I was in the surf ... Me and a few young dudes on boogie boards where out .
About a 1.3 metre shark came in .the boogie boarder crapped them selves .
I thought ,Im way bigger than you ,so I thought I'd dong it on the head with my paddle .
So i took off after it ,it seen me and took off...I paddled after it ,till it was getting to the deep blue .
so I turned around and headed back ,just in case mum or dad was around ,
So I reckon sharks are kinda scared of us ...well the small ones anyway ...
or they simple don't care ...are they the boss in the sea ...
have you had any encounters ..and do they bother you ...being on a SUP.i think if i had my leg hanging down maybe not
as brave ..
the big ones you never see are the ones I fear ..I think the bigger they are the less fear they have .
This little one probably thought I was going to eat him .
anyway ,the BIG boys stayed in the surf and the esky lids went in ...so had another 1 hour of uncrowded surf

THE esky lids thought i was mad ...they're right .

Good luck thinking like that I ran into a 3.5 meter GW at flatrock(northern NSW between Ballina and Lennox)it sure as wasn't scared of me.I didn't stop paddling until I got to the car park.I saw it coming thru a wave straight at me,I'd been out there for awhile surfing thru to a channel,by myself.Maybe I'd fallen a couple of times and it thought lunch.I heard a guy surfing North wall Ballina had a GW swimming near him,hit the bloody thing with his paddle ,still didn't go away?they cleared the water after that.GW's are evil looking fish ain't scared of nothin,except Orcas.Everyone up here are a little on edge as they are removing the nets,didn't work apparently,and its whale migration time.

Right .....GW's fear nothing ...they are by far the scariest fish around and only ran into
a couple ...their eye ...is defiantly a scary one . Evil eye.

be careful ...removing nets ...are they crazy ...

maybe I think this to over come my fear ...but I'm sure they think of me as bait ..
I'm just lucky we have good visibility on a SUP ..THe surfers or boogies ..have less chance of spotting one .



but what a story ..still paddling in the car park ..I bet ...classic ..your a survivor

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Spacepig said..
Good luck thinking like that I ran into a 3.5 meter GW at flatrock(northern NSW between Ballina and Lennox)it sure as wasn't scared of me.I didn't stop paddling until I got to the car park.I saw it coming thru a wave straight at me,I'd been out there for awhile surfing thru to a channel,by myself.Maybe I'd fallen a couple of times and it thought lunch.I heard a guy surfing North wall Ballina had a GW swimming near him,hit the bloody thing with his paddle ,still didn't go away?they cleared the water after that.GW's are evil looking fish ain't scared of nothin,except Orcas.Everyone up here are a little on edge as they are removing the nets,didn't work apparently,and its whale migration time.

Just Wondering what the affect on GW`S Would be if the bottom of our sups were painted as if to look like the belly of an orca.
Has this been tried before ? Do you think it would make a difference to the sharks?

This is the exact reason i stopped prone surfing...SHARKS

I feel a lot safer on a SUP but i have no doubt if a great white or bull shark wanted me i would be just thrown higher into the sky than any prone board would. It scares the xxxxx out of me just thinking of getting back out on a surfboard with my legs hanging down like salami at a butcher

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mickyj said..

Spacepig said..
Good luck thinking like that I ran into a 3.5 meter GW at flatrock(northern NSW between Ballina and Lennox)it sure as wasn't scared of me.I didn't stop paddling until I got to the car park.I saw it coming thru a wave straight at me,I'd been out there for awhile surfing thru to a channel,by myself.Maybe I'd fallen a couple of times and it thought lunch.I heard a guy surfing North wall Ballina had a GW swimming near him,hit the bloody thing with his paddle ,still didn't go away?they cleared the water after that.GW's are evil looking fish ain't scared of nothin,except Orcas.Everyone up here are a little on edge as they are removing the nets,didn't work apparently,and its whale migration time.

Just Wondering what the affect on GW`S Would be if the bottom of our sups were painted as if to look like the belly of an orca.
Has this been tried before ? Do you think it would make a difference to the sharks?

Seen a few short boards with black strips on them.Not sure that a 3 meter plus G.W is going to be scared of a 6' board that's white with black stripes.But, if it helps I'm all for it,anything to stop the carnage.They aren't scared of a 10' board and being hit with a paddle.

They're removing the nets because it didn't trap the targeted species,and we have to bow to the greens.They are continuing drone and helicopter surveillance.

Just everyone stay safe and tardy please don't go chasing sharks,no matter how small.You might just run into the parents.

I'm no great paddleboarder,I love it,but seeing the shark sure improves you balance and paddling speed.

Had a 6-8 ft White come up on a heap of us suppers out at the local river mouth on a clear day, It come in had a good look an cruised away, no dramas was just having a look, also seen 3 whites while spearfishing, luckily as above an no dramas, just inquisitive..

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Towny said..
Had a 6-8 ft White come up on a heap of us suppers out at the local river mouth on a clear day, It come in had a good look an cruised away, no dramas was just having a look, also seen 3 whites while spearfishing, luckily as above an no dramas, just inquisitive..

I bet your dog was holding on for dear life...

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'Tardy said..
the BIG boys stayed in the surf and the esky lids went in '


Mate, your being pretty hard on the bodyboarders. I reckon you are one/were one and are embarrassed about mentioning it, hence the overcompensation. Its cool mate, we wont judge you here, be proud of who you are.

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JosephBetts said..

'Tardy said..
the BIG boys stayed in the surf and the esky lids went in '


Mate, your being pretty hard on the bodyboarders. I reckon you are one/were one and are embarrassed about mentioning it, hence the overcompensation. Its cool mate, we wont judge you here, be proud of who you are.

your reading me wrong, Joseph
i know all of them by name ,they are school boys 13-16 .they even call themselves lidders .

we all surf together in harmony.

www.mensjournal.com/adventure/the-shark-factor


"My hypothesis is that some of the bites are purely investigative," says Burgess. "The sharks can't be sure so they make a dry run. When they taste fiberglass they know it isn't what they're hoping for and they back off. But for a surfer laying on a board the damage is already done."

The key phrase in almost all the incidents, regardless of geographic location, is "laying on the board." Statistics show that the majority of White shark fatalities, for example, are caused by blood loss resulting from bites between the hip and the calf-the portion of the body laying on the back of a surfboard. The shark's observed attack pattern seems to focus on the back flippers of regular prey items like sea lions and elephant seals.
"Sharks, like all predators, grab for the propulsion end," says Burgess. "You take the tail off a sea lion, it can't swim very well. And a surfer with his arms and legs hanging off their board couldn't do a better job of approximating a sea lion."

But what about a surfer or paddler standing up on their board? With no arms and legs hanging off the tail of the board or dangling in the water? Even without taking into account the benefit of greater field and depth of vision, does this position on board make for safer surfing and paddling?


Read more at www.supthemag.com/features/from-the-mag/the-shark-factor/#oMULKQ51kQ1deEH8.99

If the sharks are not hungry Tardy they wont bug anyone. There are heaps of GW around Phillip Island but there is also a Seal Colony so never seen by Surfers or Sup. I remember my old crew had a newby come down one day and we watched him try to get out through the waves then he went in a sat on the beach. We asked him what was up after the session as he sat in the car, apparently he went into the white water and felt a thud on his chest. When the water cleared he discovered a Seals head bobbing up and down, poor kid never came back!!! Lol

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Toomanyboards said..

Towny said..
Had a 6-8 ft White come up on a heap of us suppers out at the local river mouth on a clear day, It come in had a good look an cruised away, no dramas was just having a look, also seen 3 whites while spearfishing, luckily as above an no dramas, just inquisitive..

I bet your dog was holding on for dear life...

She jumps in chasing the Dolphins, I'm sure the mad mutt would be chasing sharks too

NO !!

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DaveSandan said..
If the sharks are not hungry Tardy they wont bug anyone. There are heaps of GW around Phillip Island but there is also a Seal Colony so never seen by Surfers or Sup. I remember my old crew had a newby come down one day and we watched him try to get out through the waves then he went in a sat on the beach. We asked him what was up after the session as he sat in the car, apparently he went into the white water and felt a thud on his chest. When the water cleared he discovered a Seals head bobbing up and down, poor kid never came back!!! Lol

never seen by surfer or sup hey Pffffffffft.
tell that to the guy I saw bit at a surf comp at cat bay Phillip Island.

I must scare the crap out of them.

Last summer there were over 300 Great Whites our immediate area, and I have never seen one.
My friends see them daily... but so far they seem to avoid me

Watch out for crazy seals.

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DavidJohn said..
Watch out for crazy seals.

What a pain in the ass

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supthecreek said..
I must scare the crap out of them.

Last summer there were over 300 Great Whites our immediate area, and I have never seen one.
My friends see them daily... but so far they seem to avoid me

I use to check surf and wind apps before I went for a wave,now I check Dorsal and shark watch apps before going for a surf.I must be a pussy or your all a lot braver than me.

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SandS said..
NO !!

And another NO

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DavidJohn said..
Watch out for crazy seals.

The suspense was killing me, scary stuff.

Interesting to note recent studies of GW populations are now in some areas multiplied by up to 5x that estimated 5 years ago (pacific region). I've never subscribed to the endangered theory. And I hate the way they eat with their mouth open

my mate had Mr Chompy swim up to the back of his 30' boat and tried to clean its chompers on the propeller......NO FEAR!!
He has seen them feeding on mullet schools till they can eat no more, spew it all up then go in again.....

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Smash1 said..

DavidJohn said..
Watch out for crazy seals.

What a pain in the ass

that little girl will be **** scared of lions now ....ouch...bummer...
good dad ....dove straight in ...with no hesitation ...

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micksmith said..
Interesting to note recent studies of GW populations are now in some areas multiplied by up to 5x that estimated 5 years ago (pacific region). I've never subscribed to the endangered theory. And I hate the way they eat with their mouth open

Mick,they were put on the endangered list 20yrs ago because of flawed and loaded data.

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Spacepig said..

micksmith said..
Interesting to note recent studies of GW populations are now in some areas multiplied by up to 5x that estimated 5 years ago (pacific region). I've never subscribed to the endangered theory. And I hate the way they eat with their mouth open

Mick,they were put on the endangered list 20yrs ago because of flawed and loaded data.

Exactly, I'm such a sceptic when it comes to scientists, don't even get me started on global warming and the propaganda machine.

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Cobra said..

DaveSandan said..
If the sharks are not hungry Tardy they wont bug anyone. There are heaps of GW around Phillip Island but there is also a Seal Colony so never seen by Surfers or Sup. I remember my old crew had a newby come down one day and we watched him try to get out through the waves then he went in a sat on the beach. We asked him what was up after the session as he sat in the car, apparently he went into the white water and felt a thud on his chest. When the water cleared he discovered a Seals head bobbing up and down, poor kid never came back!!! Lol

never seen by surfer or sup hey Pffffffffft.
tell that to the guy I saw bit at a surf comp at cat bay Phillip Island.

Oh well that's one! Not as bad as Perth, a Sup is nothing more than a fishing lure for sharks!

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Tardy said..
Right .....GW's fear nothing ...they are by far the scariest fish around and only ran into
a couple ...their eye ...is defiantly a scary one . Evil eye.

be careful ...removing nets ...are they crazy ...

maybe I think this to over come my fear ...but I'm sure they think of me as bait ..
I'm just lucky we have good visibility on a SUP ..THe surfers or boogies ..have less chance of spotting one .



but what a story ..still paddling in the car park ..I bet ...classic ..your a survivor

Not true at all.

I would imagine a small shark would be scared of a sup that was bigger than it but the large gw's don't seem to be afraid of many things. There's plenty of footage online of them munching on boat props, even one crazy one where the shark starts biting chunks out of the side of a rib. I also have a friend who had a close encounter with one whilst he was on a jet ski, he said the shark was not afraid of the ski in the slightest.

If one of these monsters really wanted to eat you there would be very little short of a medium sized boat that would stop it but I do definitely feel safer on a sup. The year that I bought my first sup was the same year as there was about 6 attacks in 5months in WA and it has been a big factor in me choosing to stay with sups.


I grew up surfing around the Margaret river area and we would often surf til after sunset. In those days ( late 90's) attacks were very rare and great white sightings were not at all common in the area. Now sightings are numerous and there is around 1 fatal attack per year statewide.

Today was a day where if I had only had a prone surfboard I definitely would not have gone in the water. It was overcast, murky choppy, the spot we were surfing has a memorial to a recent victim of shark attack. The surf was too crappy and the conditions too spooky for me to have been tempted to dangle my bits in the water there.

It seems like most of the attacks are inquisitive bites where the shark is not trying to eat the person it's just giving a test bite which unfortunately is often deadly.

I think with a sup you have a much better chance of surviving this kind of attack ( if you were standing up on the board of course) it would be likely that the shark would bite fiberglass first and may hopefully be put off by this. At least being up out of the water and having a big whacking stick gives you an advantage plus there is usually a few prone surfers in the water and let's face it if a shark feels like having a go it's gonna pick a prone surfer first

Tardy been in the water for over 20 years now and never seen one surfing, swimming and lidding on the northern beaches to coffs coast. Most of my time is spent either on the netted beaches or at foster where the grey nurse are and I never spotted one. Spent hours out by myself at foster not even spotting a fin.
Went snorkelling in Raratonga inside the lagoon and came face to face with a reef shark about 5ft. It got the shock of its life and turned around injuring itself and high tailed out of the shallow channel. My family didn't believe me. I told the local guide and he just laughed. The lagoon full of sharks but if I told everyone that no one would go on the tours. He then told us that the natives believed sharks you could see where no threat as they are predators and only attack when they know they can escape. Always attack from behind and to the side as Gboots stated above. Its the ones you dont see that will eat you.
This got the group talking and one American guy told us that its also true about the whites, once that get big they are very good hunters and will only attack prey they know they can kill and escape from.
First month riding a sup at foster I did see my first shark, I think it was a grey nurse, just cruised in and swam the length of the beach, just on the edge of the breakers, went right under me, then swam along not interested in the slightest at what I was doing.
But the kicker was it never surfaced once in like 30 minutes, no fin nothing, if i wasn't standing up and it wasnt clear I would never have seen it.
I think you see way more up there on the sup.
As for the great white attacks, It is the smaller whites attacking people, the big ones go deep out and are rarely seen by surfers or fisherman.
Im also starting to formulate a theory that its the whites eating the bull sharks that are bringing them in close to the beaches.
So yes all sharks are wary of surfers and fear an attack from which they cant get away from.
pump.
Brings back great memories of my time in the pacific islands with my guide May, tattooed from head to toe, sitting up the front laughing as we motored along the lagoon through a tropical storm while my parents and other tourist bailed out the boat to stop it from sinking for him. Great times.