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DonORiordan
Joined: 06 Feb 2001 Posts: 146
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 4:20 pm Post subject: |
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windward1 wrote: | Lee D wrote:
Sorry, you are wrong. Great whites were seen off Santa Cruz all summer long. Rangers posted signs of warning. Windsurfers had sightings. This Fall and Winter only thing is bogus.
Windward1 |
Isn't it the case that *most* of the tagged whites go to the shark cafe for the summer, but *not all*of them do? Some of them stick around, perhaps injured/younger/immature (and those latter cases are the most dangerous probably as they don't know enough yet to *always* be able to tell a surfer from a seal and have to do a taste test to find out).
Comes down to statistics...summer is probably safer than sharktober in terms of # sharks in the NorCal waters, but no month/day/week is guaranteed safe (probably explains Lee D's reported sightings) |
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DonORiordan
Joined: 06 Feb 2001 Posts: 146
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry, make that windwards1's reported sightings |
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NickB
Joined: 30 Jun 2009 Posts: 510 Location: Alameda, CA
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 5:53 pm Post subject: |
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For iPhone/iPad owners, check out the free Shark Net app mentioned in the OP link. It gives you a good real-time glimpse at some of our local landlord activities (and pretty faces/scars, so you can call them by their first name when asking for your leg back). |
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dllee
Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:49 pm Post subject: |
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The late summer thru Nov thing applies to the big ones, the 17' and bigger already tagged annual migrators that end up around the Farallones, but cruise the coast on the way to and from the Islands.
Anytime of the year, there will be smaller ones cruising and looking for a meal. They have not established their migratory patterns yet.
There is a surf break on the SunsetCliffs in SanDiego, NewBreak, that is adjacent to a shark breeding ground for nurse, blues, 6 gills, and THRESHER yes those long tailed sharks. It' the channel between NewBreak and Chasms, and marine biologists are there diving and boating year round. I've seen some over 15' long, bodies as wide as an elephants, cruising in 14' of water between and inside the two breaks. |
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windward1
Joined: 18 Jun 2000 Posts: 1400
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 10:12 pm Post subject: Sharks off Santa Cruz this summer |
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Here is a sampling of Santa Cruz Sentinel Newspaper reports this summer.
Quote: | Related
Shark Attacks/Sightings
Jul 19:
Shark spotted near Seacliff State Beach
Jul 10:
California shark attack map California shark attack database Relax, tourists - sharks don't love Santa Cruz
Jul 7:
Shark attacks kayak near Pleasure Point
Mar 14:
Rangers warn people to stay out of the water after shark attack on seal at Waddell Creek |
And yes, some of the reports were of sharks of about 6 to 8 feet, but one was reported at 19 feet. Of course it may have not acually been that big.
The one that attacked the kayak at Pleasure Point left a tooth that indicated that it was of significant size.
With the recent tagging with sophisticated GPS units we should learn a lot more about their pelagicness. Interesting that the Farralon Island Researchers say the the same sharks come back only every two years. It is a different set each subsequent year. Devil's Teeth is an interesting read.
Windward1 |
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dllee
Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 12:22 pm Post subject: |
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The every other year is not exact. Some females, like the 21' Stumpy, have come back 3 years in a row, then disappeared for two.
They say the 3 big males stay at the N end of the island.
The two big females own the South end, where the fishing boats toss the chum into the water after every day's catch, and the right wave breaks like MaaleaBay into the Farallones.
When the shark came up and bit FatDaves board (his board sat outside SanFranciscoSurfShop on Sloat for TWENTY YEARS as a display), it was in January, south corner, PedroPt.. By the teeth arc, it was an 11'er, a baby or teenager looking for trouble.
All the Stinson and Limantour, and Bodega area bites are in the fall. OK, one Stinson bite 40 years ago was late spring.
Why worry about sharks? It's the best bar room story you will ever tell. |
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gerritt
Joined: 06 May 1998 Posts: 632 Location: Redwood City, CA
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:05 pm Post subject: |
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zirtaeb wrote: |
Why worry about sharks? |
Exactly. You are much more likely to be killed in traffic driving to and from the beach. Of course, being killed in traffic is not nearly as exciting as being killed by a shark. Nor, is being killed by skin cancer, head injury followed by drowning, or stroke or heart attack followed by drowning. All of which are infinitely more probable in our sport than some random shark attack. |
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dllee
Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:29 pm Post subject: |
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About 5 years ago, just after the windsurf season, I was surfing CronkiteBeach (Rodeo?) in the middle looking for lefts. I noticed the pack of maybe 40 guys at the N end came in, were yelling, jumping, and pointing at the water where they were surfing. Looked liked a seal getting attacked by a shark or two, or two seals by a shark.
I stayed in the water and picked off 3 good long lefts. Why come in? The sharks were distracted, any arriving ones would go THERE, not where I was looking for waves, and I got the surf to myself. |
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gerritt
Joined: 06 May 1998 Posts: 632 Location: Redwood City, CA
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 3:39 pm Post subject: |
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Nice! That's one way to clear out a lineup and get it all to yourself. You assessed the risks versus rewards and made your call. Fretting about Whitey is a waste of time. We all make risk versus reward calls daily and still decide to drive, fly, get on elevators, or even get in the water. There is something about putting yourself directly in the food chain that celebrates the fact we are alive like nothing else.
"Charlie don't surf"
"Would you rather surf, or fight?"
"I'd rather surf, Sir!" |
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Bayside
Joined: 27 Sep 2002 Posts: 44
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:07 pm Post subject: |
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"Sorry, you are wrong. Great whites were seen off Santa Cruz all summer long. Rangers posted signs of warning. Windsurfers had sightings. This Fall and Winter only thing is bogus.
Windward1"
The Stanford group mentioned in the link had a paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B about 2 years age describing the movement of a 179 tagged Great Whites from 2000 - 2008. Numbers detected on teh N.Cal coast were very low from Mar-July (although not zero) , started increasing in August, peaked between Oct & Nov then started declining again. In the spring/summer most migrate to offshore Hawaii or a spot in open ocean between Baja and Hawaii.
From this data the chances of coming into contact with a GW on the CA coast was probably 10 fold greater in the fall compared to early summer. How that translates to the chances of being attacked, no comment.
It is worth reading the paper - it is free access for that journal |
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