run about half a mile off of the Point Fermin Lighthouse when I slammed into something big. It must have been twelve feet or more. I was catapulted face down while still hooked in and in the foot straps. Slightly shocked from the slam I quickly came to my senses when this gigantic shark was squirming underneath my sail. It was slithering in a frantic way just underneath my sails monofilm window. I couldn't understand why it wouldn't swim away after such a hard hit. The shark was probably thinking the same thing; Why is this dinner not trying to get away. Well, trying to do a push-up on the 7.5m race sail while still being hooked in is easier than you think when a big open mouth and sharp teeth are less than a meter from your face. The shark remained thrashing under my sail and I did everything possible to keep the sail between me and that huge mouth. Imagine how terrified I was when I finally took my feet out of the straps and the board started to tip over. The thought of my feet dangling in the water as bait was not comforting at all but worse was the desperation I would feel if my board tipped over fin side up and no possibility of me doing an up-haul. I finally threw myself on the sail and managed to keep the board flat and fin down. I awkwardly slithered on top of the sail.
Needless to say, I finally got up and up-hauled the sail. As I left the scene of the incident I noticed the the shark remained in the same area squirming around mostly belly up. It turns out that the twelve foot monster I hit was only about five or six feet long and I had reconfigured it to be more of a "V" shape. I slammed that sucker so hard with my 40cm race fin that I literally bent it into a "V". That put an end to my sail session. It was amazing how exhausted I was when I made it to the beach. I was so happy to be back in one piece. I could barely walk for the next two weeks due to damage in my knees and I had serious body pains from the whiplash. I was very happy to be recovering from that instead of shark bites.
I didn't have another incident with a shark until about three years later and that was just a three or four foot shark lazily swimming in front of me while I was shlogging around that same area, off the shore of Cabrillo State Park CA. As a precaution I made my shlogging jibe an extra quarter of a mile out and I was still as nervous as that incident a few years earlier.
I bump into 'big fish' all the time. It probably happens to me a half-dozen times a year. The fall is the worse. There's usually spilt blood too. One gets used to it after a while. However, I do worry about a fin tab breaking or box being ripped out and being forced to do an Olympic training swim in. Slamming into these monsters is our way of culling the population. Since they, carp, are not native to our lakes, I don't lose any sleep at all… B^)
Sharks and alligators are a real threat to water sports enthusiasts. For instance Maui is a great windsurfing destination, but it is swarming with sharks. It is always best to check with the local authorities to see if there are threats in the area before going into the water. Great article!
In the late 60s, I stood on a bridge with a whole bunch of people, trying to attract the attention of 2 guys both sitting on a very long mal who were just sitting in a deep river channel. Below them was a shark that was a few feet longer than that board (remember, this was the 60s, so the board was at least 10 or 11' long. It cruised up and down below them (it was a narrow channel) several times before they worked out that we weren't just waving hello. The shark was very interested in them, but didn't attack.
Then in the early 70s, I was surfing with my brother and 3 friends when we spotted 3 shark fins patrolling the reef outcrop close to shore - the sharks were closer to the shore than we were. One of our friends said that he was paddling back to shore, but I told him and all the others that we were going to stay put, to which he replied that he was paddling anyway. I told him to stay put, or otherwise if the sharks didn't kill him, then I'd definitely kill him later.
These sharks were obviously fishing, and I didn't want to attract any more undue attention. I'm sure the sharks knew we were there, but I figured it'd be best if we didn't all flay around and p1ss ourselves. The sharks eventually moved off and then we bolted for the beach.
That was nearly 40 years ago. Since then, my brother has had a shark under his board, so has a friend. It's taken me decades to accept that the sharks are there all the time and mostly are busy eating other things. But that still doesn't make it any easier.
Last episode: just after Easter this year, I saw what looked like a grey/green curved rock on the sand about 20' from where I was surfing. Then I looked at the red sharp rocks on the beach and figured the rock wasn't really a rock at all. I decided to move closer to some nearby surfers. Later, I was talking to a friend who said he'd seen the biggest pods of dolphins he'd ever seen in his life "hundreds!" feeding on salmon. Plus "other things that eat salmon".
I'm still nervous about surfing by myself, but the chances of a shark attack are less than the chance of a car crash on the way to the beach. At least, that's how I control my fear.