Sh-sh-shark!

I swim at least once a week in the open ocean and have never seen a shark. This is an irrational fear and you all need to get over it.

I've heard that it's bad to wear anything dolphin-colored, as in grey or light blue wetsuits. Aqua Sphere Aqua Skins are primarily grey, with a black and blue or black and red. www.aquasphereswim.com/.../aqua_skin_wt80_2p.html They're what I wear so I wonder if this is a potential problem for swimming at Coney Island/Brighton.

Hey George, Seen that. Do you know the last time a person was killed by a shark in RI? If the last time you heard about a shark while you were swimming was 1972, I'm still not worried. Besides I stay much closer to shore than Block Island Sound. Cheers, Mike.

That shark followed me from Narragansset all the way to Blocke Island RI. I am sure glad he was not hungry. It was in late August. The coast guard said it was a 14' great white. They let me know if it attacked they would shot it.

Hey Mike - Go back to the first page of this thread and see my buddy the Shark

Here is my buddy the shark Are you kidding me? George was "drafting" off that shark! And I wonder who was DQ'd! donna

Don't kid yourself. The sharks are *always* there. It's just that it's rare for them to bite a person, and usually it's only by accident. And like I always tell my swimmers, generally speaking the sharks in Florida are on the small side, so getting bit is one thing, having something bit off is another and very unlikely. My $.02 :)

I really don't know about how frequent sharks are off the beaches in Florida. I went to a swim camp there that made us do some ocean swims a few times. Once I think we swam 5 miles parallel to the shore. (I am not sure if that is the exact distance since it was about 25 years ago!) We always swam parallel and quite close to the shore. I would have my swimming buddy swim next to me, further out. :lmao: I did not ever see a shark in the two summers we spent at that camp. We did hear that one time the summer before a shark was spotted off the waters at that beach. I did see some other things--maybe sting rays or ? I don't remember now. It made me a bit nervous to do but I also liked it. Anyway, hope you have fun. I don't *think* sharks are always around in the Florida waters. I really don't know, though. Best wishes!

Yes, of course the sharks are always there. Think of it like this, your odds of being bitten in shark accident are about the same odds as winning the jackpot in your local lottery. Approximately 1 in 14 000 000. Here is an excellent site with all the info and stats on all recorded shark attacks, the International Shark Attack File: www.flmnh.ufl.edu/.../ISAF.htm

This morning I swam to the B bouy ( out a half mile ) from the La Jolla Cove near San Diego, and had at least three sea lions join me. The swells were large, and you couldn`t see the bouy or the shore unless you were on a swell . I stopped to get my bearings and saw their heads pop-up. My wife sits on a bench above the Cove and has a great vantage point and watches me with binos,..she said that for a while they were within 6 feet of me,...I never saw them while under way,..it any rate it was exciting!! 58 degree water,..I went "naked".:groovy: