#SHARKS!!
26 messages in this thread
>> Nope.. but I had a real fat 4' barracuda follow me very closely and
>> he/she kept just beyond my slowly kicking fins for over 50 yds… 😯
Hey!!!
I'm back… So… getting a little friendly with those barracudas? I just sent
off 12 rolls of film to process/convert to Photo/CD. Let me send you a picture
of a school of at least 20 of those just sitting there looking at us. I only
saw them when I was about 10 feet bellow them. Got a good picture (provided the
yellowish tint in the water didn't filter them out). I also got a good picture
of a 12/15 feet hammerhead chasing a turtle (the whole thing no more than 20
feet from me). Weird, I didn't know sharks eat turtles.
Now back to work (after digesting 5,600 Adesk messages)…
Gus,
20 Barracudas…..!! Catch me one of those 2 gig jobbies next time, will ya?
TedB
-Ted Boardman
!^NavFont01F0007MGHHG4800A9
Hey Gus!
<< Let me send you a picture of a school of at least 20 of those just sitting
there looking at us. >>
Please do!!
<< …12/15 feet hammerhead chasing a turtle (the whole thing no more than 20
feet from me). >>
Maybe the shark was just having fun.. I chased 2 turtles too…They're faster
than me!
You saw a hammerhead!
Awww………. Now I'm _really_ jealous.
– G
>> 15 foot Hammerhead …20 ft from me…
>> You saw a hammerhead!
Awww………. Now I'm _really_ jealous.
15 ft long?… 20 ft away?…
I'm not jealous.
JB
I've wanted to get close to a hammerhead ever since I started diving, and
haven't had that kind of luck. Luck? Maybe I'm nuts, but it's a dream of
mine.
– G
WHAT!!!!!
I use to dive for the navy and had a couple encounters with hammerheads
and other sharks. I always got the shakes when I saw one that sneaked up on me
while I was working. I came with in 10-20 feet of those bad boys.
Mike
Gary,
>> I've wanted to get close to a hammerhead ever since I started diving, and
haven't had that kind of luck. <<
I've heard that in the sea of Cortez (Mexico) there is a huge migration of
hammerheads at a certain time of the year. A good diving (sky and scuba) friend
of mine experienced this migration. He claims to have experienced a whole
school (dozens) of hammerheads passing overhead. That would take my breath
away!
I've heard that too, but I've also heard that it's incredibly hard to time the
migrations in the Sea of Cortez. I've been down there before, and although the
pelagic life is bountiful (Senor Big is everywhere), the vis isn't always
optimal (20-30' was common).
– G
Gary,
>> but I've also heard that it's incredibly hard to time the migrations in the
Sea of Cortez. <<
yeah, maybe the hammerhead migration is a once in a lifetime experience for the
very patient.
>> the vis isn't always optimal (20-30' was common) <<
probably similar or better than Laguna Beach – my local dive turf. I'm probably
going to dive Catalina at my next opportunity, though, which has 100'
typically.
What's the life like near Catalina?
– G
Gary,
>> What's the life like near Catalina? <<
human, bird, wild, or marine? Pick any one <g>.
I'll assume you meant marine. Well, there's mostly the type of fish that thrive
on kelp. Catalina has some massive kelp plants (forests), possibly up to 100'
tall. Lots of bass variants, but very few highly colourful fish like the ones
frequenting tropical reefs. The garibaldi is probably the most colourful, but
it's only one colour – orange (and is protected from fishing and hunting of any
type).
I'm by no means an authority on marine life, though. I just like to hang with
the fish – they are very friendly, especially if you have some fish food.
Martin
Kelp forests are great… What's the water temp over there?
– G
Gary,
>> Kelp forests are great… What's the water temp over there? <<
probably ranges from the low 50's (late winter) to the high 60's (late summer).
Great for skin diving <g>.
>>yeah, maybe the hammerhead migration is a once in a lifetime experience for
the very patient.
You need to dive offshore Jacksonville 55 miles out in the winter. You'll see
them every dive constantly trying to take your grouper away. A real nuisance!
My rule is: If the Hammerhead is bigger than you are… give him your fish.
Then load up and pop him. At a 1.25 per pound you do better than $3.00 per
pound for a 30 lb. grouper he just ate. If the Hammerhead is smaller than you,
hold the fish close to your torso and other than circling you they generally
won't get close. If you dangle the bleeding fish away from you you'll be
asking for a nasty bite! If you don't spear (shoot) fish then you probably
won't see the predators here either. And, as a last bit of advice, never trust
any advice given to you by a more experienced diver as Sharks are totally
unpredictable! <BG>
DON!!!!! <lol> I was raised in Hollywood, FLA, started diving at about 8yrs
old. Calling a Hammerhead a real nuisance just cracked me up. Holding a fish
close to my body, because a Hammerhead is smaller then myself… implying my
intent to maintain possesion >>>> well, even at $3.00/lb, you said yourself
that Sharks are totally unpredictable. Anything with a head shaped like that,
and with the eyes out on the end, and with all those teeth, can keep the
Grouper. This string is going to provoke me to tell my TRUE GREAT WHITE at age
10 Story. <shivering almost 40 yrs later>
>> This string is going to provoke me to tell my TRUE GREAT WHITE at age 10
Story<<
Lets hear it…
Mark
Don,
>> If the Hammerhead is bigger than you are… give him your fish. <<
ROFL! I love your diving tips and stories. Your far more experienced than I.
>> If you don't spear (shoot) fish then you probably won't see the predators
here either. <<
I don't really have a urge to hunt the sharks or kill fish though, so I might
be out of luck in seeing one at all.
>>ROFL! I love your diving tips and stories.
My favorite shark story is about a tangle I had with a small 4 foot Nurse shark
under the 7 mile bridge in the FL. Keys. I was digging in holes in the bottom
trying to pull some lobster when I felt something like an abrasive clamp slam
down on my left hand which was pushed into a hole up to my armpit. I yanked my
hand out quickly and looked into the hole and when the silt settled I saw the
gill slits of the Nurse. The thumb of my leather glove was ripped to shreads
and my hand was bleeding, more visually than real damage though. I was more
excited than hurt. Just had a few scratches like a brush burn with coarse sand
paper. Since I was only in 12 feet of water with my inflatable overhead I
quickly surfaced and grabbed my speargun with a .357 magnum on the end. When I
hit bottom the Nurse was cruzing the hole, circling. I poped him and then
hauled the shark into my boat. Meanwhile I was being watched from a distance
by the Florida Marine Patrol using binoculars. It didn't take them long to
bust me for shooting a spear gun under the bridge (illegal). I explained that
I was in grave danger as I got bit by the shark and had to shoot him. I guess
they decided they didn't want to deal with my injury so they left me go with a
warning that they would be watching me for the rest of the week. I hate sharks
with chrome glasses and badges! The Nurse was excellent eating for the next
month though.
Gary,
One of last season's NATURE programs on PBS dealt with "A Year in the Life" of
the Sea of Cortez.
They had some incredible footage of hammerheads. The combination of far-away
evocative music, lighting, and the sight of 50-60 hammerhead silhouettes
circling overhead literally brought tears to my eyes. (I cry for beauty often.)
I sat down that night and wrote the producers a letter. Amazing….
At this time I don't remember the exact title of the episode, but I was awed.
They also had some great footage of sea lions 'dancing' among a HUGE school of
practically chrome-plated anchovy that was also gorgeous.
Hope you get your wish!!
Sean
I saw that program… remember the ending? (It was heartbreaking… the
trawler doing bottom-netting for shrimp killed thousands of fish, rays, etc for
about 8 pounds of shrimp.) I haven't eaten anything but farm-raised shrimp
since then.
– G
PS: The anchovy "sea" was mind-boggling. That was at the north end of the
SofC… right?
>> I saw that program… remember the ending? (It was heartbreaking… the
trawler doing bottom-netting for shrimp killed thousands of fish, rays, etc for
about 8 pounds of shrimp.) I haven't eaten anything but farm-raised shrimp
since then.
– G
PS: The anchovy "sea" was mind-boggling. That was at the north end of the
SofC… right? <<
Yeah, the ending was pretty upsetting. You have to shake your head and ask, "Do
those 'fishermen' see the same type of beauty we did and just ignore it?"
I don't remember much about the exact geography of the anchovy, I was too busy
going, "Wow!" !!! :~)
Sean
Off the shore of East Shoal Bay (Anguilla), the bottom of the ocean goes from 3
to 250 feet, goes up again to 5 and then down to 1,600 feet. All within around
400 feet from shore. At the edge of the wall (1,600 feet one), it's pretty rare
NOT to see sharks. We were diving the lagoon at around 90 feet looking at the
turtles when the hammerhead came after one of the poor little guys. According
to locals, it's not common for a shark that big to come to the lagoon but it
does happens from time to time… (heck, we saw a big whatever shark (couldn't
tell what) in a pond no deeper than 5 feet!). Though I too would hate to break
the statistics, no one has ever been bother by sharks there. Rather than sharks
and barracudas, what really shook me out of my wet suit was a school of tuna
going right through us as we were not there. At arms reach, those guys look
like nothing I've ever seen.
I spent over 10 rolls of film in 18 dives. I can't wait to see it.
A school of tuna coming at you head-on like you weren't even there?
My next dive trip is going to be Anguillla. (I'm looking forward to seeing
your photos from the trip!)
Anguillllla is calling… (oh, yeah, right… NT is calling even louder)
– G
Hi Gus
Angilla, eh. Ahhhh
What's it like down there now? I lived in the islands for a coupla years,
(based out of St Croix) and we did a lot of diving up and down the chain. When
I left, the bareboaters were getting "quite" numerous and things were a bit
crowded. (Take a number for "the Rhone") 'Course now if I went, I'd be a
tourist and the crowds wouldn't bother me…as much.
Seems a Looooonnnngggg time ago. JB
Gus;
>> (after digesting 5,600 Adesk messages)…
I wondered where you were. Hadn't seen any posts lately. No reply necessary.
Sounds like you had a great time!
Dennis