How smart are these new diverter wetsuits .

West Australian scientists have developed a wetsuit that looks like it's going to repel sharks .
The suit is designed with Black and white stripes which mimic the stripes of poisonous fish ( the lion fish ) that the sharks know not to attack .

In trials done off WA sharks have attacked dummies in standard suits while not touching dummies in the diverter suits . Sounds promising .

Also can get the same stripe patten for the bottom of surfboards .

For you blokes in Qld that don't wear wet ties I guess you could grab some coloring in pens and draw the same stripes on . Or visit your local tattooist and make it a permanent marking .

Ted the Kiwi said..

TD - I thought you spent all yr time on the 666 these days so these wetties would be wasted on you

It an interesting development this one - not sure I would want to test the merits of them out but I guess its like insurance.....you hate having to pay the premiums and you hope you never have to make the claim. Not sure that I like the idea of encouraging them to eat human like shapes dressed in standard wetties though - unless they make them taste so disgusting that the sharks would never go near them again!!

Did notice in the media release they wouldn't guarantee the wetsuits as 100 percent shark proof .

But I guess anything that decreases your chances of being attacked is a good thing , especially in WA at the moment .

Even on the 666 I still spend plenty of time in the water Ted

Ted the Kiwi said..

TD - I thought you spent all yr time on the 666 these days so these wetties would be wasted on you

It an interesting development this one - not sure I would want to test the merits of them out but I guess its like insurance.....you hate having to pay the premiums and you hope you never have to make the claim. Not sure that I like the idea of encouraging them to eat human like shapes dressed in standard wetties though - unless they make them taste so disgusting that the sharks would never go near them again!!

Wonder if you get a rash with them

Just watched a doco on Foxtel "on demand" called Australia's Deadliest. Its about all the shark attacks in west Aus and shows a lot of the test on these wetsuits and boards.
However I would suggest you don't watch it prior to going for a surf!