Training with my partner Rob this morning off Henley Beach, Adelaide, Australia we were 2k into a planned 8k swim, both of us wearing Orca 3.8 suits and we had a Shark Shield FREEDOM 7 unit on.
Near large jetty I got that funny spooked feeling...we had moved into deeper water to get out of the surf break and visibility was very low today from recent rainfall. I stopped and tagged Rob to suggest we move shallower then suddenly a patrol chopper was overhead, hovering low off the end of the jetty. We knew it was a shark spotter and an alarm sounded - beach lifeguards were franticall waving us in, and we did not hesitate to get into shallow water asap. We joined the large gathering watching from the jetty as the beach patrol drove what was a large shark away from the beach in a semi-rigid, what was guessed to be a 6-7 foot White Pointer.
We got back in a bit further back down the beach both a little freaked and started back for another leg staying very shallow, then the low battery signal came on the Shark Shield so we called it a day at the beach and headed over to the local 50m pool to wrap up the rest of the 8k.
We'll be doing a lot of training this summer off Adelaide and will be putting a lot of faith into the Shark Shield units. Anyone have any experience with them?
Todd
Former Member
i've also read that article about the shark shield actually attracting sharks (the manufacturer claims to have fixed this defect .
i seem to remember reading that penny palfrey used the shark shield for her catalina crossing.
I bought a Shark Shield for a swim that eventually never happened. We practiced with it in the open water (San Francisco Bay) but never had any shark encounters. Despite the one mix-up that the other postees mentioned, the SS's are supposed to be effective.
G.
We've researched and looked into the SS FREEDOM 7 unit in detail and will be relying on it quite extensively over the next year for some protection/peace of mind. It is only the lack of visibility and the fact we are currently training in Great White territory that spooks me.
One thing is for sure, if you get close to it while it is turned on you get a tingle, and if you touch it you get a decent zap. The first day out with them we were more worried about getting shocked than any sharks. :)
T
Hi Randy,
The Shark Shield FREEDOM 7 units we are using were designed and made here in Adelaide, it is not the Shark POD, but works similarly I believe. We haven't actually seen a shark yet here, but that will change once we get up on the Reef. For the GBR Swim we are using two SS F7 units tethered from our support kayaks, creating what we hope will be an overlapping "electro bubble" of protection. That said sharks are actually of least concern, what will be a real challenge are the marine stingers: Irukandji. We ae getting tested to see how we react to them.............
.....exciting stuff Todd.....you do know sharks swim in shallow water too!!!! Is the shark shield you are using two units connected by a cord? Was it formerly known as the Shark Pod originally tested by the Natalie Center in South Africa? I tested the shark pod with National Geographic on an expedition in Bimini and it seemed to work with cruising sharks -less when they go into their feeding frenzy mode....stay safe….
.....exciting stuff Todd.....you do know sharks swim in shallow water too!!!! Is the shark shield you are using two units connected by a cord? Was it formerly known as the Shark Pod originally tested by the Natalie Center in South Africa? I tested the shark pod with National Geographic on an expedition in Bimini and it seemed to work with cruising sharks -less when they go into their feeding frenzy mode....stay safe….
I think Randy might be referring to an article I wrote for National Geographic Adventure magazine. He helped me track down a shark POD in a warehouse somewhere in Miami, then Dr. Samuel "Shark Doc" Gruber of the U. Miami took me to Bimini with the thing and arranged for me to test it out (after I signed a waiver) with some sharks he'd been feeding so long that they'd show up at the sound of his boat like cats coming to the noise of a can opener.
I almost electrocuted myself with this thing, and I came to the conclusion that it initially scatters the sharks, but quickly makes them curious.
If you send me an email, I can maybe get you a copy of my article, which is a little dated at this point (National Geographic Adventure, alas, went defunct last month.)
This is a picture of me the photographer took shortly after the POD shorted out his camera batteries.
forums.usms.org/image.php
Irukandji. We ae getting tested to see how we react to them.............
how do they test for that?
is it something that is generally available for tourists?
Had a HUGE dolphin come up right underneath me this morning off Glenelg and scared the HELL outta me. It was an awesome encounter as it swam around us, very curious and playful and even left us a fish he had caught, but the first few seconds just scared me beyond as this sleek gray animal suddenly cut me off from below. Wow... We were only about 10 mins. into a 10k swim too. Had a coller current today, very clear conditions and lots of activity. Also saw two GIANT stingrays (amost seeing them everyday now)... The areas we are training in here off Adelaide does have White Sharks... hopefully getting to go out tagging them on a side project very soon!
