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Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences?
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I just read a story on CNN about 13 year old surfing star Bethany Hamilton who lost an arm in a shark attack in Hawaii.

It got me thinking about your experiences with sharks in triathlons. The reason I bring it up is that I have many custmers voice a concern over sharks during saltwater swims and I always tell them "It isn't even a factor- don't even think about it".

As far as I know, I'm right.

My own personal experience with sharks is that they are either relatively shy and hard to find, or just basically ignore you. I've seen them while diving on three occasions, including some pretty healthy specimens right off the Discovery Channel. It was tough just to get close enough to get a photo of them. Then there are the "tame" little nurse sharks who wait around for tourist divers to feed them and pet them. I know no shark is tame, but these things seemed pretty darn placid.

Any of you guys got any shark experiences? I remember Ed Giroux of Aerospoke once told me a story about doing a race in Florida where the swim pack swam into a school of Hammerheads. One bumped him in the chest. He looked down and was like, "Holy sh@#!" but the race came off without a hitch. Many participants were saying, after the race, "did you see all those sharks out there!"

Let's hear from you salt water girls and guys....

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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you are more likley to be killed in a car wreck on the way to the beach to swim than by a shark attack.
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [beELzebubba] [ In reply to ]
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That's what I tell people. But they seemed to be transfixed by the concept of getting eaten by an animal. I tell them "You should be more worried about getting hit by a car on the bike course."

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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I live in southern Calif and do most of my swiming in the ocean. It gets a bit cold in the winter but that's why a squid lid was invented.

We do not have skarks that eat swimmers here, the great whites are more in northern ca. But just in case, I swim with guys that are slower. skarks always eat the stragelers!!!



Kidding aside, I agree with the other posts,.00000000001% of any problem out here
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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On a related note, I've been wondering if you Floridians and others swim in the lakes down there? The ones where gators are known to live?

Any gator stories?
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [jaylew] [ In reply to ]
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Two years ago at the Walden School of Cycling Michael R. Rabe, Colin (Calvin) McMahon and I were on a ride near a golf course. We rode out onto a peninsula and on either side of the peninsula there were TONS of alligators. They were everywhere. I was amazed. It was super cool. I counted well over 13 in one small area. They were just floating around with a few more up on the bank. Then, as we roade down the peninsula, we saw more of them. I could not believe how many there were. The place was littered with them. I asked Rabe to go back there later so I could shoot some photos (he had the van, Calvin and I had flown down there) but he was like "No, I know you, you'll do something stupid that I'll have to save you from..."

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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The story that Ed related to you was about me. It was 1985 at the Daytona beach triathlon. I was off the front in the swim by about 150 yds., and I kept getting hit on the feet by the swimmer behind me. I finally stopped to yell at the person, and no one was there. About 5 seconds later I got hit in the back with a heavy blow. I then realized that a shark was hitting me. My life did'nt flash before my eyes, but the fear of dying in the mouth of a shark petrefied me. I was still 500 yds from shore, and there was no lead boat or kayak. The shark came in for another attack, and I put my hands in front of me and got ready to punch it on the nose, and maybe gouge an eye if it took hold of me. At the last second it did a u-turn right in front of me, and that's when I knew what I had to do. I turned around and swam back into the main pack behind me. I figured that I would at least give this sucker a choice. There were about 4 or 5 swimmers in that group and I tucked right in the middle. They were wondering what the hell I was doing. They soon found out. Mike Garcia was the next to get hit, and then Wendy Ingrahm. As we were running up the beach Mike looked at me with eyes as big as silver dollars and screamed at me that he just got attacked by a hammerhead. I said, I know, why do you think I was swimming backwards. It was very scary, and kind of weird running towards the bikes. I had just escaped with my life, and all thought of the race had left my mind. I know Mike was feeling the same way, but soon we just got on the bikes and started riding. Later we were to find out that a fisherman had shot a 8 foot hammmerhead 2 days before the race in that exact area. The shark was just being territorial, as hammerheads are. Good for us it was'nt dinner time.......True story
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [monty] [ In reply to ]
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Dude. That is huge. Absofuckinglutely huge. Five stars.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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I read that article in the paper today. Just the toughts that I needed as I head off to Panama City to race this weekend (my first ever in Salt Water shark territory!). I've done a bit of swimming in the Carribean while on vacation and have never seen a shark in the water but if I do then I figure it will scare the crap out of me even though from everything that I've read I should assume that I have nothing to worry about. People eat way more sharks every year than the sharks do to us in return and with the number of people swimming in the ocean in Florida and Hawaii and this being the 4th attack in Hawaii this year, we must not be on their list of preferred foods. I'm also counting on the fact that, as a swimmer who will be 1 hour +/- a minute or two on Saturday that I'll be in a big group and the hungry sharks will either eat the swim studs or the competotors flirting with the swim cutoff time :)
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Allan] [ In reply to ]
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I freakin' hate you all! darn going to Fl wednesday and that's what comes to your mind? talking about sharks???
shit shit shit!
For sure the swim practice will be done with the gatorade dudes this year. No way I will go swim by myself!
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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I live in S. Florida and USED to swim frequently near a fishing pier that gets a lot of action. Typically, we get 1 or 2 minor shark-related incidents every year or two within about 5 miles north/south of the pier. A few years ago, my wife and I were fishihg offshore and she hooked a small (3 foot) reef shark. Looked like Jaws just a lot smaller.

Anyhoo, 1 day I was swimming along when something bumped me from behind on the bottom of my foot.

Admission: I realize that it was probably nothing.

However, it did come up on me from behind, meaning that it was moving...I did not stick around to find out what it was and you could have easily had a pyramid of water skiers (think cypress gardens circa 1940) hooked up to my feet and I would have pulled those suckers along. It was like a cartoon, I swam so hard. Felt like I was on top of the water...HR probably about 200. Now I just swim in waist deep water, usually bumping into the knees of old ladies...

Post-script, I told a friend about my incident. He's a local helicopter pilor and instructor. He says he will never go into the water near that pier. Says you fly over it and see THOUSANDS of little sharks. Kinda like NYC cabs....

I like lakes...
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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One of the local age groupers here lost an arm in a shark attack during a training swim a couple year ago.

But I don't worry about ocean swims. I'm more likely to win the Florida lottery than be attacked by a shark. It's the inland lakes and the possibility of water snakes that's freaky to me.
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [FLA Jill] [ In reply to ]
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.....Land Sharks...


Those are the killers. With 4 rubber fins and those two piercing eyes, that light up at night, acting as though they have not a care in the world...

https://www.kickstarter.com/...bike-for-the-new-era
Last edited by: SuperDave: Nov 2, 03 16:11
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [SuperDave] [ In reply to ]
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I heard that more people die from falling coconuts than shark attacks in Hawaii. Don't know if it is true but I found that amazing.
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [FLA Jill] [ In reply to ]
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The guy who lost his arm is Chuck Anderson, and he has the most amazing, positive attitude imaginable. He still competes, is active in the local tri scene, and is a high school coach who must be a great inspiration to the kids. I know he is to me. Chuck and one other guy were swimming early in the morning off Orange Beach, AL when the shark, a bull shark, attacked. Bulls are known to be very agressive, and the shark hit him two or three times. His buddy was able to drive it off, but unfortunately, Chuck lost his arm from just below the elbow down. Lessons--Don't swim early in the morning ar late in the evening when it is prime feeding time for sharks, and try to swim in a group--a large one if possible. I doubt if many sharks will hang around after 2,000 swimmers hit the water. And yes, alligators are probably worse. If you have a dog and live near the water, well, you just better keep an eye on Fido.
Last edited by: tri_bri2: Nov 3, 03 6:37
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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My wife and I went on a cruise in Tahiti for our honeymoon. They had an excursion where you could jump in the lagoon while they lured in sharks. It was pretty crazy. None of them were outrageously big, but there were a few 6 - 8 footers. They were pretty shy- as soon as the tour guides ran out of fish, they took off, but we managed to get some good pictures, plus tell stories to people about how we swam with sharks.

---------------------------------------------------------

"What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind and body can achieve; and those who stay will be champions."
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Jack in Mi] [ In reply to ]
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One of the great scuba spots in the world is Alliwal Shoal - about an hour south of Durban in South Africa - the reef is home to raggies - so named due to their dire need of a dentist. The favourite dive (where about 15 operators drop divers) is raggie cave - not really a cave but you are almost guaranteed to see a half dozen of these real ugly sharks - typical size is 6 to 8 foot - generally pretty docile unless feeding!! Further along the reef you may well bump into hammerheads etc. If you are a diver it is a must in life. I worked as a lifeguard during my college years in Durban - several times saw sharks however never an attack. The Kwazulu coast is "protected" by shark nets - staggered around a half mile off shore. They were put in in the late 60's after numerous attacks all but killed off the tourist industry. Since then I think there has been a single attack on a protected beach. The nets however obviously are highly controversial as they trap other species such as dolphins etc...

http://www.endurancesports.ca
Coaching and Training Camps

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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [tri_bri2] [ In reply to ]
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Wasn't Chuck swimming around a pier when the attack happened? Bull sharks are plentiful, very aggressive and they like to hang out around piers, bridges, etc. I'm in south Georgia, and I get the opportunity to do some swimming each year in north Florida, and I try to stay away from early morning/late evening swims, and I keep away from piers and bridges. However, in a triathlon swim, I don't worry at all. Swimming in a pack of a few hundred (or thousand!) is pretty safe.

Alligators are also common in our area, and I live in an area with several lakes. It's also a popular boating and swimming location. Alligators are seen every year, and I saw a mid-sized one in a pond a few yards from the lake in which we swim. But gators are normally pretty shy, and attacks are very uncommon. You have trouble with alligators when they lose their fear of people (like if someone feeds them from their back door, dock, etc. -- which is a very common thing in many areas).

Though these animals are dangerous, the odds of an attack are very slim.

RP
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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I've seen multiple sharks while diving and possibly one in the surf last year before IMFL (or then again it may have been a dolphin, didn't get a real good look). They have never bothered me or given me any concern.

One thing you SHOULD be worried about is lightning. Check out www.lightningsafety.com From 1959 - 1994 FL had 345 deaths by lightning and almost 1200 injuries. Did they not run Lake Placid with a thunderstorm going on? Of all the ways to buy it in a triathlon I would think sharks are very low on the list.

I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.
Last edited by: j p o: Nov 3, 03 6:38
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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When I lived in Miami in the 70's and 80's the Herald would publish pictures taken by helicopter of tourists and the sharks in the water around them. Few of the swimmers noticed them. The tourism board asked the paper to stop publishing the pictures for fear of upsetting the tourists. I used to dive and saw few sharks. When I sailed catamarans off Miami Beach we saw a large hammerhead just off the beach. I stood at the front of the boat (a Hobie 16) while my friend was at the back. The sharks head was near the front while its tail was behind the boat making it about 16'. It was afraid of the boat and we could not get much closer than 10 feet or so. I later swam away from us. Dont swim alone or near the mouth of a river if possable. As far as Ironman Florida is concerned, the noise of 1500 plus swimmers will probably scare the sharks away.

Once, I was fast. But I got over it.
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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The wife and I dived with 10 ft. bull sharks on a shark feed in Cuba. Without a doubt, one of the biggest thrills in my life. Amazing this was only a few hundred metres off shore from a busy beach full of locals and tourists. I wrote about it for a British online scuba magazine several years ago.

http://www.deeperblue.net/article.php/37/11
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [rhpreston] [ In reply to ]
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"Wasn't Chuck swimming around a pier when the attack happened?"

Yes, I believe he was.

We had another incident here later that same summer involving a triathlete and a shark. A triathlete (Vance Flosenzier) of Mobile, AL was surf fishing off of Ft. Pickens when his nephew, who was wading nearby, was grabbed on the leg and arm by a bull shark. The shark got the little boys arm off and was swimming away with it. Vance grabbed the shark by the tail and dragged it up on the beach where it was killed by a park ranger. The boys arm was reattached. This incident occured just at sunset and was also (I believe) a bull shark.
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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I live about and hour and a half down the beach from Panama City were Ironman Florida will be held this weekend. This is my first year in triathlon but I have fished and surfed these waters for the past 25 years. Shark attacks in our area are very rare and are mostly a case of mistaken identify. The most common conditions that can lead to an encounter are low light, murky water, swimming near schools of migrating fish/bait and spear fishing which chums the sharks. The sharks that do frequent our beaches are usually small as their biggest prey items are mostly migrating mullet. If you’ve never seen a mullet it looks a lot like a surfers foot dangling under a surf board:-o

I did four triathlons from Panama City to Orange Beach this year and found the shark issue a non-event. I would be scared if I was a shark! My race strategy was to play on my surf skills and get to open water in the top five of my wave and then work my way back through the pack so others can practice their passing techniques. I hope to change this strategy next year.

Here is a swim update for those of you doing IMF. I surfed yesterday and the water clarity is very good. I can see the shadow of my kayak on the bottom in 20 feet of water. There is a little bit of seaweed but mainly in the surf line. The weather looks good for the rest of the week so the clarity should be OK for the race. The fish migrations has slowed up quite a bit due to the water temperature dropping about five/ten degrees over the past few weeks. We had sea turtles, dolphin, Spanish mackerel and devil rays up and down the beach in mid October. My two kids, 4 and 8 kept me busy jumping off the kayak trying to swim with the critters. They unfortunately have no fear. It sure beats TV though. Have a good race.

David
Last edited by: FLORIDAVID: Nov 3, 03 7:46
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Re: Shark attack and triathlon: Experiences? [tri_bri2] [ In reply to ]
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I remember that attack. That summer, several attacks happened at Florida beaches on both sides of the state (as well as in other locations), and the national media dubbed that summer "The Summer of the Shark" or something stupid like that. The guy you mentioned did drag the shark out of the water and on to the beach, and yes, it was a bull shark. Bull sharks are notorious man-eaters, and are responsible for more shark-related deaths around the world than any other shark. They are also fond of fresh water, and have been found hundreds of miles up rivers. Bull sharks also inhabit Lake Zambezi in Africa (fresh water, completely closed off from the ocean) and are responsible for a number of deaths in that lake. (Over there, it's called the Lake Zambezi shark.)

But, like has been stated here several times, the chances of being attacked are very, very slim. But you should still take some common sense precautions, like not swimming very early in the morning or late in the afternoon, around piers/docks/etc., and staying away from other areas where hungry sharks are known to congregate (i.e. mouths of rivers; also previously mentioned).

I saw Chuck Anderson on the Discovery Channel when that station highlighted his attack. There is also a guy in our local club who races quite a bit on the Panhandle, and he, like Chuck, is a Clydesdale, and he and Chuck have had some pretty good (friendly) battles in that age group both before and after the attack. Both men have nudged each other more than once for hardware in the Clydesdale division. Chuck took a picture with some of our local triathletes before a race in '02, and we had that photo in our local paper. The paddle on Chuck's stump was plainly visible in the photo. He's an incredible guy with an incredible story.

RP
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