View Full Version : Would you swim with sharks?
I'm supposed to be going to Egypt on Sunday for a bit of sun and scuba diving.
My girlfriend has said there is no way she will be going in the water let alone joining me diving. (It was going to be her first time)
So, with the recent news, would you still go diving, or would you stay firmley on dry land?
I will without a doubt still be scuba diving (and I'll be dissapointed if I dont see sharks lol), I think I'll be thinking twice before swimming/snorkeling in the shallows though. Diving trips only for me.
CheGuevara
07-12-10, 11:41 AM
Diving with sharks, yes (have done on several occasions). Diving with sharks, or in an area with sharks, that are known to be preying on people -no thanks.
Biker Biggles
07-12-10, 11:59 AM
When I was young and indestructable,and absolutely certain I could walk on water never mind swim in it,then yes I would(and did) swim in sharky waters.
Nowadays?Not on your bl00dy life mate.
husky03
07-12-10, 12:14 PM
you'll be ok aslong as you avoid the white tipped reef shark with the chunk missing out its dorsal fin-thats the one thats particularly fond of people by all accounts:).
seriously though as soon as you enter there domain you become part of the food chain-but i wouldn't be going on a holiday like that with out scuba diving no matter what
With the sharks coming in so far, I have to say that I wouldnt be snorkelling or swimming in the shallows, and I would be surprised if the beaches were open for you to do that.
husky03
07-12-10, 12:16 PM
just get some of this stuff-
http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Oceanic_Repellent_Batsprays
Shellywoozle
07-12-10, 12:31 PM
I was going to go there next year but have decided that Mexico, Maldives or Dom Republic are more appealing now LOL
Rob likes diving and I would lke him back in once piece, I know its a long way off from the news of today and it wont be a danger then but I am now liking the sound of Mexico.
I am with your other half on this one, until the morons stop dumping out at sea the sharks are gonna keep coming where they know there is food. And people are getting in the way and ickle sharkies are loving the munchies LOL
I hope you are safe and enjoy your hol, as Anna said, the beaches and waters would be closed if there was any danger ..... diving trips etc would be off so if they are still running I can only imagine they are safe to do so.
With the sharks coming in so far, I have to say that I wouldnt be snorkelling or swimming in the shallows, and I would be surprised if the beaches were open for you to do that.
The beaches are closed today according to the dive college I have been dealing with, although you can still dive their house reef from the beach. They said the beeches will be open by the weekend. Open water operated dives were allowed again from yesterday.
I was going to go there next year but have decided that Mexico, Maldives or Dom Republic are more appealing now LOL
Mexico, Maldives and Dom Republic are easily twice as much as Egypt, thats the only downside. I want to go to either Maldives or Thailand for a proper beach bum holiday in February/March.
Shellywoozle
07-12-10, 12:45 PM
Mexico, Maldives and Dom Republic are easily twice as much as Egypt, thats the only downside. I want to go to either Maldives or Thailand for a proper beach bum holiday in February/March.
I dont care I am selling Zuky to pay for the holiday and it's my first one with Rob so I want it to be one to remember :)
Have a look at http://www.komandoo.com/ :-)
Milky Bar Kid
07-12-10, 12:56 PM
I wouldn't because of the idiots who are dumping at sea, meaning the sharks are looking for food. If you were a fair distance away from that, then maybe, but what our "fair" distance is and sharks are two entirely different things so, that said, I probably still wouldn't risk it.
Dicky Ticker
07-12-10, 01:17 PM
I live every day of my life with sharks---of the human variety
keith_d
07-12-10, 04:15 PM
I was diving in the Red Sea just before all this kicked off and didn't see any sharks at all. Though a couple of the people on the boat did see some dolphins passing through.
I've been fortunate enough to dive a shark feed and the sharks (bronze whalers) were clearly not interested in eating divers. Once the free meal was gone they just swam off into the blue.
Oceanic Whitetip sharks aren't so discriminating about what they will eat, and have been known to take an exploratory 'bump & bite'. So I'd be a lot more cautious if there was one around when I was diving.
I reckon I could 'ave a shark
Owenski
07-12-10, 04:41 PM
I was going to go Mexico, Maldives or Dom Republic
dont go to the dom rep, went for honeymoon this august and didnt think much of it. The wife has been to mexico and she said it was a million times better. The dom rep aint too keen on the british, or the european or the americans or anyone really lol. They're personality just seemed really hostile and arrogant. Just my 2p worth.
As for swimming with sharks, did it in the dom rep with the nurse sharks pretty cool tbh but that was controlled conditions in an aquarium where you could feed them too but even that had me bricking myself.
If you're going t'egypt then scuba I'd think would be ok but no chance on earth I'd be getting the flippers and snorkel on an heading out into that water no ffffffkin way!
dizzyblonde
07-12-10, 05:08 PM
I'd swin with sharks providing there was the correct safety equipment
http://resources.tourcorp.com/images/oah_shark_adventure/shark-cage-tour-oahu.jpg
My dad worked in Saudi for many years, swam in the Red Sea for hours.
One day his mate was on the shore, and my dad rather far out to sea. The reef stretched for miles with water only to your waist. The fella was screaming at my dad for dear life, SHARKKKKKKK. But it was a school of dolphins, it was a great experience for him. He just thought his mate was waving, as he was so far away lol:o
I have done and still will swim with sharks.
They have very predictable body language and are very easy to read.
The problem seems to be here that the persons swimming weren't aware of the shark so couldn't have seen the body language. And of course, the standard reaction to seeing a shark is top panick which is a meal ticked to the shark.
A shark is very easily detered by hitting it on the nose. (with snorkel, flipper, stick or any other thing that comes to hand) its like you having your nose hair pulled. Instant and intense pain.
I feel sorry that the shark is the baddie in this as he's doing exactly what nature intended him to do. We are in *their* domain when we go in the sea.
Now there'll be a purge of all sharks in the area for PR reasons.
And I had to laught that Egypt claimed MOSSAD had placed it there :)
C
Specialone
07-12-10, 05:59 PM
My worry with the sharks trips and dives now, the sharks will get more and more used to human contact.
The ones i have seen on the tv use food to attrat them to the area so people can dive with them, this i think is bad and i wonder if this is the case in eygpt.
BTW i want to go to the maldives, looks amazing and a friend of mine went a few years ago and said the same.
Kilted Ginger
07-12-10, 06:04 PM
Yes, statistically you'd have to be very unlucky to get attacked.
I done a few open water scuba dives and encountered, reef's, makos, tigers and a few others. there was sightings of white tips near a couple of the beaches but most of the time they are more interested in avoiding you than coming anywhere near.
Snorkeling is possibly slightly more dangerous, if there have been attacks / sightings but as has already been stated in the water you are part of the food chain, so do so at your own risk. I have met more divers who have been bitten by morays than sharks
yorkie_chris
07-12-10, 06:42 PM
And I had to laught that Egypt claimed MOSSAD had placed it there :)
C
Mate have you read an Egyptian newspaper? They blame everything on the evil of zionism!
"Hot weather we've bin 'avin guv'nor.... SURELY A JEWISH SCHEME!!"
Quite amusing TBH.
To be honest the sharks targeting Germans and Russians can only be a good thing... I'd rather have dinner with the sharks in the water than with the Eurotrash in the all-inclusive restaurant...
And on another note, if you want to be eaten by a shark, go somewhere else. Having a leg chomped off is fair enough, but having a leg chomped off when you've been ****ting nowt but fluids for the past 3 days has got to be a right kick in the teeth.
BanannaMan
08-12-10, 02:49 AM
Been there, done that.
Many times when I was younger.
Would I do it now?
If really I wanted to swim there or had another reason to be in the water then yes.
Doing it just for the sake of saying I was in the water with sharks, likely not.
BanannaMan
08-12-10, 02:56 AM
I dont care I am selling Zuky to pay for the holiday
No Shelly No! Don't do it!
Zuky's last for years. Holidays are over over in a blink of an eye.
I've sold things in the past for a moments pleasure and nearly always regretted it.
If you split up a couple of months later would it still be worth it?
You're a woman, let him sell something!
beabert
08-12-10, 07:17 AM
No Shelly No! Don't do it!
Zuky's last for years. Holidays are over over in a blink of an eye.
I've sold things in the past for a moments pleasure and nearly always regretted it.
If you split up a couple of months later would it still be worth it?
You're a woman, let him sell something!
I agree, im like this, years of joy vs a week in the sun. +1 on the man paying too!
I've not seen one yet in the swim pool in Shrews;)
Never been to any of those other exotic places but I don't think all the news stories would put me off. Lack of swim ability would though:lol:
Mate have you read an Egyptian newspaper? They blame everything on the evil of zionism!
"Hot weather we've bin 'avin guv'nor.... SURELY A JEWISH SCHEME!!"
Quite amusing TBH.
To be honest the sharks targeting Germans and Russians can only be a good thing... I'd rather have dinner with the sharks in the water than with the Eurotrash in the all-inclusive restaurant...
And on another note, if you want to be eaten by a shark, go somewhere else. Having a leg chomped off is fair enough, but having a leg chomped off when you've been ****ting nowt but fluids for the past 3 days has got to be a right kick in the teeth.
LOL although I've never been ill whilst over there, the russians in the restaurants are a pain... that why I'm staying in a hotel that has a UK only restaurant supported by the UK tour operators.
robh539
10-12-10, 05:47 PM
Have a great time G sorry to hear about the snorkelling issue though. I think I wouldn't risk it. i haven't dived for a couple of years now since gran caneria. would only do it holiday now.
I'm not jealous much :)
No Shelly No! Don't do it!
Zuky's last for years. Holidays are over over in a blink of an eye.
I've sold things in the past for a moments pleasure and nearly always regretted it.
If you split up a couple of months later would it still be worth it?
You're a woman, let him sell something!
I don't want shell to sell the SV either mate. Shell has her mind set on it :(
I agree, im like this, years of joy vs a week in the sun. +1 on the man paying too!
You have deep pockets? yes. equal rights these days too bad move that was ;)
Have a great time G sorry to hear about the snorkelling issue though. I think I wouldn't risk it. i haven't dived for a couple of years now since gran caneria. would only do it holiday now.
Booked my trips with redseacdivingcollege now :D on my own :( kerry is staying on the beach for this trip.
I don't want shell to sell the SV either mate. Shell has her mind set on it :(
For a GSXR though... no! :(
robh539
10-12-10, 06:04 PM
Booked my trips with redseacdivingcollege now :D on my own :( kerry is staying on the beach for this trip.
For a GSXR though... no! :(
awesome, look forward to reading about the dives. any underwater pics? I will google them in a min.
nope :(
Black flags and deserted beaches :( it's an offence to go in the water at the moment. A 2m mako shark was spotted off the neighbouring hotel walkway yesterday apparently :rolleyes:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1188.snc4/151027_476228494836_502519836_5398567_5668021_n.jp g
All I can do is look down the steps I should have been walking down lol... Gutted
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs791.snc4/67163_476234549836_502519836_5398688_2701279_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs069.snc4/34801_476244669836_502519836_5398901_3140733_n.jpg
beabert
14-12-10, 07:58 PM
You have deep pockets? yes. equal rights these days too bad move that was ;)
Nope just old fashioned, i was in a similar postion once, i wouldnt go lol.
yorkie_chris
14-12-10, 07:59 PM
You going diving anyway? Or has whole trip turned to cluster-****?
i would, it was the reason i did my Padi, i have done in the past, but im not so sure i would be willing to swim with known man eaters!
You wanna have a look at this guy if you havent seen him already Mike Rutzen.
http://www.sharkdivingunlimited.com/galleries/international-documentaries
2010: Shark Nights – National Geographic
keith_d
15-12-10, 08:16 AM
I particularly liked the PADI Great White Shark speciality.
http://www.sharkdivingunlimited.com/activities/padi-great-white-shark-speciality
Fizzy Fish
15-12-10, 10:28 AM
I think some of this stuff gets blown out of proportion TBH - loads of sharks are safe to dive/snorkel with as long as you're reasonably sensible. I'd fairly happily dive there at the mo (ahhh wouldn't a holiday be nice!!), though would be more cautious on the snorkelling/swimming front.
Essntially there are a few species that are of significant concern (Great White, Tiger Shark, Bull Shark and Oceanic White Tip) and if any of them had been spotted recently in the vicinity I'm staying out!
Shame that they've closed off all the beaches, etc at the mo...
kaivalagi
15-12-10, 11:40 AM
Oceanic Whitetip sharks aren't so discriminating about what they will eat, and have been known to take an exploratory 'bump & bite'. So I'd be a lot more cautious if there was one around when I was diving.
I've seen first hand what an Oceanic whitetip is prepared to do, diving off the coast from a tuna processing factory in Fiji. A 5 meter monstrosity followed a tuna boat inside of the reef and took an interest in a diving buddy at 40m deep...he had to use his second regulator to scare it off but it came back just after his last 3m stop as we were pulling him into the boat...but hey these fish are deep sea fish right :) Another reason why I do not snorkel with pilot whales and similar, these sharks follow the whale pods about for the Squid...
Apart from that one time I've seen tiger, bull, hammerhead, grey, reef sharks etc and they can get close but unless it is a shark feeding dive they will keep their distance normally.
I must say though I'll only dive with sharks, I hate snorkling/swimming and seeing sharks below, gives me the creeps as I have no means of evasion if that makes sense.
thedonal
15-12-10, 12:39 PM
I do this every day.
It's called working in an office.
keith_d
15-12-10, 12:57 PM
I've seen first hand what an Oceanic whitetip is prepared to do, diving off the coast from a tuna processing factory in Fiji. A 5 meter monstrosity followed a tuna boat inside of the reef and took an interest in a diving buddy at 40m deep...he had to use his second regulator to scare it off but it came back just after his last 3m stop as we were pulling him into the boat...but hey these fish are deep sea fish right :) .
If it's been following a tuna boat it thinks boats=free food, so I'm not surprised it came back to check your boat out. That being said, 5 meters is a lot of shark in anyone's book and even an exploratory bite would probably get you a flight home in cargo class.
You going diving anyway? Or has whole trip turned to cluster-****?
Nope not at the minute :( sun bathing, i've read two books all ready (No Angel - Hells Angel undercover cop book, a damn good read), and perving instead, the Russians look after themselves very well :D
kaivalagi
15-12-10, 03:28 PM
If it's been following a tuna boat it thinks boats=free food, so I'm not surprised it came back to check your boat out. That being said, 5 meters is a lot of shark in anyone's book and even an exploratory bite would probably get you a flight home in cargo class.
Yeah, and 5 metres is no exaggeration, it might have been longer to be honest...there was some debate on the shark for some time after...oh and the Fijian diver who had the encounter was from a clan who are "immune" from shark attacks ha ha :---)
The only real scary encounter I've had with a shark myself was being almost head butted by a scalloped hammerhead before, we both got extremely scared when we came head on around a blind corner of a reef :)
There's much more dangerous things that can happen when scuba diving than sharks anyway...faulty gear nearly had me in the past...a pressure gauge that got stuck was one, I was at 20m when I realised I had no air left, the gauge has 100 bar on it still...I had incorrectly thought that I was conserving air rather well! My dive buddy was 60+ and was not a buddy at all...I had to steal his air and drag him towards the surface and got as far as 10m depth with him before an emergency accent. The result was bad but not the bends (I had slight joint aches for a few hours and bleeding nose/ears but didn't need controlled decompression)
I almost got poisoned by an angry lion fish at depth and 45 minutes from shore too, it must have seen it's reflection in my mask and luckily was a great aim and hit me square in the mask!
That being said though, I've done over 200 dives, I spent 4 months diving for free twice a day for a start...so to only have the above scares is quite good going I'd say ;) Happy days those were, I miss it a lot...can you tell...
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