Sh-sh-shark!

I lived on St. Simons Isl, a barrier island off the coast of GA, slightly north of Jacksonville, Fl, for most of my childhood and teen years. Never once heard of anyone being attacked by a shark. Just do some commonsense things.... don't swim in schools of fish that would attrack hungry sharks. Sharks sometimes get trapped between sandbars and the beach when the tide is low because they followed fish into the shallow watter when the tide was high Others may be able to give you hints on what colors not to wear. I'm not up on that. Lainey

I had a training swim in the Coral Islands and they told me that I needed a gun guard to be on the beach while swimming. It was quite pleasant until he yelled shark, I exited the water and swam faster faster and ran out..

Someone advised me prior to my ocean swim not to wear shiny jewelry. Of course, I don't wear jewelry anyway when I swim for fear I'll lose it, but in case you do, something to think about. Have also heard ppl should avoid bright or highly contrasting colors. Think I heard that on NPR. Recently, I was swimming between a beach and a sandbar. Probably good I didn't hear about all this at that time! Didn't, however, run into any sharks. Good luck w/ your swimming.

just had to share this... :cool:

LOL! Actually, I did make into the water today- and there was a shark scare! Someone noticed a dorsel (sp?) fin off in the distance, about 150 yds out. I freaked out of course and the rest of the bathers and on-lookers kept watching. There were tonnes of baitfish everywhere and the shark was obviously hungry. Wondering why the lifeguards were so reticent about this Jaws sequel in the making, I marched up to the nearest hut and told the lifeguard that there was a shark out there. Obviously used to concerned citizens like me, he told me that it was a ray (I forget which) and not to worry. He even let me look through his binoculars to reassure me. Others on the beach had followed my lead, and wanted to see what was out there, too. The lifeguard and I had a short discussion about the 'perils' and myths about open water swimming, which actually made me feel a lot better about the whole deal. It also turned out that we had (briefly) swam on the same USMS team. (My DH made me laugh, when I told him this; he's like, 'Flirting with the lifeguards already?) peace...

Originally posted by kernow (My DH made me laugh, when I told him this; he's like, 'Flirting with the lifeguards already?) Now THAT's a REAL good reason to do open-water swimming!! :cool:

Thanks... Last week, someone I swim with saw a shark... The thing is, sharks are (generally) quite happy to swim about, not bothering anyone (kinda like me :)) I'm just terrified of being sampled. I once read somewhere that swimmers in Florida are usually no more than 15-30 ft. away from one. We'll see. I'm off to the beach in around 30 mins.

But the women that do the open water swimming can make it worthwhile as well...

Maybe you've already seen this... I did a google and found a VERY cool site about SHARK ATTACK QUOTE: Year 2000 USA Beach Injuries and Fatalities *From within the jurisdictions of 68 USLA East and West Coast ocean lifeguard agencies* Here are what the real odds are based on the data below: Drowning and other beach-related fatalites 1 in 2 million Drowning fatalites 1 in 3.5 million Shark attacks 1 in 11.5 million Shark attack fatalites 0 in 264.1 million There's also a page with Reducing the Risk of a Shark Encounter Enjoy your swim! Mary

Two men were walking in the woods. Suddenly a bear started coming towards them. One guy immediately started putting on running shoes. The other chided him, "Do you really think you can outrun a bear?" The first guy replied, "I don't have to. I only have to outrun you." Moral of the story -- always swim with someone slower than you. :)