Went down to Manly point for an evening sail tonight. Was warned that a shark had been seen right in close at Rose bay. I did not take this seriously until I had a look myself and there was the nearly cartoon like fin appearing and then disappearing next to the two little boats. Tide was out, so could not be more than 750mm of water so probably a little fella.

I'm a pom recently arrived in Aus, so this kept me well out of the water but I wandered what the general consensus is. Do you definitely stay ashore, go out and stay out the way, or do you stuff it chop hop onto its head.

I expect this will bring a certain amount a macho bullsh!t, which is fine, but I would really quire like to know the real risks.

...and I know if I just don't fall in then I have nothing to worry about...

oops I was sailing there today

since it was manly you guys were sailing are you sure it wasn't a shart floating in the water.

achooBULLSHARK!!!no it's true........those boats are fishing dorys probably stink of dead fish?

it was definitely there - fish jumping out of the water all over the place.

Hoping to sail tomorrow. Am I being stupid to be worried?

The only floating turd I saw was scotty

I reckon the multitude of bullsharks from up the river have all been washed into the bay. Lost ,disorientated,a bit peckish, I doubt they'll swim back up to Jindalee....

Yeah, it might be a little dangerous at the moment. Bull sharks can be nasty.

There are always sharks of course but you don't see them so they don't bother you.
If I knew a shark was there I'd stay away from him but I would still sail.
Of course, if I were a pom I'd go out and chase the shark away to earn some real person credit

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vando said...

The only floating turd I saw was scotty

LOL (no offence Scotty)

Thanks Notwal,

You are right , I should have gone and taught that shark a lesson, a bit like the ashes...

Will just keep away next time. I guess you are only ever in for a bit of a mauling from one of these little fellas...and although it would not be good they aren't going to eat you.

I have been told all the stats about 'you are more likely to be killed by a beach umbrella than a shark' etc etc, but it does not mean it does not speed up my waterstarts a little

i heard a guy talking at vp and he said he saw a huge bullshark!!!

didnt see any out today

I dont want to comment because knowing the way irony works, it (the shark),would probably have a chew on me.........I was thinking this this arvo at Manly as dusk approched and I was the only one still on the water.....

well I got over my fears and had a great sail this afternoon at Manly. No sharks, other than in my head every time I was in the water.

I expect I'll get over it one day.

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switch101 said...

i heard a guy talking at vp and he said he saw a huge bullshark!!!

I normally consider the "safety in numbers" approach to be an effective way of removing scarry thoughts from my head but the comment "huge bullshark" is alarming. I guess this means i will want no less than 15 knts to consider a sail today

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Mox said...

No sharks, other than in my head every time I was in the water.

You just couldn't see them.

Just because a shark is nearby doesn't mean it will attack you. In all likelihood you could go and pat it. Really, you just aren't on its menu. Middle of the day you're pretty safe, especially when you think about how little time you are actually in the water.

However, you're quite possibly pushing your luck if you're swimming in dirty water, in summer, at sunrise or sunset, running tide with trawlers coming past oozing blood out the back. And I'd never (again) swim in South East Queensland at night.

The Bull Sharks that live around here weigh up to 250kg, have chainsaws for teeth, have 3x the testosterone level of an African Elephant on heat, and you're in its environment.

Did a quick google search for that testosterone fact and found body builders like using bull shark testosterone: forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=109099901. Bloody hell.

So anyway... now I've scared you, summer + dirty water + dawn/dusk = real danger. Otherwise you're probably fine.

"Bump & Jump" means something else here

My beach was closed this weekend because of a croc sighting, maybe I'll move to Manly

I hit one once - I was in the surf on an onshore - hit something - harder than weed - softer than a log - killed my speed & I got going again. An hour later there was a crowd of children gathered around on the beach - I went & had a look there was a 1m shark with a fin cut across the back of its head - didnt see a thing

This from Ron Taylor, he and his wife are leading shark experts. They love sharks and always state that we are not on their menu but they also say to be very careful with the bull sharks and of swimming in murky waters. For me you will rarely see me sitting around chewing the fat and I always try and get in before dusk, I think a bit of common sense and a level of respect is required in the bay.

RON: And what makes the Great White Shark the most dangerous of all, it investigates by biting. Most other shark would just come by and have a look or they might bump. Anybody who's swimming in murky, muddy water in the rivers in summertime, should be concerned. I would never go swimming in the Brisbane River or the Georges River in Sydney because there's a shark called a Bull Shark lives there. He will come right up into fresh water and if he can't see, there's splashing in the water, his instincts tell him that there's an animal in distress. And for millions of years they've been taking animals or fish flapping around on the surface and on rare occasions they bite people.

Oh they're there alrighty. I try not to think about it too much but remember, Denial, is also a murky waterway !!!!.........

killing a shark with your fin. That is truly an awesome story.

So if I am to not get bitten it sounds it is best if I don't flail around in the water whilst waterstarting........or maybe if I just never fall in

This topic is like a car accident, you don't want to look but you can't help it

Hey lads,

I kite (...yeah I know) at the southern end of the yacht club and have seen quite a few small bullies right up on the mudflats chasing fish, usually in pairs near Lota park in under 30cm of very warm water on the last few sessions. It's so shallow they can't dive enough to hide thier fins. Have seen the odd bigger one around the bay over the years but am a bit worried about this many small ones are around... Hope they piss off as they get bigger!

Seems to be heaps more stingrays around at the moment too?

You had better not go near Lota Creek then.

I see you guys sailing right down in the creek mouth/entry doing speed runs on the flat water at low tide sometimes and think you are very brave

how small is small?.....bite your head off small?.

Small = As big as my board which is 134cm... Still Big enough to take a good chunk of calf if they wanted to. A few weeks back there was one in "Ports hole" that was at least 6 foot.
Yes I bailed straight away

Honestly I'm more worried about the stingrays, do a boost and look down and there are literally dozens of them in view lately.

i was at vp yestarday and saw a huge shark and imeadiatly thought it was a shark not sure though but kept sailing

I was sailing at viccy point the other day as well and saw a small (bit under a metre) shark jump out of the water there. Also that same day I saw two dugong (I think?) At first glance, the dark outline made me think shark, but I got a better look and it definitely wasn't, maybe that's your big shark?

maybe, i saw a dugong poke it's head out of the water it could have been a shark chasing the dugong better to be safe than sorry