Deep Dark Water - Shark Attack StoriesIts Not Safe.               Shark Attack Chronicles.

Say you’re on a family vacation, enjoying the beach house, the sand, the food, volleyball, and play in the ocean. Actually, you’re pretty set on riding the high waves in on a surfboard or body board. How can you increase your peace-of-mind when nothing separates you from the jaws of a shark but chance ?

While the chances of a shark attack are extremely low, there’s still that chance… You can either put it out of your head entirely, or attempt to lessen the chance even further!

Here’s the top 10 ways to keep Jaws from eating you for dinner:

10) Do not tease or corner a shark ( seems pretty obvious, right? .. Apparently this happens ? )

9) Swim in groups and pay attention to your companions ( In case a shark gets one ?! )

8) Do not carry tethered dead or injured fish ( again, seems obvious )

7) Do not swim with domestic animals in waters known for sharks ( So don’t bring your dachshund in the water with you at New Smyrna Beach, FL )

6) Avoid drop-offs, mouths of rivers after heavy rains, deep channels, and sanitation waste outlets ( gross )

5) Stay away from fishers and fishing boats ( think: bait fish and blood )

4) Avoid large groups of fish, seals, and sea lions ( you would be swimming with the shark’s food menu )

3) Do not wear shiny jewelry or high-contrast swim wear. ( Sharks may see shiny stuff as fish scales and may be generally attracted to your circa 1984 fluorescent yellow LA Gear short shorts )

2) Do not bleed in the water ( including menstruating ). Sharks can smell and taste a single drop of blood up to a MILE away, often tracing it back to the source!

And the number one way to avoid a shark attack ?

1) Avoid shark infested water, particularly at dusk and at night

Date: August 28, 2008 11 AM
Location: Marina State Park near Monterrey California
Shark: Great White

More evidence to the fact that God is good, surfer Todd Endris needed a miracle and he got an unusual one! The 24-year-old had gone surfing with four of his friends at Marina State Park just off of the shores of Monterrey, California, enjoying a day of the sport he loved.

“[It] came out of nowhere. There’s no warning at all. Maybe I saw him a quarter second before it hit me. But no warning. It was just a giant shark,” Endris said. “It just shows you what a perfect predator they really are.”

“It was so powerful and graceful and it was so fast and effective. He lifted me out of the water and bit down twice on me - once while I was in the air and once while I was going back into the water. He bit the same area, like an inch away and gave me another row of teeth marks.”

The predator attacked Todd while he was sitting on his board, its huge jaws trying to lock around both the surfer AND his board. Apparently the shark couldn’t hold that bite and disappeared for another strike. This time with Todd laying on his board, it clamped around Endris’ torso, pinning him to the board between its jaws.

The board must have protected Todd’s internal organs, but the second strike absolutely shredded his back, peeling the skin back, he says, “like a banana peel.” Its hard to imagine what’s going through Todd’s mind at this point, but he claims that he never felt like he was going to die.

The shark stayed aggressive and came in for a third offensive, attempting to swallow Todd’s right leg. Ignoring the pain and shock, Todd kicked the shark repeatedly with his left leg until it released him.

Endris braced himself for another assault…

But what should have been absolute disaster turned into a good thing as several dolphins surrounded the victim. They had been swimming near the surfers most of the day and now suddenly they had formed a protective barrier between Todd and the shark. This gave Endris enough time to get back on his surf board and find a wave to take him into shore.

Later, Endris told Surfing Magazine, “You know the funny thing, bro, is that the only thing that was awkward is there were dolphins really close to us the whole time we were out there. They were swimming around us and swimming in front of and underneath us in a couple feet of water. And after I got hit - apparently from what the other guys said - is the dolphin all swarmed around behind me as if they were protecting me.”

Its very interesting how throughout history dolphins have stepped in to protect humans from sharks. Some biologists like to think that dolphins, being one of the most intelligent mammals, like to help the helpless.

According to a database called the International Shark Attack File, New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County, Florida is the shark attack capital of the world!

Apparently there are several beaches like this in North America, where the number of sharks in the area is so great, that humans and sharks intermix. Most of the time swimmers don’t even realize that they are within 10 feet of less of a shark.

Stinson Beach in Northern California is notorious for attracting great white sharks in droves because of its seal population. Surfers say that its not uncommon to see large sharks cruise right by them in the waves.

Its seems as if actual attacks are very rare, though, and very few deaths occur per year. We’ve heard that more people are killed by coconuts falling out of trees each year ( what a weird way to go ) than by sharks. This doesn’t seem to do much to quell that uneasy feeling many people get when stepping into the water. Maybe its that we have an innate fear of predators…

Date: April 25, 2008 7 AM
Location: Solona Beach, California
Shark: Great White

“They were swimming and the victim apparently yelled ‘Shark’, or words to that effect, and the witnesses that were in the water apparently saw him actually being lifted out of the water and dragged under,” reported police Lieutenant Phil Brust in the aftermath of the violent shark attack on Dr. Dave Martin.

Every Friday morning for the past 4-5 years, Dr. Dave Martin has gone on a weekly training swim with the San Diego Triathlon Club. An expert swimmer familiar with the waters, Dr. Dave Martin was training with members of the club close to 7AM local time. Somewhere, about 150 yards offshore, a great white shark was lurking.

Apparently mistaking Martin for a seal, the 12-17 foot long adult great white shark, charged Martin from below.

The attack was on Martin’s leg, actually lifting him completely out of the water while its razor teeth inflicted deep, gashing wounds. Two swimmers that had been nearly twenty yards ahead heard the screams and raced back to pull him towards the beach. Martin was taken by truck to a lifeguard station nearby where he passed away from his wounds at 7:49 AM.

The doctor and his family were from Solona Beach, California, about fourteen miles North West of San Diego, where he had worked as a veterinarian.

Kevin Martin, the oldest of his four children was interviewed by msnbc, “I’m thankful that it wasn’t a long, drawn out process. We’re sad that he was taken away from us so quickly. We didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. We weren’t ready for him to go. But I’m glad that it was quick and relatively painless.”

Hannah Martin, the youngest of the family, and also a swimmer, said that she never thought that for a million years something like this would happen and that she had been swimming in the Solona Beach area for as long as she can remember.

“He was the rock of our family, he taught me so many lessons”, she said.
They describe him as a great guy who loved swimming, the ocean and the beach very much, an incredible family man.

Jeff Martin, an avid surfer, actually went back out to the water the day after the attack, despite the obvious warnings. He said that there was something soothing about going back out, and made it a point to go surfing the next day. He wanted a way to say good bye and that “I love you, Dad, and I miss you.”

Sources: msnbc.com, bloomberg.com, huffingtonpost.com