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Shark Stories

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Created by Uber > 9 months ago, 21 Jun 2005
Uber
NSW, 482 posts
21 Jun 2005 11:39AM
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Hi All,

Has anyone got some good Shark Stories? Maybe out kiting? Where,When,Size,Kind of sharkie! post pics too!

Now it is winter and im freezing my jangles off and bored.

Check out this "Jumping Seth Ifrikarn Sealeatingmumma Great White"!

Enjoy! http://www.pushby.com/friends/jesse/archives/005721.html

not on board
210 posts
21 Jun 2005 10:35AM
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Man what happened to you that has you so obsessed? I had noticed before with your constant enquiries with sharks but you got to let it go. I have kited in Sydney and up and down east coast and never seen a shark. Ever.

If you think I am wrong about your osession, look at all of your posts. Some how you get shark stories entered into posts that are not even shark related. But since this one is I thought I would bring your problem to light. Plus I am bored at work wishing I was out in the big scarry water.


1.OK! Fuggit! Im goin out! If you dont hear from me for a while. I have been a.smashed up b.eatin by a sharkie c.Still out there having a great ol time.
Yeeehhaa go the 15-20knts in the Rain Theory!!!

2.Havent heard of any in Oz, But I saw a doco on South African Great Whites leaping outta the water to munch on seals.
3mt+ beasties launching their full body length outta the water to nab a seal.
Imagine the darkies u would plunge into ur boardies if you saw a massive beast leaping outta the water to munch on you when ur doing a jump.
I dont want to Kite in Seth Ufrika ever. I think ur safe in Oz! Maybe Adelaide could be dangerous.

3.Dont wear Old Spice, Blue Stratos, Kouros, etc. They all smell like piss. They might be perfumes but you never know, better to be safe than shark bait.


4.I heard there were sharkies at the northern end of Narabeen near the rocks. Have there been many attacks at Narabeen(beach users/Surfers?)

5. Dosent it freek u out a bit when you see them? Arent u afraid of getting chomped?

6.Man that would send me so fast the other direction if I had seen one.


7.So If you get attacked by a sharkie in Australia you have maybe a 50% chance of living. Any shark attacks at Dolls Point?


8.Hey Kitehard,
Phew!!!! Its hard not to take your advice seriously! With your experience your one of the only good forum contributors worth reading. Thanks again for your input and I reckon I'll risk the chomp for the sake of my development in this sport. Sharks do freak me still but if its my day its my day!

9.OMFG! I heard a guy on his bucks nite got chucked into the Paramatta River close to Parramatta city in Sydney and he got his leg chomped off by a Bull Shark or maybe a Grey Nurse! His whole leg chomped off!!!! His mates saw the shark swim off with his leg in its mouth.

10.Just did a google and found this great Study made for the 2000 olympics on shark attacks. If you Live and kite in Sydney areas its worth a read:
http://www.amonline.net.au/pdf/sharkrpt.pdf

11.Hey Kitehard,
I know I know your right! But you know what? I cant stop. It fascinates me. I am not that freeked out yet cos I havent seen 1 up close but It does amaze me these freeky man chompers.

12.In a way I am trying to educate myself so I know what to expect if something does pop up. Also I love to hear the stories, Maybe I am a bit of a sadist.
You do have to admit it is an interesting topic for discussion. Plus the wind is crap in Sydney at the moment and staring at the arrows waiting for them to change is driving me crazy.

Oh yeah! Heres another Story there was a guy Kayaking in the harbour near Rozelle/Balmain and his Kayak got bumped then chomped by a sharkie from behind. He bashed it with his paddle and it swam away! Lucky it wasnt the front where his legs were.
Keep the stories coming!!

13.Hey Alan, Thanks for that info. Dirty Great White at Cronulla (Fek!) How big was the sucker? Why did they catch him? Did Jeff get a bump/chomp or just a bump?(poor bugger must of soiled himself)

14.Ive heard about Boat Harbour. It's good to go to in a SW right? $15 is that because it is privately owned or something?Or is it cos the entertainment is so good?Public liability must be a killer there. I will try to get around there sometime this Winter. However I am heading to Gold Coast next week to get some time up there.(Hope the wind and weather is good)
Being a noob kinda puts me off going to crowded places. Just in the beginning. When I get better I wont care as much.
Still I like to hear the stories of sharkies! Keep the stories coming

15.Hey Alan,
Was that you who helped me the other day launch? I had the yellow 10mt SS and I was on the south side of the reserve? If it was Thanks again for your help and advice!
Yeah send me the pics of the sharkie! I have always been interested in these creatures, I just hope they dont take an interest in me when Im out teabagging in the sea!
I hear that the sharks in Sydney like to chase fish into the estuaries then feast on them when they are cornered. What is in Port Hacking? is it industrial?


16.Hey Kitehard,
6mt Great White!!! Get $%@#$%3
I would love to go out your way. I havent been to Perth yet. Maybe when I get better I can head out that way. Can you give me a lesson.
I would like to learn a new move called "Sh!T!Sharkie!". This move entails a 10mt high 20mt long or more boost that will land close to saftety/beach. Must be able to land it flawlessly and before I crap myself with fear.
I will cheerfully kite anywhere once I learn that move. Lets hope that sharkie near you it isnt a jumping Seth Ifrikarn Great White migrating to Perth Check this out www.pushby.com/friends/jesse/archives/005721.html

Uber
NSW, 482 posts
21 Jun 2005 12:46PM
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Only 16 posts Thats semi obsessed!

Im bored at work but hey you fished out all my posts so you must be really bored too Thanks for noting my obsession, I am not scared of the water, just whats lurking in the dark spots with big teeth.

bondo
QLD, 699 posts
21 Jun 2005 1:10PM
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uber - you should do a scuba dive course in a location with sharks. i did a padi advanced open water course in thailand and we saw some reasonably sized reef sharks (?) on our 30m dive, gets you over the fear pretty quick.

waveslave
WA, 4263 posts
21 Jun 2005 3:51PM
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I'll be sitting at the beach enjoying the serenity and then some retard will start yapping about scary shark stories.

Bad mojo man!

stnkygoat
NSW, 230 posts
21 Jun 2005 7:25PM
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Okay I can tell you shark story....

I used to work on a fishing boat, mid size one, four or five hands sort of thing. Anyway, I had a gash on my hand, so I didn't go out and someone else took my place...dum de dum dum..

Anyhoo, as you know, sharks are attracted attracted to the chum and other bits that inevitably escape off a boat. They were in sea area Pusegyr which is cold and long way south and this big shark came up and banged into the boat, and kept on banging. So the skipper had to shoot him, with a shotgun loaded with solids. Anyhoo, they could not believe how big it was and they were on their way back in anyway, about one days streaming back to port, so they strapped it to the side of the boat. The boat listed in a big way but they had to bring it back cos it was just so big. It was longer than the boat, and got in the newspaper. They dispatched of it pretty quickly after tye came in but I was working on the wharf that evening, so I was one of the lucky people to see it. That's it really, it was just the biggest fish I have ever seen, I think the biggest animal actually.

It's not an amazing story but it was exciting at the time...and yes i do think about it when i am on the water, but then I remind myself that they shot it....and there can't be more than one, surely?

I'm gonna scan the article from the paper....as soon as I can find it

Uber
NSW, 482 posts
21 Jun 2005 9:57PM
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Now Thats what im talking about! Big mofo sharkie! Thanks for that story stnkygoat! If you find that pic let me know!

elmo
WA, 8659 posts
21 Jun 2005 8:12PM
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here you go kids,

Go to Coral Bay in our beautiful Nth west

Walk north along beach about 2-3 keys to the little finger reef.

Every evening around 3pm aprox 20 reef sharks go swimming up and down the beach withing about 3-4m of the shore.

You can stand in knee deep water and have a shark swim right up to your feet have the video complete with expletives (my feet, I was filming)

At the end of the day it's a big ocean little fish, in reality you are probably more at risk driving to the beach.
Mind you it didn't stop me legging it when I saw a shark swim past whilst surfing.

stnkygoat
NSW, 230 posts
21 Jun 2005 10:35PM
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I have to say though, another time when I was at sea, some boring crap happened with one of the cray pots, and me and a couple of other guys put on scuba gear and swum down to sort it out...we were about 10mtrs down and had been working on a little thingy and keeping quite still, when we realised there were two pretty big sharks circling around us. I freaked and did the full insane yet universally understood 'sharkie sharkie sharkie!!!!!!' pointing routine and as soon as I made a quick movement the sharks took off. They are pretty cool to watch under the water - amazing the way they move through the water. We stayed longer and oggled at them - the other guys were used to sharks and stuff, but it was the first time I had seen them. I only really think about them when I'm body dragging like bait, otherwise, they are pretty cool.

Coral Sea
QLD, 476 posts
22 Jun 2005 8:25AM
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Hey Uber....bondo is right....grab a tank, blow some bubbles, see some real sharks underwater doing their thing and it will calm you down.....the bottom line is that sharks don't habitually eat people - if they did, you would be seeing shark fatality stories in the news every week, given the number of crew in the water surfing in south west WA / Vic, and diving QLD every day.

Here's my background......marine biologist with a PhD in coral reef ecology, 2000+ hours underwater on the great barrier reef, started surfing in WA as a grom in the 70's, windsurfed all the 80's and 90's in nth WA, Vic and Qld, started diving in 87 and kiting this year.....loving it!

I've seen literally hundreds, if not thousands of sharks underwater....from small reef sharks up to a 16 foot hammerhead that looked like a kombi with fins, and plenty of potentially dangerous ones in between......never had a problem. Big sharks are few and far between these days, in the places most people kite. But a few things to bear in mind...

Sharks love blood....if there is blood in the water, from whatever source (fish spearing, crays, whales, bait schools, people with cuts, etc), then you increase the chances of a noah getting keen for a nibble, just to see what things taste like.....they sample with their mouths and teeth, as well as their noses.

Sharks have an amazing electroreceptor system....they can scan the bioelectric field emanating from your nervous system while still so far away that you won't even see them.....many of the pacific island crew I have talked with state, and I tend to agree, that sharks can sense your emotional state, particularly fear, from a long way off. It is said that even a hungry tigershark can be kept at bay by a "zen mind" sort of approach. So the best thing to do is to stay nice and calm, or even generate a little agro toward the shark....fixing them with your fighting gaze always seems to send them off pretty quick in my experience!

so do a little yoga, a little meditation, a little diving, see the sharks as your peaceful friends, breath deep and calm and keep eye contact when you eventually see the big one, and don't go out in waters where great whites are known to frequent with a gash on your leg and panic in your mind, and you will be fine!!

Dr Andy Lewis - Magnetic Island, NQ

ps if any other crew have ocean or marine life related questions, I'm happy to discuss.

Bo
WA, 192 posts
22 Jun 2005 8:20AM
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Thanks for the sensible advice Andy....

Hey Uber, since you're into fear-for-kicks entertainment, why not try some Edgar Allen Poe or (on the lighter side) the celluloid/Hollywood works of Stephen King/Anne Rice? Leave wild animals be, when you kite in the ocean you're a guest in their world. Just a thought

quote:
Originally posted by neoniphon
ps if any other crew have ocean or marine life related questions, I'm happy to discuss.


Andy, what is your take on marine sanctuary zones? Do they work, is it enough? Is WA on the right track with the current MPA proposals?

Bo

getfunky
WA, 4485 posts
22 Jun 2005 9:56AM
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Workin on a fishing show with a cammo swingin a boom mic about for a week up at Ningaloo/shark bay/Dirk Hartog during anchovie season. Full-on 3m+ Bull nose whalers etc EVERYWHERE!.

We were on a tiny single engine cat style boat (unusual) with 5 aboard and no room to move when we pull up right next to a giant 'bait-ball' of millions of s**t scared anchovies all goin "if I swim around together hopefully me mates will get munched instead".
There was every type of fish known hookin in and literally tunas flying out of the water with a gob full of fish. The best bit was the 3+ m sharkies coming straight up vertical out of the water, mouth wide open full of anchovies (and anything else in the way, pausing with the head about 70cm out of the water (our boat had f*$k all water clearance with us and the gear) then sinking back straight down again.

My fav bit was the cammo guy pushing back into me to get the shot he wanted, forcing me to hold onto the canopy frame, (p*ss weak alli), one handed - trusty 416 mic in the other, lean out backwards over the water above the bait and sharkies. It took me about 5 secs to think it through before givin a nice big shove back into relative safety and commenting "I really don't care hopw f*&$in good the shot was mate!!!!"

I'm not a fishin kind of guy but this part of the world is amazing!! Pity I wasn't a kiter then...

Coral Sea
QLD, 476 posts
22 Jun 2005 1:10PM
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Bo...re the sanctuaries or Marine Protected Areas (MPA's). Yes they do work. Current data from the GBR collected through the Effects of Line Fishing (ELF) Project and researchers at JCU and AIMS all show that stocks of commercially important species (trout, emperors, snappers) are larger and more abundant in the protected areas. We are talking up to twice as many fishes and 4 times as much biomass. And we see clear spillover effects into adjacent fishing zones, which is the bit that seems to get missed in the debate - the fishing will actually improve through having more MPA's, because there will be more fish to catch, and better juvenile recruitment, to the open areas.

and just so we don't get totally off kiting....I just finished 4 weeks work on Lizard Island, northern GBR, fully protected green zone...the experience of blasting across the lagoon in turquoise water 1m deep, fully lit and hanging on for grim death to my 11m matrix in 25 knots, while schools of brightly coloured and well protected fat fish scattered from my path, was extremely enjoyable!!

Andy

Uminaboy
NSW, 97 posts
22 Jun 2005 5:41PM
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hahaha 16 posts mann u are obsessed. who cares about sharks there just big fish save all that energy until you actually see a shark than you should freak out lol. i think with all those sharky thoughts going through your head you probly send out some bad vibes to the sharks and attract them.
Hey has anyone ever heard of a fight between a tiger shark and a croc up in qld? how cool would that be to watch my money would be on the tiger shark i reckon

Uber
NSW, 482 posts
22 Jun 2005 5:45PM
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Thanks all! Specially Dr Andy!, Great to hear some expert advice. That zen/jedi mind trick will be very usefull against the muncher if I ever encounter one.

Dont get me wrong guys thanks for your concern but Im not totally paranoid about these sharkies, im just very interested in other peoples experiences with them. I think that now it is Winter and the wind is really crappy I like to hear stories thats all.

When im out I never worry about them. Im more conerned about getting better at the sport.

Anyway thanks for your input and keep the stories coming!!

I cant wait for Friday -20knt Southerly!!!!

brady
TAS, 450 posts
22 Jun 2005 6:26PM
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as an emergency department doctor, i can tell you that the only shark bite i have ever treated was sustained by someone who wasn't even in the water. He caught a 10 foot shark, and it was in the boat. Everyone thought it was dead, he walked in front of it, and it bit off his leg just below the knee.

You're not even safe on dry land

hey_te89
QLD, 79 posts
23 Jun 2005 12:39AM
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hey i think those 16 posts were pretty funny!! Who cares!!! I find them entertaining and can't help but think of sharks in the water either!!! (Even when it's knee deep)

gls
WA, 284 posts
23 Jun 2005 12:51AM
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Andy, if the sharks do sense the bodies electrical field, then what is your opinion on these new wetsuite and surfboards with the built in shark repelant systems based on a battery giving off an electrical pulse? Would it mask your bioelectric field? Are you aware of any evidence that says these do work?

If so, lets all chip in and buy one for Uber, then throw him into the water and watch to see what happens next ...

Graeme :-)

stnkygoat
NSW, 230 posts
23 Jun 2005 10:06AM
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quote:
Originally posted by brady

as an emergency department doctor, i can tell you that the only shark bite i have ever treated was sustained by someone who wasn't even in the water. He caught a 10 foot shark, and it was in the boat. Everyone thought it was dead, he walked in front of it, and it bit off his leg just below the knee.

You're not even safe on dry land



What a classic story! And how lucky would you be feeling if it was your leg! You're not pulling our legs, are you???

Coral Sea
QLD, 476 posts
23 Jun 2005 1:20PM
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Hey Graeme,

from what I hear and read on the net the "Shark Shield" device apparently works, although there is one well documented case of a diver being monstered by a white shark while wearing the device, albeit with questions about whether they had the electrodes attached properly and whether the field was at full strength when he was hit: see:

http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/coroner/findings/findings_2003/buckland.finding.htm

If it produces a field so strong that it can make your muscles twitch, then obviously it is distorting your natural bioelectric field. Whether this attracts or repels sharks, who can say? The makers suggest that it doesn't, but then they attract sharks for the trials by throwing buckets of blood and offal....their data for non-attraction is that if they don't throw in blood and offal, and just immerse a shark shield, then no sharks turn up. Not quite right on the logic there, but we'll leave that one alone.

Uber, you are quite justified in thinking about the old noah's arks mate....if you happenned to be sitting round at a typical NQ marine biologist / surfers gathering, then don't worry everyone would be talking up their shark stories too! Myself, I am thinking about it all the time, as I am often leading groups of 10-15 pretty inexperienced snorkellers along reef front drop-offs in the northern GBR and I am constantly pondering "OK, what do we do if a big tiger or whaler turns up NOW - how do we keep everyone safe and not get the shark interested in us?".

With regards to Kiting, surfing, diving, whatever, I see it as part of the overall risk management that we all should be doing before we get in the water...just as you check your safety and the wind strength and your downwind drag zone at the launch site for the kite, so we are thinking sharks before every dive or snorkel on the reef, along with all the other stuff. Some days the overall risk may be judged too great, and we don't go in. Simple as that. Live to kite or dive another day. I don't know too many professional marine biologists who would jump in the water if a 15foot tiger was hanging around the boat. And when I had the chance to surf Margarets and Ellensbrook last summer, thoughts of white pointers were definitely on my mind. Added a bit of spice to the waves. heh heh heh

Andy

brady
TAS, 450 posts
23 Jun 2005 2:29PM
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quote:
Originally posted by stnkygoat

quote:
Originally posted by brady

as an emergency department doctor, i can tell you that the only shark bite i have ever treated was sustained by someone who wasn't even in the water. He caught a 10 foot shark, and it was in the boat. Everyone thought it was dead, he walked in front of it, and it bit off his leg just below the knee.

You're not even safe on dry land



What a classic story! And how lucky would you be feeling if it was your leg! You're not pulling our legs, are you???



haha!

i'm deadly serious. this was working on the island of tarawa in the central pacific.

Four days after this I went tuna fishing in a 14 foot wooden runabout. We'd wait to see a flock of birds gather, diving to catch little fish where the schools were forced to the surface by tuna hunting them. Then we'd go trawling through that area and catch tuna. The first time we did it I caught something and was nearly pulled out the back of the boat (no rods/fancy game fishing stuff - you just held onto the line with your bare hands). It took two of us to pull it in, and we we got it near the boat, it was a shark - about 8 foot I suppose. We had no way to kill it, so we hit it over the head with an iron bar, it swam away, then we hauled it back in. This happened a few times before the line finally broke.

After seeing that other shark bite so recently beforehand, I couldn't have been happier to see it go.

cheers

b

Uber
NSW, 482 posts
23 Jun 2005 6:23PM
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Uber, you are quite justified in thinking about the old noah's arks mate....if you happenned to be sitting round at a typical NQ marine biologist / surfers gathering, then don't worry everyone would be talking up their shark stories too! Myself, I am thinking about it all the time, as I am often leading groups of 10-15 pretty inexperienced snorkellers along reef front drop-offs in the northern GBR and I am constantly pondering "OK, what do we do if a big tiger or whaler turns up NOW - how do we keep everyone safe and not get the shark interested in us?".

Hey Andy,
Thanks mate! I was starting to get paranoid that I was being obsessed. Great stories and advice! After reading your coroners report on that sharkie zapper suit. I think im better just braving the deep in my normal wettie.

Graeme even if you pay me Im not wearing one of those sharkie zappers with my luck it will send out smorgasboard signals.

Umina Boy my money is on the croc to win against the sharkie!

Keep the stories coming!! How bout pics if you have em?

gls
WA, 284 posts
26 Jul 2005 12:36AM
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Hi Uber
This sharkee thing just keeps coming around and around. So picking up on this old thread again ...

I had a good read of the article Neoniphon posted. It was pretty interesting. The guy in South Australia wasn't using it properly and his legacy is a very important lesson to be learned - you can't have one end of a battery sticking up out of the water and expect it to work. So I had a read of the website for the Shark Shield and I reckon it sounds great. There are a number of testimonials from local professional fishermen and divers all giving first hand experiences of it working.

So in a nutshell I reckon its worth a trial. But will it work for kiting? If I'm riding my board to the right and have an inbuilt battery in the anklestrap and a 1.8m electric flapping leash trailing off my right leg zapping away every 0.5 seconds then the question is whether it will spark each time it knocks against my other trailing left leg. Perhaps it would be better tethered to my bum?

It looks like it will cost about $700. Providing it doesn't get in the way too much then I'm sure that I would feel a lot happier. What do you think Uber? Should we organise a group buy? A kiter's discount? Or pressure the kiteshops to start stocking them? Can we borrow a trial unit so one of us can write a review on whether it is practical to wear or not.

Graeme
PS. Perhaps it would double as a board leash.

Uber
NSW, 482 posts
26 Jul 2005 10:20PM
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Hey Graeme,

I had a quick read. So did the guy not set the device up right?

Your right about the location of the leash thing. It could flap around. You could strap it to your board but if u lose ur board ur stuffed. If you strap it to ur butt it may not drop in the water.

Have you got the link to the shark shield site? Maybe we could ask for a tester? Maybe the Sydney aquarium will let us test it on their sharkies. We are stuffed if it does'nt work

gls
WA, 284 posts
26 Jul 2005 11:36PM
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Here is the Freedom 4 Shark Shield

http://www.sharkshield.com/detail.php?Product=2

Here are the testimonials. It certainly sounds like it does work well.

www.sharkshield.com/testimonials.php

The unit to get would be the Freedom 4, giving 4 hours battery life. Connects to the ankle with a 1.3 or 1.8m cord. Price is about $750.

I'll contact them and see what they say.
Graeme

waveslave
WA, 4263 posts
27 Jul 2005 10:29AM
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gls,
Tell me you're not serious about this shark repeller gizmo?

This contraption with the electrical wires flapping about, the battery pack and the other junk;
You're kidding right?

Man, if the device was simple and the size of a wrist-watch, with nothing dragging in the water....maybe?

This kiting scene is all about the freedom, you don't want more tangle stuff.

If you're freaked by munchies, paint two big scary eyes on the bottom of your board.
There you go, BOO!

Catch ya on the water soul-bro
'slave.

dwmc
WA, 60 posts
27 Jul 2005 8:32PM
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I say bring on the sharks...we are 15,000 times more likely to get knocked off by one of our own species

dwmc
WA, 60 posts
27 Jul 2005 9:04PM
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and another for those that draw comfort from (albeit foreign)statistics .....in an average year in the US, you are 30 times more likely to die from falling aeroplane parts than from a shark attack.

gruezi
WA, 3464 posts
27 Jul 2005 9:35PM
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Sharkies and ocean lovers share the same space....statistics, shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitisssssssssssssssssssssstics!

Infinite greater chance getting eaten kiting, than golfing.

Still no FN wind

Chappy177
NSW, 6 posts
28 Jul 2005 2:11AM
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Hey Guys,

U might not believe this but while I was kiting at Brighton in Brisbane at christmas i came across a 2m shark in Morton Bay. Story was, i was kiting across a channel where there was a small section of chop so i pulled the trigger on my kite and boosted to about ten foot. While i was up there i looked down and saw the outline of this shark. Although it wasn't huge, i still landed the the jump and tacked back the other way. Still, an interesting experience!

true story
get out there

poor relative
WA, 9084 posts
28 Jul 2005 1:23AM
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quote:
Infinite greater chance getting eaten kiting, than golfing

isnt there a shark that plays golf. Apparently he has bulging eyes, sharp teeth and drives a bloody huge boat.
I think he's shagging kylie?



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"Shark Stories" started by Uber