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RPD
06-23-2003, 08:04 PM
so yesterday morning we were eating breakfast on the balcony of our condo over at the island (sound side) and I spot a small sand shark (about 4 feet or so) cruising along the beach about 10 feet from the waterline, between me and my mooring buoy... he/she was swimming so gracefully and powerfully... why is it that sharks have such an attitude, like "nobody's going to give me any s--t"....???

1996Z15
06-23-2003, 08:11 PM
Because they can :D

HyperDonzi
06-23-2003, 08:47 PM
Sharks are the most amazing animal. I had a 3" one in a fish tank a few years ago, none of the other fish gave it anything, and they were all bigger.

Ps-Tell a girl that there are sharks in the lake that can swallow a boat whole, and they will move closer to you. wink :p :D :cool:

Tommy

mattyboy
06-23-2003, 10:06 PM
Tommy plus you have to tell them about the rare brazillian fresh water shark, known to be dumped in lakes after they ate all the other fish in the owners tank!!!! wink :D :D

Matty
can't believe that line actually worked once or twice

Jamesbon
06-24-2003, 05:15 PM
We have a hot fishing spot 12 miles west of Johns Pass. We regularly pull up black tips and spinners (?). Kinda scary. But when you look at the stats. for shark attacks in FL, one probably doesn't have much to worry about.

While we're on the subject, that place is loaded with cudas, kings, and bonitas, lots of bonitas. (best fighting fish pound for pound I've caught)

Oh yeah, that shark steak is mighty tasty too :D

Air 22
06-24-2003, 05:40 PM
They swim like that b/c they are #1 on the food chain in the great ol' sea wink
Swam with many of the coast of Cuba...yes south of Poodle :D mostly tigers and hammerheads. Respect is the key word. We play in their world so its up to us to be responsible. All the same, during my Coast Guard days as a rescue swimmer I've seen enough sharks from the air and sea to last a lifetime. eek! Treading water along the ship 150 miles offshore...... while they hoist up the dummy in stokes after a practice man overboard.... makes one feel very small and insignificant staring down watching the sunlight fade into the beautiful deep blue "they" call home. wink

oldLenny
06-24-2003, 07:00 PM
...number one in the food chain 'cuz our Killer Whales (Orcas) are not down there. 30' and 12 tons, 6' dorsal, all teeth and a pretty smile. Great whites (largest) are about 20 feet in length. I watched a "pod" one day from about 50' in a 12' aluminum boat. They were all circling, about a 50' radius. As we watched, the motor (outboard) off, all of a sudden one comes up the middle of the circle with a seal sideways across its mouth, blood everywhere, a horrible squeal from the animal, and the rest was history. The circle was to keep it from diving under or racing out of the entrapment. They were about 200' from shore in 20' of water. This prevented it from diving. They come from underneath. That was the "alfa meo's" job. It was wild to see. After this they all went towards another Gulf Island, we followed about 100' behind again, kept track of them all, about 7, then lost one of them. Immediately behind the boat, up comes a dorsal about 6' high, bent, and under the transom it goes. That was the end of our "fun" as it freaked me out for a long time...Very gentle, "playful" things (mammals), don't seem to care about any of us period, I think they somehow are smarter than we are, hence they know that we pose no danger.

They are common here. North and South "pods". They divide the island in half (306 miles long) North group and South group, and each group works both east and west sides of the coast, north and south respectively.

They eat salmon and seals, and occasional seagulls.

here is a link to one of the larger whale watching companies in town. There are MANY Companies doing this. About 10-12 trips per boat, per Company, per day, out to the Gulf Islands, or the Coast...$40.00 a ride Canadian ($30 US)

http://www.princeofwhales.com/photogallery.htm

http://www.whalewatchingadventure.com/whale_watching.htm

Their names as categorized

http://www.whales.com/wildlife.html

And my favorite link to let you see where we and they play...Victoria is on the southermost tip of Vancouver Island...the 306 mile long island...

http://www.vancouverisland.com/photogallery/

...and where Owen and I wandered around last summer when he was up here...

http://www.donzi.net/photos/lgreen60.jpg

...and you can see these pics are from the same spot...
http://www.donzi.net/photos/owenszone.jpg


Interesting mammals.

Tony
06-24-2003, 10:17 PM
Lenny,

Way cool post. These are truly remarkable creatures, as you have so Cousteau-like reminded us. Corny as it sounds I used to like to watch the TV show "Flipper".

A friend of mine does a whale watching (winter) trip out of Lahaina, Maui. Here is the link to Captain Steve's. (http://www.captainsteves.com/) 6 or 8 trips a day, $120 per head, on a RAIV 30ft rigid hulled inflatable powered by twin 200's.

In the summer it is dolphins and turtles, snorkeling, lunch and drinks on a beach. This is one of the things we will be doing in about a week...Aloha!