Somebody tell me what "shark expert" means

I work in the water for a living through out the state in Florida. There are more deaths and injuries due to alligators than sharks. Florida ranks no.1 in the country for shark attacks so.............you are more likely to get bit / killed by an alligator.

Oh yea water mocasins are through out my back yard, competeing with the 3 alligators for my fish bait. :confused: I always have a khukuri when I'm fishing out in the lake.

I had 2 sharks circling me while working one afternoon. I told the fellows where my wallet was and the drinks were on me if I didn't make it. :D

I hate going in the water lines connecting the lakes. There are always snakes and alligators. I take a Randall #16 and a s/s .38 u/w with me, not that it will do anygood. When I know for sure there are sharks, or alligators, I carry a bang stick. I use a single shot .410 for snakes, and put them in the superintendents trailer. Foolish I know but I'm dieing anyway with lymphoid pneumonia so wtf. ;)
 
When SCUBA diving I have seen quite a few barracuda and a few sharks. There is something just plain COLD and PRIMAL about these creatures. It was my understanding that the huge majority of shark attacks took place in less than three feet ot water and the target was a surface swimmer doing a lot of splashing in muddy water.

It was also my understanding that in waters that are dived regularly, sharks mostly avoid people, that they would rather eat other things.

In waters where they have never seen people, they are curious and will approach. Their skin can be rough enough to be used as files. They may try to brush against a swimmer to rub off some skin and get a better idea what this strange critter is like. Best if you can avoid that......

Fish and turtle deodorant is also best avoided!

Now my info is about 30 years old and my memory may be a bit faulty.



I remember my SCUBA instructor whom I thought was an incredible ass. Did some dumb and unthinking things --- a story he told illustrates this:

He was on a cruise ship in the Bahamas. A fellow passenger asked George if they could buddy together and do some snorkeling. George agreed.

They were surface snorkeling near an island in about 15 feet of water. George was leading and the other guy right on George's fins. Ahead in the water and approaching them was a sand shark swimming at the surface.

Since George was between the guy and the shark, the guy, who had never been in the ocean before, could not see the shark.

George knew that sharks in the Bahamas were not dangerous to people (because they have plenty of fish to eat and people are not all that interesting to them) so he swam directly toward the shark, thinking that it would see him and swim off to one side and the guy behind would have a thrill.

The problem was that sharks do not see well straight ahead since their eyes are on the sides of their heads. So the shark kept getting closer and closer. Suddenly George realized that he was about to have a head on collision with a shark about 8-10 feet long.

George did a surface dive, leaving his "buddy" nose to nose with a shark! Now when George dove, the shark saw him and made a turn away from the two guys.

HOWEVER all the other guy knew was "SHARK!" He totally freaked! Doing the worst thing possible, he began to churn the water to a froth. Fortunately, the shark had no interest.

But George looked up at the surface swimmer thrashing around and he laughed. When he laughed, he lost the breath of air he was holding. When you lose your breath of air, you come up NOW!

He came up underneath the guy who thought the shark HAD him. He doubled his efforts to escape, knocking of George’s mask. Kicking him several times really hard (Good) and damn near killing him.

George said it was one of the closest calls he ever had. Tried to explain to the guy, but he would not speak to George ever again.


Then there was the time that some guys wanted me to join them off the shores of Eleuthra while they hunted huge hammerheads with bang sticks. A hammerhead with a bang stick is a BAAAAD dude!

Wonder how a khuk would do under water? Would need to clean it well, later.
 
sams said:
I work in the water for a living through out the state in Florida. There are more deaths and injuries due to alligators than sharks. Florida ranks no.1 in the country for shark attacks so.............you are more likely to get bit / killed by an alligator.

Oh yea water mocasins are through out my back yard, competeing with the 3 alligators for my fish bait. :confused: I always have a khukuri when I'm fishing out in the lake.

I had 2 sharks circling me while working one afternoon. I told the fellows where my wallet was and the drinks were on me if I didn't make it. :D

I hate going in the water lines connecting the lakes. There are always snakes and alligators. I take a Randall #16 and a s/s .38 u/w with me, not that it will do anygood. When I know for sure there are sharks, or alligators, I carry a bang stick. I use a single shot .410 for snakes, and put them in the superintendents trailer. Foolish I know but I'm dieing anyway with lymphoid pneumonia so wtf. ;)
Click to expand...


"Dieing with lymphoid pneumonia" ?!?!?! WHAT? Sams! Tell us you are kidding.
 
Paid by who? Whomever would have the most to lose by people canceling vacations.
I read an article by a gunwriter(forget who) that said he was always leery of anybody calling him an expert. Did he know a lot about firearms? Yes. Did he feel comfortable getting paid big $ to get up on a witness stand and impressing people with his life story and why he's so wonderful and they should believe everything he tells them?
There was just a case of some Forensics expert that lied about his credentials in a national case. It seems he made **** up about being a consultant to CSI(TV show).
My longwinded point is that anybody proclaiming to be an expert is usually tooting his own horn and probably looking for a meal ticket as well.
 
Dieing with lymphoid pneumonia" ?!?!?! WHAT? Sams! Tell us you are kidding.
__________________



oil in the lungs, deep diving with old compreesors........... :(
 
So sorry to learn this sams...OSHA didn't get to everyone in time. Let us know if you have needs...

You'll be added to my smoke and song.

.
 
I've been diving since 1985 and I've seen a number of sharks - some of them quite dangerous, but all under the right set of circumstances quite beautiful. They are perfectly adapted to their environment and graceful in a manner difficult to put into words.

In the early 1990s, I was attacked off Cape Cod. I was about 80 feet down assisting in some underwater photography when I got hit. Hard. The back of my head bounced off the tank valve, and I slammed face down into the bottom and rolled to my right. My mask was jammed half down my face but my regulator was firmly clenched in my teeth.

I never saw it. Not before, during, or after. I thought that I got run over by a boat. However as we were down about 80 feet, decided that that was not a reasonable hypothesis. Aircraft carriers don't draw 80 feet (I believe).

My buddy, however, saw the whole thing. He looked at me with eyes as large as proverbial saucers and gave me the hand gestures for the following message:

"Holy Sh1t that was one BIG effing shark!!!"

We decided at that point to return to the boat. However as the shark had bitten my tank, it had almost completely severed the straps holding it to the backplate. Talk about a slow and awkward ascent.

We made it out of the water without incident; and once in the boat, my buddy informed me that I got chomped by a mako that had to have been at least 9 feet long.

Kinda gave me the willies. Makos are kissing cousins to the great white.

However, it was obviously a case of mistken identity that got me attacked. The area between the Cape and the islands (Nantucket and Martha's Vinyard) are where the tuna run. Makos eat tuna - almost exclusively. I never had a problem with sharks since.

I've seen them and they are certainly to be respected and one should be wary. You are after all in the food chain once you enter the ocean. However fearing them blindly is foolish. People are not the normal prey of sharks. Usually attacks on humans are precipitated by mistake.

I live in Florida now - Sarasota to be precise. We have LOTS of sharks around here. One of the most common is the Bull Shark... they are aggressive and known man eaters. I leave if I see them around. That is what got that little girl from Louisiana and I bet the same kind bit the leg off that boy the other day. Sad. I hope that kid makes it.
 
*You* are one lucky son of a gun...Mako get excited easily.

I have seen the large Bull sharks and also generally leave the water if they are around. I think more than a couple of cases of "accidental drowning" where the body is never recovered may actually be the result of Bull attack.

Sharks are cool in the same sense as lions...amazing animals, but you really don't want to be part of their environment.

.
 
snl.gif


Landshark: "Plumber."

Lady: I didn't hire a plumber. Who is it!?"

Landshark: "Flowers."

Lady: "What... for who"

Landshark: "Plumber"

Lady:"... you're.. that crazy shark aren't you?''

Landshark: " No maam, I am just a dolphin.. will you let me in please?"

Lady: "A dolphin! Ok!"

:D
 
Like my daddy always told me... If I had to choose between being good and being lucky, I'd take lucky every time. :D

Actually, it was a more humbling experience than a scary one. Not to say that I wasn't scared half to death, but the long term effect was to instill a sense of perspective, respect, and humility rather than fear.

So... Now you can also figure out why I use this particular avatar by my name. :D
 
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