Does this sound familiar? You are swimming along, doing your workout and a piece of vegetation touches your leg. You PANIC! Knowing that a very big shark is about to take a bite out of you – never mind you are in a pool. I feel your pain, and I share your anxiety; dare I say fear.
When I decided I wanted to go back to Ironman Kona, I realized one of the things I would have to do was overcome my fear of swimming in the ocean. Here is the story of my illogical fear and what I have learned that helped me to maybe not fully overcome it, but at least mitigate it.
I grew up in Southern California, only miles from the beach. I was in the water all the time, all year long; snorkeling, surfing, body surfing, just playing, it didn’t take much to get me into the ocean. The first time I swam in an organized open water swim event was at Seal Beach, California during the summer of 1974. I was 16, I was invincible, and I was entered in the “3-Mile Rough Water Swim.” I suppose there is something to be said for the virtue of youth as it never occurred to me at the time that I was sharing the water with fish that may look at me as a menu item.
That changed in June of 1975 when the movie “Jaws” was released nationally in the United States. I know, it’s just a movie; but it was a truly Hitchcockian suspense movie in that you just KNEW something really bad was going to happen. Long before I saw the shark swimming across the screen I had a sense there is evil in the sea and that evil was searching for ME. That movie planted a seed of doubt in my mind as I began to consider that all sea life may not be as charming as Flipper.
Notwithstanding my rapidly developing irrational fear, I swam the 3-mile rough water swim a second time in July ’75. That year conditions were very bad and when the first large wave broke over my head at the surf line I forgot all about fish with an appetite and focused on survival in the extremely turbulent waters. In 1976 my fears had abated and I swam the 3-mile rough water swim a third time. The following week I joined my family on vacation and while we were in Florida, we viewed a re-screening of the1971 film Blue Water, White Death; a documentary about Great White Sharks. That was it, just that fast my open water swimming career was over. Some people may have said I had a phobia. Whatever! I just knew I didn’t want to BE dinner.
I was OK with avoiding the ocean well in to the new millennium, right up until I decided I wanted to go back to Kona.
Yeah, that meant I had to swim in the ocean . . . with all those critters that had designs on eating me.
I figured the only way to deal with my fear was to confront it head on so I started learning everything I could about sharks and shark attacks. When I started looking at the facts, I quickly realized my fears were unfounded.
Let’s look at some of the facts:
- There were 57 authenticated unprovoked shark attacks in the ocean waters of the United States in 2016, none of those attacks resulted in a fatality. http://www.sharkattackfile.net/incidentlog.htm
- In the ocean waters of the continental United States, from 1580-2013 there have been 1,055 unprovoked shark attacks resulting in just 37 fatalities. You read that right, 1580-2013. http://www.sharkattackfile.net/incidentlog.htm
- In Hawaii, where residents as well as tourists flock to the water, there were only 154 unprovoked attacks from 1828-2016, ten of which were fatal. http://www.sharkattackfile.net/incidentlog.htm
- Each year there are, on average, 50 to 70 confirmed shark attacks and 5 to 15 shark-attack fatalities around the world. The numbers have risen over the past several decades but not because sharks are more aggressive: Humans have simply taken to coastal waters in increasing numbers. http://www.sharkattackfile.net/incidentlog.htm
- Relative risk of shark attack on humans compared to other risks – http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/attacks/relarisk.htm
Right about now you are likely thinking the same thing I was – that’s all well and good unless you are one of the unfortunate few who encounter a shark. The odds of a shark attack are already infinitesimal, but with a few simple precautions, it is possible to discourage them even further –
- Think like a shark. If you see lots of fish or seals, chances are that sharks could be around and could confuse you with dinner.
- Avoid looking like a seal. Reclining on a surfboard and wearing a wetsuit and fins can give you a seal’s silhouette from a shark’s perspective below.
- Swim in a group or at least be sure to have a partner with you. Sharks tend to attack individuals.
- Avoid the water at night, dawn, or dusk. Many sharks are most active at these times and are better able to find you than you are to see them.
- Sharks are creatures of habit. Do not swim in areas where a shark attack has recently occurred, since the same shark, or others, may still frequent the spot.
- If you have a bleeding cut, an exposed wound or are a menstruating woman, do not swim in open water. Blood and human waste attract sharks.
- Brightly colored swimwear, colorful surfboards and shiny jewelry mimic natural fish scales and coloring. Don’t look like shark food.
- Splashing and other erratic movements signal distress and can alert sharks to your presence. Try to keep strokes and kicks smooth and even.
- The splash of a dog paddling is like a dinner bell for sharks.Do not take your pet with you in waters where there is even a remote chance of encountering a shark.
- Pay attention to fish swimming patterns. If fish start to school or dart away, chances are a shark or other potential predator is nearby.
- Skip swimming after heavy rains, which may move some freshwater fish, including sharks, into areas they would not otherwise frequent.
- Steer clear of dolphins and seabirds. They may not only attract sharks, but also often seek the same prey.
- Sharks sometimes get stuck in lagoons and small bays during low tide, so be careful when swimming in such areas at these times.
- Avoid waters being fished and those with lots of bait fishes. Diving seabirds are good indicators of such activities.
