I have read/seen/heard/something to the effect that sharks seem to prefer moving targets, as in swimmers/dogpaddlers. So maybe just float, and wait for the Coasties to come fish you out of the water???

During a recent show on the Discovery Channel during Shark Week, they found that sharks preferred the test dummy that was just floating and doing nothing compared to the one thrashing about or swimming. They explored a lot of common myths such as whether to float in groups or alone and whether sharks were attracted to a swimmer versus a floater.

Can't say I remember much more though about the results. I probably wasn't that focused since I live far from the ocean.

"...sharks preferred the test dummy that was just floating..."

Great, just great. Another theory shot in the butt...

Well, what would you do if a 300 pound guy with braces tried to eat you?

Sharks are people, too.

Didn't know there were any left.



Anyway if you do get bitten in half by a Great White Shark which has attacked you from vertically below there is not much you can really do about it. You can only hope for a reasonably quick death. Hopefully this happens before having your head seperated from your torso by the those rows of giant serated knife like teeth whilst still conscious.

Unlike this poor fellow;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_W1JcRDCVg&feature=related

Sharks can also swim faster than people, so there's no point in swimming in a vein attempt to get away.

Hope this helps.

Some stuff I have read over the years...

Sharks attacked shipwreck survivors that had lost their pants and (shoes?) compared to fully clothed survivors.

The shark bag may work.. you are basically in a black garbage bag. Helps to contain any blood or scent you may be giving off in the water and masks your flailing limbs.

I would pack a large black garbage bag and keep my pants on.

back in WW2 life jackets had an attached packet of, according to the official label, what was called "life jacket repellent". Which may be a hint as to its effectiveness in repelling sharks. It was, as I remember, a mix of a ferric sulphate and a dye that produced a dense cloud that was intended to provide a visual barrier. Testing showed that sharks freely swam into and through the cloud of dissolved repellent. Evidently the sulphate wasn't sufficiently distasteful to sharks and they don't mind swimming into water they can't see through.

Might have something to do with sharks primarily hunting by smell and, in part, by sensing electrical fields closer in.

The repellent was not tested for its ability to keep life jackets away. One has to assume, with typical governmental literalism and humor, the wording of the label wasn't any accident.

Bottom line is when you abandon ship you either retreat into a boat or you take your chances. The good news is that most shark encounters are not hostile.

Aerial observation of surf lines shows that among the lines of surfers are sharks. Often large ones. And yet attacks on surfers are few and far between. Lots of surfers have tales of being rubbed up against or 'sniffed'. But he number of actual attacks are small. The speculation is that sharks generally only tend to bite surfers when the humans kick them or land on them or when the sharks are feeding on fish in disturbed water and the humans put themselves in the middle.

This accounts for the attacks tending to be a quick nip, possibly an expression of annoyance for being kicked, or a quick bite, often just a taste, followed by release. More exploratory than feeding behavior.

If and when you have to abandon ship the biggest dangers will be drowning and hypothermia. Sharks, if they make the list at all, are pretty far down on the list.

Someone needs to invent a device that works similar to an air bag in a vehicle but in the form of a life jacket/vest. Add a shark detector thing-a-ma-jig and/or a manual trigger and watch it pop the shark in the snout right as it is ready to chomp. It could have the added benefit of carrying the swimmer to the surface.

Anyone care to guess what ocean creature kills more people per year? And no, it's not recreational boaters.

The fearful and mighty Herring. By choking on a kipper. (this is just a guess BTW)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWZ5ArYqjsw