Aussie Surfer Mick Fanning attacked by Great White Shark

[jordyonbass]

And people wonder why I am happier to swim 100 miles from land in the crystal clear, deep blue sea in water 3 miles + deep instead of at a surf beach where I can touch the bottom, THIS is why!!!

Granted it was tiny for even a juvenile and Mick got lucky and didn't sustain any wounds, I'd still bet he doesn't weigh 175lb as stated after he filled his wetsuit with the last 2 week's meals

http://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/mick-fanning-attacked-by-shark-during-event-in-south-africa/story-fno61i58-1227448371150

 

[arkieb1]

Almost doesn't count

 

[Dee*Jay]

THIS is why I don't go in the ocean -- not even up to my knees! My mother let me watch Jaws when it came out and I was 4 (the lack of a parental common sense is a topic for another thread... ) but let's just say it STUCK WITH ME.

 

[packrat]

I saw that this morning and watched it about 10 times.

I've been in the ocean twice in my life and that's probably just going to be enough for me. I've seen the video (too many times to count) where Heather Boswell lost her leg from the knee down when they were swimming by the cruise ship. Nope nope nope nope.

 

[jordyonbass]

DeeJay I am kind of the same except it's more the popular surf beaches that I don't like. Good food supply + poor visibility = asking for trouble. I used that same formula to basically fool billfish into eating bits of plastic with giant hooks.

packrat I have seen that as well and it's pretty terrifying, although admittedly that attack and this one on Mick Fanning look far different to each other. Mick's attack didn't look anything like that of a hungry shark and more like it was an inquisitive bite. The attack from that cruise ship was not an inquisitive bite, it's the only time I have ever seen a White Shark attack and thought that it looked like the Shark was genuinely wanting to feed.

This reminds me that I was nearly bitten by a 1017lb by Tiger Shark when I was a teen, the shark had been lying on the deck of a boat for 6 hours and the guys all thought was dead. I was standing in the back of the boat when it was being hoisted off the deck and onto the scales when it suddenly came to life, growling, thrashing, snapping jaws and throwing up bits of dolphin and mutton birds. I ended up taking a dive out of the boat to get out of the way and ended up in what was probably the safest place at that moment - THE WATER!!!

Good thing the rope they were hoisting the Shark with was rated to over 3000lb

 

[stracci2000]

I love snorkeling in Hawaii, and found myself in murky water a few times.
You get this kind of creepy feeling when you cant see too far in front of you. Or when the reef drops off and suddenly you can't see the bottom anymore. I was always fearful that a shark would appear in front of me. But what an awesome epitaph I would have on my tombstone! --"Killed by Shark" would be way more exiting than "Died of Old Age"

 

[arkieb1]

We have angry bull sharks from time to time they seem to swim into canals in Brisbane or come into the bay where we live seem to get lost get hungry, get angry - they make the kite surfers move pretty fast...

 

[Trekkie]

Haha, that's a couple of hours away from where I live!

The consensus down here is that it was a teen shark fan girling! She just wanted to say hiiiii to Mick Fanning because he's just so GORGEOUS Tourists pay good money to dive with sharks down here. Why isn't he appreciating his freebie???

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

We will be in Hawaii next month--and there have teen shark attacks at the beaches where we frequent. This year already.... I never go far out since the tides are so strong, but I must admit sharks to figure in my thoughts every time I enter the ocean. The nurse sharks that were present while my husband was diving in Belize is a story that seems to resurface when these other incidents do

cheers--Sharon

 

[distracts]

You know, it's not the sharks that scare me about the ocean, it's the hurricanes and tsunamis.

 

[iLander]

Have you ever read In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson? It paints Australia as one of the most dangerous places on the planet. But in a funny way, he is a humour writer. He talks about your spiders, snakes, crocodiles . . . So my take on Australia is you're lucky to get out of the airport alive!

Didn't you guys have a Prime Minister who went swimming at the beach one day and never came back?

 

[jordyonbass]

iLander,

Admittedly no, I haven't. Here's what kinda confuses me here; we have crocs, snakes and spiders - all animals I can outrun on dry land. In the US there are bears, wolves and cougars. Animals that hang in packs, can outrun me and tear me to shreds. Honestly, I'd rather take my chances with a 20 foot long 4400lb croc

 

[packrat]

iLander,

Admittedly no, I haven't. Here's what kinda confuses me here; we have crocs, snakes and spiders - all animals I can outrun on dry land. In the US there are bears, wolves and cougars. Animals that hang in packs, can outrun me and tear me to shreds. Honestly, I'd rather take my chances with a 20 foot long 4400lb croc

That makes me laugh b/c I used to be on a shark forum, and it splintered into two forums-Shark Attacks and Animal Vs Animal b/c of all the "would you rather get in the water w/a GW or a croc" "which is stronger, Lion or Tiger" type threads. We did get some cool posters now and again tho-Sean Van Sommeran posted a few times and Al Brenneka, and a guy who (at the time, I dunno if he still does) ran sort of a guide service in Oz and hung out w/Vic Hislop. Not that anyone cares, that's just me being a shark nerd.

Yeah, I agree they look completely different..I thought it looked in a way like the shark kinda bumbled his way in there-made me think of when my brother walked into a screen door and spazzed out like WTF is going on here?

OMG that is scary-you know it's bad when the water is safer than the boat!!

 

[jordyonbass]

packrat,

I'd take a shark in the water over a croc without hesitation, crocs will attack just out of sheer aggression. But again, on dry land I can easily outrun the croc. And those are some names I recognise, although I do not exactly hold the highest regard for Vic Hislop. He's a bit of a clown

And yeah when a shark is hanging above a boat and thrashing, a quick dive into the water was the safest way to go

 

[packrat]

packrat,

I'd take a shark in the water over a croc without hesitation, crocs will attack just out of sheer aggression. But again, on dry land I can easily outrun the croc. And those are some names I recognise, although I do not exactly hold the highest regard for Vic Hislop. He's a bit of a clown

And yeah when a shark is hanging above a boat and thrashing, a quick dive into the water was the safest way to go

Ha, yeah, most of us had the same opinion-the lone hold out of course being his buddy haha!

 

[jordyonbass]

Hahaha that's no surprises there, he's copped a bit of a floggin over the years - both verbally and I am sure there have been a few physical incidents as well. But when you spout so much garbage about an animal then that's bound to happen

 

[packrat]

Hahaha that's no surprises there, he's copped a bit of a floggin over the years - both verbally and I am sure there have been a few physical incidents as well. But when you spout so much garbage about an animal then that's bound to happen

Oh heavens, I'd swear you were straight out of the Shark Attacks board days!

 

[jordyonbass]

Ha! It may have been a bit before my time as I am 27, but I remember a number of the fishing forums I posted on when I was a teen had many people calling him all sorts of unpleasantries. He was probably one of the most hated figures in the Aussie marine world, I know many feel he rode the fear made from the jaws movies for years and I tend to agree as well.

 

[arkieb1]

I'd rather deal with snakes and spiders than a bear any day.... Sharks not so much It probably depends on what you grow up with and/or what animals you are used to in the environment you live in.

 

[jordyonbass]

Agreed arkie, I've grown up around the Aussie 'killers' and even spent a lot of time working with wildlife staff to capture and re-locate crocs and venomous snakes that have strayed too close to civilization. I've grabbed highly venomous snakes by the tail and head, I've jumped on salwater crocs and held their mouth shut while staff tape their jaws up, I've wrestled half-tonne sharks on a 'leash' without even thinking twice about it.

But bears? Giant rabid dogs and cats that weigh up to 200lb and will tear shreds through people?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!!?!? YOU CAN KEEP THAT MURRICA!!!!!!!

I'll stay here in Australia where I feel I am safest

 

[packrat]

One of my Aussie friends had a picture on her wall this morning of the cutest little mouse looking thing that says "See, not everything in Australia wants to kill you" Made me laugh.

They used to have that show (and maybe they still do but we have Dish now so we don't get all the channels we used to) called Great White Expedition and I thought how cool it would be to be on that ship and to get a GW on board, get the stats on it etc. 'Course I'd be the one like this silently shrieking and trying not to pee. I've just now this year gotten to where I can swim ok in my gramma's pool w/out spazzing out all the time. They're so fascinating, but at the same time frightening.

 

[jordyonbass]

Packrat,

Is there a chance that show was also known as 'Shark Men'? And featured Paul Walker assisting the crew to land those big sharks? If so I have seen it as well, it's an amazing way to get up close and personal with one of the world's most perfectly designed animals. I never cease to look at these speedsters with complete awe.

On a side note, we also do tagging for science as well. Although we use serial number tags that rely on the fish being re-caught, very rarely we get given P-SAT tags that relay information to satellites on a daily basis (not as advanced as the tags the guys attach to White Sharks) worth around $5k per tag.
Here's a meme with a pic from my dad's boat, I laugh at this every time. This guy got a P-SAT tag and a belly rub hahaha. Fish are friends

 

[GliderPoss]

Can I just point out that this actually happened in SOUTH AFRICA not Australia!!! Yes yes, everything here in Oz will allegedly kill you buuuut then again we aren't the only country to have such deadly animals. Bears? Cougars? Wolves? Pfffft you can keep them thank you very much Mick Fanning is a bl**dy champ and I'm so glad he escaped.

*disclaimer: Australia has a few sharks too... LOL

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Just sitting down to watch Sharknado 3! Are you?

cheers--Sharon

 

[packrat]

Goh dangit NO! I was just getting ready to crab about it on FB hahahaha! Dish Network went out last week-and DTV is coming tomorrow to switch us back to their service. Now I have to wait. JD's ok w/it tho-he's none too thrilled with my fondness for lame shark movies. Hell he doesn't even care about the *good* ones. hmph.

 

[jordyonbass]

Sharknado? I see that whenever we have the 200lb+ Mako Sharks start cartwheeling up to 30 feet into the air

 

[canuk-gal]

Sharknado? I see that whenever we have the 200lb+ Mako Sharks start cartwheeling up to 30 feet into the air

Yes, but do you see Tara Reid?

Hell yes!!

cheers--Sharon

 

[packrat]

Sharknado? I see that whenever we have the 200lb+ Mako Sharks start cartwheeling up to 30 feet into the air

Please don't forget to bring your chainsaw w/you...ya never know when you might need to saw your way out of a GW.

One of my school mates knows some of the people who had something to do w/Sharknado and she told me she'd get me hooked up w/them back when #2 came out--I shoulda done it dammit. I want so desperately to be in a hoaky shark movie and get my head bit off or something.

 

[canuk-gal]

Sharknado? I see that whenever we have the 200lb+ Mako Sharks start cartwheeling up to 30 feet into the air

Please don't forget to bring your chainsaw w/you...ya never know when you might need to saw your way out of a GW.

One of my school mates knows some of the people who had something to do w/Sharknado and she told me she'd get me hooked up w/them back when #2 came out--I shoulda done it dammit. I want so desperately to be in a hoaky shark movie and get my head bit off or something.

I'd watch it!

 

[jordyonbass]

I'd watch that too!! Hahaha

Here's the real Sharknado from my mate Wozza's boat. This 500-600lb Mako spent more time airborne than almost any shark I've seen.

https://youtu.be/I0H8QLcA0UI

WARNING: My mates + adrenaline + big shark = some very foul language, this one could be NSFW