Sh-sh-shark!

I swam out to the B bouy from La Jolla Cove this afternoon,...several miles south of Solano Beach where the shark attack occurred. It was exhilerating,...63 degree water,...lots of chop,..large swells,...sea lions popping their heads up and a bunch of dolphins cruised in towards La Jolla Shores,......calico bass daring thru the kelp and an eclectic mixture of music on my finis swimp3 player. I wear a red "rash-guard" (because the kelp rubs my arm-pits raw) and bark blue knee length speedos,..my wife says I look like a rapalla fishing lure. The odds of getting killed by a shark or anyother sea creature is small,....the benefits of swimming in the Ocean out-weigh the danger. I swim everyother day in a pool,,,,I hate it,..turn around,,,swim,,,turn around,...80 degree water( yuck!) and chlorine,...not to mention swimming thru the flakes of dis-integrating diapers for the old folks who just got done doing water arobics. ( well,..I am being a bit hyperbolic). OK,..I finished,...and I feel better.:violin:

Ron, I'm envious, I wish I lived closer to the ocean...one day. I would join you for that swim out to B buoy, however I would certainly be a lot more on edge than say an OW swim in the Caribbean. There's only a few places on Earth that is "Great White territory" and you are swimming in one of them. But, the odds are in your favor, the risk is small. Still, that's a Helluva spot to go out for a long open ocean swim.....

I swam in the 2m Newport Pier to Pier in 2004. Before the event in 62 degree water, we gathered at Balboa Pier only to learn that a shark had been sighted the night before off the pier. The Lifeguard in charge announced that it was up to us (there were about 200 of us) whether he would go ahead with the event. Just then, a 75 year old-woman swimmer yelled, "Bring him on!" at which point all the young college guys looked at each other and said, "man, if she's going, we're going. And the race was on. I have never enjoyed any competition more in my life...It was an hour's worth of total exhilaration I will remember always...What a blast for a 47yr old who is now 51 and wants to do the Alcatraz Shark Swim...Has anyone done it and do you have any advice to a daily lap swimmer at George Mason University in Virginia. RKW :fish2:

I`ve done Alcatraz one time,..in a wetsuit. June 28 I do it again,..."naked". It was fun,..easier than I thought. I followed the crowd on my first swim, next month I`m looking to get towards the front. If you practice only in a swimming pool,.practice swimming with your eyes closed and learn to swim straight,...wear the largest goggles you can find,..I wear a snorkeling mask,...great visibility.,..learn to, as Gary calls it have "alligator eyes",...scanning for landmarks without raising your head too much out of the water. Most important,...learn to relax!

Man dies after shark attack 15 MAY 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Fijian man died after he was bitten by a shark whilst on a diving expedition. The 28-year-old man, Aisake Sadole, was part of a group of four who went night diving in Ba yesterday evening. According to police reports, the group realized one of their members was missing after he failed to surface. They dived again and found his body at the bottom of the sea. Sadole was rushed to the Lautoka Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. The shark bit his arm and the man died as a result of excessive blood loss. www.fijilive.com/.../4869

I live in Hawai`i and yes, shark attacks can happen. However, the odds of it are slim and you're probably more like to be in a car accident. We've had some here and I'm aware that it can happen. I try to stay away where they are generally spotted and hope that they actually tell you if one has been spotted. I've heard of times when they don't.

I live in Hawai`i and yes, shark attacks can happen. However, the odds of it are slim and you're probably more like to be in a car accident. We've had some here and I'm aware that it can happen. I try to stay away where they are generally spotted and hope that they actually tell you if one has been spotted. I've heard of times when they don't. Billy Watkins got eaten by a shark over where you live (at the break on the Lanikai side of Flat Island).

The discovery channel website says you are more likely to die from a fall down the stairs, from a sting of a hornet, wasp, or bee, from a lightening strike, from drowning in your bathtub, from an adverse reaction to antibiotics, from a falling object, from an agricultural machine, or a motor vehicle accident than you are to being attacked by a shark. What they don't tell you is why. I will answer that for you. The answer is, the shark is waiting for me. :)

some interesting shark footage here: www.youtube.com/watch

I was in England getting ready to do my English Channel attempt. While waiting on my day to swim, I met the oldest swimmer to successfully swim the Channel in Dover's harbor. He said he wanted to swim the Catalina Channel, but his wife would not let him due to sharks. I was stunned. I had successful swam it the year before and had worried about sharks, but my thoughts were if it is my time to go, what a way to go. I could just see the headlines -"Swimmer killed by shark as he attempts to swim from Catalina Island to the California Coast". How cool would that be!!