Sharks - opinions please?

[MBPaddler]

We moved to Brisbane 2 years ago and love Moreton Bay. I've joined a local canoe club at the mouth of Tingalpa Ck - we paddle up the creek and out into the bay. They are open early morning and some late afternoons (dawn and dusk) and do new moon and full moon paddles (night time).

I grew up in the bush (in S Africa) hundreds of km's from the sea. Give me a leopard or snake situation and I know how to handle it. But my lack of experience with sharks (and knowledge of what to do if I bump into one) is ruining my paddling enjoyment to a degree.

It seems that the times we paddle are the exact times sharks are likely to be active. We also paddle in a creek, which is apparently what bull sharks love. Outside of the creek the bay is still pretty shallow - again, what the bull sharks apparently love.

Is this crazy? I love the idea of a new or full moon paddle, but is this even more crazy? Or am I worrying too much and sharks have little interest in kayaks? The guys at the club are pretty inconsistent in their answers - from saying there's no threat whatsoever, to telling me they see sharks all the time (not sure if this is just to try and unsettle the latest newbie or not )

I'd love to hear your opinions, since you all seem to have loads of experience with the sea and the creatures within it.

[loophole]

mate ive boated many creeks and rivers and offshore waters in seq and in the last 7 or so years ive only seen about 2 sharks.

i guess they wont be like jaws and really savage atack your yak at most you mite get a bump.

[MBPaddler]

A bump doesn't sound too bad, as long as it doesn't send me under I guess If one were to land up in the water with a shark would it be better to scramble back into the kayak, or swim like mad for the shore? The shark encounter stories I've been reading on the forums here have done little to put my mind at ease...

[kevinnugent@westnet.]

Make sure the kayak is between you and the shark!

I've dived for years in the Bay and have never seen a real threat from a shark. Mostly they'll steer clear of you if they can.

Kevin

[loophole]

A bump doesn't sound too bad, as long as it doesn't send me under I guess If one were to land up in the water with a shark would it be better to scramble back into the kayak, or swim like mad for the shore? The shark encounter stories I've been reading on the forums here have done little to put my mind at ease...

how big is ur yak and what is it made out off?

[tunaticer]

I honestly think you are getting your balls in a knot over embellished stories.
Yes sharks inhabit these waters as they always have and in much larger numbers in years gone by.
Yes sharks are more active at dawn / dusk as they always have been.
Sharks do pose a risk factor probably akin to the likelihood you will bleed to death by a paper cut, the risk is there, it is real, and it is also unlikely that you will ever get taken by a shark locally and killed. You may get a lil taste nibble someday if you are dangling your digits over the side.

I think the media and the "vic hislop" attitudes of old drive home the fallacy that sharks are maneaters and all sharks are dangerous. Hands up all those people who have been bitten by thier family pet? I am sure most of us has by annoying the hell out of fido of felix and got snapped at.

I have had several sharks run into me while baitnetting at night in the local creeks and never had anything more than a bump on the leg.

Jack.

[MBPaddler]

Good point Kevin, I'll try to do that!

Loophole, I have a sit-on-top kayak, some kind of pvc I think they're made from? At the club I use their kayaks though - I'm happy to ask each week for a particular type if one is safer than the others, lol!

[MBPaddler]

All of what you say sounds quite true Jack, thanks. I guess asking the question makes me appear terrified - which I'm not, I'm simply trying to ascertain the truth of any risk, and how to avoid silly mistakes. As soon as my youngest is old enough to be left with my husband for longer stretches (no balls to get into a knot ) I plan to start volunteering for things like seagrass monitoring - hopefully the more time I spend on the water, the better I'll be at judging risk for myself.

[tigermullet]

I would not be too concerned. Most of my recreational time has been spent on or in the water, starting from a small child and I am now well over sixty.

In all that time there have only been three or four encounters with sharks that I am aware of. The first was in the Noosa river and that was a very big fella. Second and third were in Weipa - one was large but the funniest was when two small sharks decided to have a go as I was wading out to the boat. They would have knocked lumps off me too if a bloke on shore hadn't spotted them and yelled a warning. Got to the boat just in time by making a huge leap as they flashed by with inches to spare.

Of course, most have been 'looked' at by the odd large shark but they seem to be just inquisitive rather than malignant. I am still very wary of large tiger sharks - they really do put the wind up me but the bull shark (most numerous I think) is relatively timid and easily scared off. Naturally, there would be exceptions to this but that has been my experience with them.

Only one injury from a shark in all that time. Well, that's being a drama queen I suppose and it was my fault for grabbing him when he was too 'green' but he had rolled up in the surf after a short tussle. Did wonders for my back when he tried to get away and I refused to let go. Never again - the chiropractor and physiotherapist made a pile of money and I was out of action for three weeks.

Therefore, I think that water activities are not at all dangerous as far as sharks are concerned but you won't find me swimming at night or at dawn, dusk or on deeply overcast days - and never in murky water. Odds are, that even if those rules were broken, everything would be okay because there are only a couple of attacks each year but some can be very unlucky as the recent at Ballina demonstrates. Sad end to a young life.

[tigermullet]

I'll put my 'hands up' to being bitten by the family pet but my fingers have a few bandaids on them. My wife's vicious, little, white, fluffy, bastard of a mongrel got me again.

[loophole]

I'll put my 'hands up' to being bitten by the family pet but my fingers have a few bandaids on them. My wife's vicious, little, white, fluffy, bastard of a mongrel got me again.

lol but its fun hahah dont some of them get hyped up.

[tigermullet]

And, what's worse, I was trying to make up and be friends again

[MBPaddler]

Interesting stories, thanks for sharing!

...but the bull shark (most numerous I think) is relatively timid and easily scared off

By splashing the water with one's paddle? Yup, I really have nooooo idea At least learning online you can afford to make a fool of yourself to get to the bottom of things I will be feeling more confident next time I go out however - thanks to everyone for the replies.

[tigermullet]

You probably would not have to make a splash in the water with your paddle. On a number of occasions I have tried standing very still on the aft deck to watch them approach - once I was trying to bash one over the head because he kept having a go at a bag of black bream that was tethered to the boat - but if the slightest movement is made they back off or swim away very quickly. If you really wanted to see one I think that you would have to come to a complete stop in the kayak, sit there very quietly and try to attract them with a fish or some sort of berley.

[oldboot]

From What I hear, statistaly you have a better chance of being killed by a drink machine than a shark .

If I found myself in the water....... scrambling isn't what i would do..........quietly geting back on the yak would be my choice.

cheers