my scary diving experience - how come people aren't afraid of sharks?

[SEMO Scuba]

Minaki,
Actually if you are afraid of sharks it is a well know fact that if you soak you suit in bovine urine that sharks hate the smell of that and will leave you alone.

[inventor]

Originally Posted by Lulubelle

I'm only afraid of the landsharks. They are scary.

They've gotten clever! This is why thay started using the min-buses. It was just practice!

[db83]

Beware the Loan Shark. They let you borrow money from them so you can buy a house. Several years and many payments later, they cause the economy to fail. You get laid off, and can't pay for the house anymore. They then take the house from you, along with the money you've already paid. After they have accumulated enough houses, and the economy is starting to rebound, they milk the system of supply and demand. They sell only a few houses at a time and watch people pay ridiculously high prices compared to its actual market value. Where do these people get the money to afford these houses? Loan Sharks!

[inventor]

Originally Posted by db83

Beware the Loan Shark. They let you borrow money from them so you can buy a house. Several years and many payments later, they cause the economy to fail. You get laid off, and can't pay for the house anymore. They then take the house from you, along with the money you've already paid. After they have accumulated enough houses, and the economy is starting to rebound, they milk the system of supply and demand. They sell only a few houses at a time and watch people pay ridiculously high prices compared to its actual market value. Where do these people get the money to afford these houses? Loan Sharks!

Open season! It's legal, they aren't mammals.

[Vlane]

Typically most sharks aren't going to come up for a bite right away. Usually they'll take a few passes by you or around you to investigate. I've even read of some divers hitting their nose or nudging them to scare them off. This might work for some of the more docile sharks, but I couldn't tell you how it would work on the more aggressive ones. Just know that sharks aren't there to eat you, usually they are more curious than anything.

[petronius]

Originally Posted by SEMO Scuba

Minaki,
Actually if you are afraid of sharks it is a well know fact that if you soak you suit in bovine urine that sharks hate the smell of that and will leave you alone.

Dagnabbit! It has to be bovine? I've been using horse urine for years, and you tell me I've been wasting my money?

[inventor]

Originally Posted by petronius

Dagnabbit! It has to be bovine? I've been using horse urine for years, and you tell me I've been wasting my money?

Check the small print, I'm not giving you a refund.

But ah, hey, got any deer smear?

[jet126]

"if a BIG SHARK zoomed in you wouldn't have time to do anything one CHOMP!!! and that's IT!!!!"

Anything in the water that is "zooming in" is going to get you - whether you can see it or not ... that's why I love night diving: I'd rather not see it coming.

The reality is the sea is NOT out to get you. Most of the time it does not even know you exist.

[DMWiz]

Originally Posted by jet126

Anything in the water that is "zooming in" is going to get you - whether you can see it or not ... that's why I love night diving: I'd rather not see it coming.

ROFL... I really need to compile a list of reasons for night diving. Yours is phenomenal!


BTW, Lulu this is for you:

[No Misses]

Back to the original post...I understand your aprehension about what could be out there. I have experienced it from time to time.

I spearfish. Thus, I have had close encounters with sharks. Here is one The Running of the Bulls - AKA Grouper story


Another time, I was hunting in the Bahamas (freedive only). I was on top of a shallow reef. It was beautiful. I could see that it was much brighter off to one side. I swam out and found that the reef dropped off to >40 fsw and a white sandy bottom. As I swam out over the edge, I had the sensation of falling. This was followed by the knowledge that I now had a much wider range of directions that a shark could come from. I paddle my pansy arse back into the 5' water on the reef. In reality, this was all phsycological. There is very little difference whether you are in shallow of deep water. If you are holding a bloody fish, you need to be aware of your suroundings.

Bottom line - don't fear the unknown.