Although there won't be as many bathers' in the waters here in Mass., the white sharks are still present. - Tom
Inasmuch as I have SEEN the results of shark attacks on kayaks (There is a bright RED 18ft “fishing kayak” with a 14” half-circle Tiger Shark bite out of the stem area, which is suspended from the ceiling at THE BAKERY CAFE in Port Aransas, TX,) I will NOT be IN a yellow or any other color kayak “out on the salt”.
(The 2 passengers of the “trashed” kayak escaped W/O being attacked & were “picked -up” by another fisherman, “to tell the tale”.)
Yours, TMN78247
On the Mass. Bay side in early Sept. 2014, off Manomet point, Plymouth, two women in separate kayaks were side by side observing seals when a white shark attacked one of the kayaks, knocking both women overboard. They were in the water for about a half hour, before being rescued by an Asst. Plymouth Harbormaster and another kayaker.
This could have been a fatality, or resulted in serious injury, but the kayakers survived unscathed. The State’s shark incident investigator John Chisholm told me bite marks on the attacked kayak indicated a predatory bite, as the teeth penetrated well into the well-made kayak.
Since the shark didn’t return I think we can conclude a kayak was not on that white shark’s meal list. But what about you and me?
A shark can’t determine if something is edible without putting it’s teeth into it. I don’t entirely buy into the “mistaken identity” excuses often given for a shark’s behavior when people are the victims.
We might not be on a white sharks menu, but how does a hungry shark determine a seal sized person isn’t as good a meal, or a better meal than a seal?
A sample bite taken with large triangular serrated teeth can be a devastating problem for us, even if we are afterwards rejected as not being a suitable meal for the shark.
We have to take solace in statistics, which say shark attacks on people are rare. Maybe they are rare worldwide, but the beach going season in Massachusetts waters is only a few months a year, and the water is cool so we spend less time in it, compared to say Florida, California ,Australia, and Africa. Considering the shark related incidents in New England the last few years, maybe we are drifting into a less rare situation here-Tom
Although there won't be as many bathers' in the waters here in Mass., the white sharks are still present. - Tom