Surf forecast issued Wednesday 11 March 2009: Five day outlook for Sydney:
Thursday – Monday : 1 metre or less East / North East, at times including more choppy onshore rubbish surf, with grey skis and the occasional shower to wash rubbish out, for the fish that are around, for the sharks that might be around, to maybe “mistake” people, have a “test bite” etc…
Sharks ??! Like most people, I’m well and truly over them, in a big way ….along with onshore rubbish surf.
Latest shark sightings
Sightings during last week:
– surfers were chased from the water at Bungan;
– a large shark was sighted off the back of South Avalon pool from the headland car park one weekday around 9am;
– a large shark was sighted about 50 metres off the Palm Beach pool last Thursday evening.
The mere presence of sharks does not mean attacks are imminent. However sightings in close do mean increased potential for unwanted shark/human interaction.
There were three shark sightings at Avalon the week before 15 year old Andrew Lindop was attacked. Sightings usually cause little concern because they are isolated instances and the sharks move on.
Have these recently sighted sharks moved on? Who would know?
I didn’t see any signs at Avalon last weekend while covering the beach several times in the rubber duck. With the present onshore wind conditions and grey skis however, water visibility isn’t terrific. And there are still some fish around… TG’s Baitfish Boats on the Harbour Index: Tuesday: 7; Wednesday: 17.
There have been a number of close encounters this season – whether due to increased shark numbers, or increased numbers of sharks in our area. So what factors have changed in recent times that might be involved? … (Avalon has always had clean water for instance).
Some possible factors are mentioned here:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/needless-slaughter-in-the-water-20090304-8oh2.html?page=-1
No one disputes that sharks are a crucial part of the ecosystem and no one is advocating wholesale slaughter. But if it comes to a choice between a shark life and a human life there just should be no contest.
Everyone will want to get back in the surf when conditions improve. It would be nice to be as confident as President George Bush when he said: “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushism
The good news is that Andrew is recovering well.
A great pleasure chatting with Hawaiian visitors to Avalon Beach SLSC on the weekend, big wave surfers Brian Keaulana and Archie Kalepa. Brian (son of Buffalo) also pioneered the use of jetskis for surf rescues and is lifeguard captain of the Makaha coastline. Archie is lifeguard captain for the whole of Maui, as well as runner up for the prestigious Billabong Global XXL Big Wave awards.
Both are extremely nice guys. They gave Andrew a big boost visiting him in hospital. Read about them here
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/surfing/news/rescue-brian-keaulana.html
and here
http://www.surfersvillage.com/surfing/15214/news.htm
We share many common philosophies: – surfing should first and foremost be fun, otherwise you shouldn’t be out there; surfing can be fun without or with all sorts of equipment, pick what’s best for the day; experienced surfers make good lifeguards/lifesavers, use your knowledge to keep inexperienced people safe in the surf; use the best technology to save lives in the surf, the more options you have the better.
TG.
