Sharks

[tyco1983]

Question:
What danger to sharks pose to Seal trainees in the coronado and san diego bays? Have there been many attacks while training due to the long distance swims?

[EmbraceTheHate]

Beware the man in the gray suit !

[Boatdrivers_Babe]

Beware the man in the gray suit !

Are you talking about the one carrying the briefcase and chasing the ambulance perchance? Or then there are the ones in the shallow...um...nevermind very politically incorrect....

[tyco1983]

Seriously though, does anyone know anything about shark attacks on bud trainees?

[EmbraceTheHate]

Seriously though, there has never been a shark attack on any trainee's. But it is fun to watch them squirm at the thought of it. Especially after watching the three hour shark attack video right before a night swim. Lot of luck !! :)

[roula]

Seriously though, there has never been a shark attack on any trainee's. But it is fun to watch them squirm at the thought of it. Especially after watching the three hour shark attack video right before a night swim. Lot of luck !! :)


LoL!!

[Romulus]

Seriously though, there has never been a shark attack on any trainee's. But it is fun to watch them squirm at the thought of it. Especially after watching the three hour shark attack video right before a night swim. Lot of luck !! :)


That ads a nice touch I would amagine!!

[shocker]

The only shark i fear and respect is the great white because it doesn't feel with it's nose before it takes a chunk off you...
besides it hunts sealions and "seals" on cliffs outside of the southern coast off california?!

[elpaninaro]

Sharks are feared far more than is necessary in my opinion. Great White sharks are extremely rare these days thanks to excessive hunting. My old diving coach went to Australia a few years ago on a week tour to find a Great White- and they never found one in the place they are most populous in the world.

It is an oft quoted statistic that no SEAL has ever been killed by a shark in the line of duty. And I have only come across one report of a SEAL being killed by a shark- he was retired and surfing in Southern California at the time.

There is a very good reason why most shark attack victims live to tell the tale- sharks do not like human meat. Most victims of even severe bites are not devoured because sharks will not usually eat human flesh unless they are extremely hungry or in the midst of a feeding frenzy. In most cases, the shark bites, dislikes the taste, and spits you right back out (hopefully all in one piece :) )

And there are two main reasons why a shark would attack a human in the first place,

1. Surfers. Most major attacks with serious injury or death resulting are against surfers. This is because when you are swimming on your board you look like a seal (the little fuzzy kind) from below. So the attacks are usually a case of mistaken identity. People dog paddling in the shallows can also set off vibrations in the water that make a shark think he is coming after a seal or other normal prey. Sharks are the vacuum cleaners of the sea- unless they are very hungry or in a frenzy they tend to go after wounded and dying animals. And a human floundering around in the ocean having fun sends off many of the same signals as a wounded seal.

2. Chummers. A lot of people do shark tours these days for tourists and since the larger sharks are rarer these days due to excessive hunting, many of these jerks will chum the water around the boat with blood and flesh to attract sharks and get them excited. Since most of these tours are in small boats near the coast, the effect is that more sharks than would be the case normally are drawn into areas where humans swim and surf, gotten into sensory overload by all the blood, and trained to instinctively come into human areas since they will be fed.

If you are in the ocean, barracudas, jellyfish and riptides are of far more concern than sharks when it comes to your personal safety. I know it is hard thanks to the shark's place in human lore and the movie "Jaws", but they are really not something to worry about. The odds of attack are so low that worrying about it and not swimming is just like worrying about getting killed by a truck and never driving anywhere (except that FAR more people get hit by trucks than killed by sharks...)

[roula]

If you are in the ocean, barracudas, jellyfish and riptides are of far more concern than sharks when it comes to your personal safety.


I've been stung by a jellyfish on more then one occasion...shudder...not a pleasant experience. But I always look at the "bright" side of it all....none were poisonous ones.

[socker]

I've been stung by a jellyfish on more then one occasion...shudder...not a pleasant experience.


this is very true i was swimming in ( forgiveme for my spelling) massqamaket beach in RI and it must have been i bad yr for jelly fish becuase when i got out of the ocean i was beet red i had so many sings that it hurt alover i hadt o go to the hospital to get them taking out ( not kewl). the doctors couldnt do that much only rip them out with sticky paper OUCH!!

[Romulus]

the doctors couldnt do that much only rip them out with sticky paper OUCH!!

Sure they didn´t just vax your legs?!?*LoL*
Romulus out.

[Wazz]

Tyco
I have never heard of a SEAL, active or trainee being attacked at Coronado.I did have a 6 foot shark jump upward out of the water approx 20' from me in Coronado when I was on a personal swim. I obviously let the shark have his space, and mine too, with my quick departure.

During many mornings the Strand beach would have several Seals that had been attacked and died, and the surf washed them ashore. Obvoiously I did not know what attacked them as I did not wittness the attack. But their wounds consisted of body slashes and missing heads. The SeaBees would come down with their bulldozers and bury the dead Seals.

Seals attacks are a near no worry. Take the number of years their has been Frog/SEAL training and muliply that by the number of night and day trainees, and when knowlege of shark attacks are not known, then it must be a safe bet.

[DMANN]

First off if your chicken of sharks then you need not waste the SEAL instructors time your time and every one elses time. Hell just stay out of the navy cause you never know you might fall off the edge of the ship and a great white will grab you. And 2 thay give you a knife during buds use it if you have to.

[speeddemon]

**** , you want to know the deal with SEALs and sharks? Read the book "First SEAL" I can't remember his name, but he created the SEALs, and a shark ate his shipmate, and he saw a shark one day while offshore and dove in after it, grabbed it by its dorsel fin, and stabbed and killed that son of a *****, with only a knife. Don't **** with the SEALs!

[Swimmer2004]

I read "The Teams" and i did hear that a Lt. In UDT was fatally wounded due to a shark bite while recreational swimming on his free time. His unit was doing training down near Rosey Roads (must have been Puerto Rico then?) and while swimming a shark, not a great white, took off most of his leg and he died. But it was on his free time so it doesn't get recorded as an accident during a training session.
Lee Out

[elpaninaro]

**** , you want to know the deal with SEALs and sharks? Read the book "First SEAL" I can't remember his name, but he created the SEALs, and a shark ate his shipmate, and he saw a shark one day while offshore and dove in after it, grabbed it by its dorsel fin, and stabbed and killed that son of a *****, with only a knife. Don't **** with the SEALs!


You are referring to Roy Boehm. What happened according to the book is that early in his Navy career he was on a ship that went down or in a plane that went down (I forget the exact circumstances) and he ended up in the water with the rest of his crew. While they were waiting to be rescued, his friend who was right next to him was suddenly engulfed in an attack and taken by a shark. Most likely it was a particular species that roams the open oceans (I do not recall the scientific name) and is drawn to unusual events that mean food is likely nearby. It is suspected the scent of gas, oil and other machine parts in the water draws them, and thus they are a great danger to humans. It is one of the few species that will actively hunt, kill and eat humans.

Several years later, Boehm saw a reef tip shark in an area he was swimming, went down and killed it with his knife. Pretty cool way to get over any fear/anger from his first experience in my opinion. Reef tips do not usually eat humans, but still are very dangerous and have a long track record of attacking people.

[frogstyle]

The water is too cold to give a **** about a shark.... er uhm The Landlord...

[Swimmer2004]

Hey i think the type of shark you are refering to, in the book and from my limited knowlege gain from shark week is the Tiger Shark or the Bull Shark, both pose alot of threat to any human in the water near them, they are aggressive hunters. As for Roy, lucky ******* , he was on the Duncan, a Destroyer that was hit i think wel over 20 times and went down in either the largest or one of the largest Naval Battles of the War. His destroyer was part of a battle group i think off of guadalcanal that was intercepting the Tokyo Express, which was a Jap convoy which resupplied the island with soldiers and supplies. That is what i know....or remember been awhile and is alittle fuuzzy but i read the book twice.
Lee out