I went to Ocracoke in June, 2020 for our yearly family vacation. We have been doing this trip for 5 yrs now and I love it down there. Its a little more remote than the rest of the outer banks, and great for windsurfing. There are sand bars a couple of miles out into the Palmetto Sound east of the island. During low tide, they range from ankle deep to above water, and during high tide, they are knee deep to waste deep. Pretty cool features.
This day I was on my 125 litre Astro Rock and powered up with a 6.5 sail. I reached out to the sandbar, which was currently about 12-14 " deep. I dropped the sail and hopped off the board to look around and enjoy the moment. Sunny, warm, Ocracoke off in the distance. Amazing. I heard an odd little splash behind me. It was one of those odd sounds that just didn't fit in. Something in the rhythm of nature had been interrupted.. Relaxed, I slowly turned around to see what it was and right there, about 10 feet away, was a 5-6 ft bull shark, meandering towards me.
My hear skipped beats, adrenaline coursed through my body and I jumped on the board, thankful that the wind was strong! I took off and look back to see the shark meandering the other direction!
That was crazy close. I read later that the bull shark is attracted to bright objects. Besides my white legs, I'm sure it spotted my neon green water shoes. I'll be spray painting those before I go back!!
"Meandering"
--- The Arrogant Jerk: Crabby and irritable since 1998.
You would have seen me do the fastest water start in history!
We were in Salvo in October and there was one being tracked in the sound up near Nags Head.
The Shark tracker app has shown a lot of activity around that area this fall. This is just the ones being tracked
Alan
If it were me, I'd grab that shark with my bare hands, punch it in the nose and show it who's boss. Yeah, that's exactly what I'd do. (My high pitched screams and squeals would more likely be my only hope.)
Drew and I were at Cape San Blas, one summer, when we were sailing out to Mexico beach. Drew was about 1000 feet in front of me when I spotted a shark that he was heading straight for. I tried to yell at him but he could not hear me. I finally turned around because there was nothing I could do. I could not catch him, he could not hear me - that was a terrible feeling. End of story is that nothing happened and he jibed around and came back to me never even knowing there was a shark in the area until I told him about it. We continued sailing that day.
PeelSkid
I guess I need to finally learn how to do a water start before going to OBX?
OR: will it work like throwing a baby in the pool - namely, will i learn to water start faster?
Nah, the whole point of going to Hatteras is that you can sail for miles and still have waist deep water. But I choose to believe that there are no sharks in the sound anyway.
HamdiD
Hamdi ... I really don’t worry about sharks there either, if you’re off the board standing in the water you really don’t look like food to them.
Definitely learn to waterstart though, it’ll save your back and lots of energy over uphauling.
Alan
Ashevillejanes
Let's not get webbguy started on shark attacks.......
(hint - getting hit by lightening twice is more likely. Winning the lottery is more likely. A plane crashing on your house while you are in it is more likely....getting a ride to Mars......)NVM....What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Realistically at the age of a lot of us, a failing ticker is our most lethal enemy along with hypothermia after a gear breakdown (or maybe before that). I can remember maybe one windsurfer attacked by a shark in the last couple of decades but fishing an old guy out of the water in FL is, sadly, not that uncommon. Take your meds, check your u-joint and don't smear blood on your wetsuit before going in the ocean. You should be good.
Nonetheless, Stephen's story is a great one. No matter the stats, most of us have had the fear cross our minds more than once.
Fear no sharks: Once I had a guy in fishing boat hook my boom while sailing in Destin. I sailed away with his rod and real. Same thing happened on the Hobie in Seagrove Beach. His rod and real went to the bottom. In Hattaras one year we were attacked by a guy in a small boat with a baseball bat. We got to close to his crab traps. Gene almost got in a fight with another dog owner in Cape San Blas.
Human encounters are far more dangerous than sharks.
PeelSkid
There's no such thing as a "shark attack"
NSFW language
--- The Arrogant Jerk: Crabby and irritable since 1998.
Last March while kiting in the Keys, I spotted like a 5’ possible bull working his way across a shallow area upwind of me. Like a fool, I decided to get a closer look so I turned and headed back his way. I thought I would be well upwind of him but couldn’t pinch up enough and my direction was bringing me pretty close. Suddenly, this nice size shark that was just barely moving turns and swims like a maniac directly at me, full attack mode. I think he thought my kiteboard was a fish skimming across the top trying for an escape. I didn’t know what to do; get some air, feed him the board, scream like there’s a shark about to attack you. Dang did I scream and fortunately, just as suddenly and within like a few feet of me, I think he saw me and turned and headed away. I went straight to shore, sat on the beach for some time, and rinsed out the shorty…
Wow, I did not know about that app!
Might not have pinched up enough, but definitely puckered up!
On the same trip, the morning wind was light, and I was just out there, barely moving, not far from the island. I spotted dolphins. in one of the channels. I made my way over to them. They dipped and dove, sticking a head out of the water now and then to take a peak at me. I caught a little gust of wind and was moving along, not quite planing. I looked down into the water, and right there, about a foot under water was a huge dolphin, cruising along on it's side! Really cool moment!
webguy
They ran this the other day but are doing it again Sunday. Comet TV (local channel 69-3) is running a MegaShark marathon all day Sunday.
https://www.comettv.com/movies/
in order of when these came out from 2009 to 2015
Megashark vs Giant Octopus
Megashark vs Crocosaurus
Megashark vs. Mechashark
Megashark vs Kolossus
These movies were dead awful, low budget, direct to DVD but a hoot to watch. The special effects suck but will have you laughing.
What happened to the shark picture?
PeelSkid
which one?
There are also sharks at Jekyll. Here is a picture of a hammerhead we saw. I'm thinking its' mommy was out there some where and not happy with humans.....
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
The Deep Blue, the largest great white shark ever caught on camera by marine biologists and scientists.
https://www.surfertoday.com/environment/who-is-the-deep-blue-shark
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