Periphery sharks...

[WANDERER]

I don't know whether a term for this phenomena exists yet, so I will call them "periphery sharks" for now;
Surfing alone is good until you get a case of "periphery sharks" They're the sharks you only get a glimpse of out of the corner of your eye - whether that be a splash of the tail or quick flash of a dorsal fin - but never see straight on, they question your sanity by suggesting their existence but never proving it. Dolphins are particularly good at playing "periphery sharks" I'm sure those bastards were all chuckling amongst themselves yesterday when I was freakin out in the surf as they would continuously pop up right near me before dissappearing up the beach for 25 minutes until yet again *bam* up they'd pop right in front of me - BASTARDS! hahahaha it didn't help that I was surfing at a beach with many reported noah sightings and 1 recorded attack... on a mottled overcast afternoon, by myself... and the dolphins had big chunks missing from their fins and flippers

Anyone else get a case of "periphery sharks" when they are out in the surf?

Thankfully yesterday the dolphins farked off, the sun came out and 1 other fella paddled out... this reduced the risk of shark attack by 50%.

[OddaP]

I've got 1.

I was surfing the Lefthanders stretch. It was maybe the 4th time I'd surfed it and the day before was real quality and fun, not big, 3 to 4ft, bright sunshine, warm, light offshore, in short a magic SW WA late summer day.

I decided to hit it again the next day and duly arrived in the carpark 1st thing. There was just about no one around, 3 guys surfing lefthanders proper and 2 on another reef. I took the high road through the heath, excited to score some uncrowded but defintely smaller waves. I should've suspected something when I almost trod on a small snake trying to warm itself on the path.

Paddled out and caught a flash, "No worries" i thought, just another dolphin which are almost daily visitors. So I'm bobbing out there, the water is cool, as it is down there and perfectly clear, the reef is shimmering below and as its 1st thing in the morning the sun is trying to get over the headland fully. I'm on my own and aware that this is the place where a fatal attack occurred.

See another flash, "oh, its just the dolphin again". Sitting there, taking it all in, and the dolphin cruises about 10 metres in front of me. "That's a funny dolphin colour and fin shape" I think, and realised with a mixture of dread and adrenalin that the dolphin is in fact a shark. That's it, I'm on my own and heading in, just as I start paddling a wave appears and I figure I should catch it as I've only had 1 so far, freaked out with adrenalin I fail to get to my feet properly and ungainly wobble off head first, thinking "What an idiot, should've bellied in, hah, the stupidness". So scramble back on, fully wigged now and beeline for shore. I sit and watch for 10 minutes and fail to see anything, a guy rocks up and he asks why am I not out there straight away, tell him I saw a shark and he replies " Yeah, I saw a shape working down the beach from the carpark, didn't think it was a dolphin". He paddles out anyway :? and I let a few more arrive know, some go out, some don't. Thinking all is good, i decide, what the hell! and go to head out again, as I stand up I realise that there is a big pile of blood under my foot, courtesy of a big toe slice. I have never been able to work out when and how it happened, maybe as I was making my way over the reef as I paddled out or in my haste to get in? Anyway it put the mocha on surfing that day.

[roundhouse]

Im not realy one to worry about the noahs and always say that if my times up, its up but I aways seem to get this at south wall. Last time i was there I was on my own and on a bank down the beach without a soul in sight. The water was murky and there was about 50 dolphins going around making boils every where. Waiting for sets you'd constantly see fins coming at you and popping up in the corner of you eye. Then out the back I see a whale close to shore and a trawler about 2k's out with a ton of seagulls following. Very spooky indeed and hard to have a good surf even though the waves were pumping and no body was out. I freak out there much more than many more well known "sharky" places and islands.

[black duck]

Not sure if this counts as periphery as it was more of an eye-full...

Umina point about...well... a long time ago. About 4 guys out. Just after i jump off a southerly blew up so the other guys went in. Decided to get a few before the wind completely smashed it. Waiting for a set and just having a look around, typical brown water colour of Broken Bay, so murky you can't see your feet when sitting up. Look over to my right and see a fin cutting through the water about 10 metres away. It stayed roughly parrallel to me till it was about 5 metres away, then slowly turned toward me and and went under water. Never have i wanted a set to arrive faster.

Didn't really know what to do. Needless to say, no sets arrived. Ended up lying on my board, half paddling in, half waiting for a wave, feeling very sorry for myself. Paddled into the rocks and dinged my board slightly in the scramble in the shallows. Disconcerting experience.

[turtle]

^^^ i been fishing this area some 30yrs, and i can tell you ducky that a rather larger bully has been residing and frequenting the area for some time.
i have personally seen this shark but only at night.
i've heard loads of other stories about it from other people.

[marcus]

just got in and had that same thing tonight at nobbys on the longboard.
thought i saw a fin in the corner of my eye, but it was pitch black and could have been anything, even my imagination, or just a chop.
i kept some sanity by thinking at worst it could be is the local 3foot bronzies out there.
was thinking how my spear fisho mate that spears there says the little bronzies steal fish off his rig line when he is not looking, but when he looks at them they back off.
kinda like a baseballer sneaking across to another base behind the pitchers back, i hope that makes sense.
he says when you have eye contact with them they dont try to steal your fish untill you go back to what you were doing and look the other way.
tonight i was actually thinking of you wanderer and was going to ask you a question about longboards but cant remember it now.

[marcus_h]

Surfing up the beach at Bribie, just myself and a mate out on an overcast murky sort of day.

I thought I saw something in the corner of my eye and thought nothing of it, next thing I know my mate is on the beach waving me in as something very big had just cruised past him!

[RickyG]

Happens to me occassionally, usually a combination of unfamiliar break, overcast, bigish surf making feel slightly uncomfortable and being by myself.

Come to think of it, I haven't surfed in an unfamiliar place by myself in good-sized surf for ages

[Spoon]

Once you get that first flash or sense your whole session is fcuked as the mind keeps playing tricks.
stupid mind

[turtle]

this morning in the water i was really focusedon my peripheral vision, probably because i read this topic yesterday.
i wasnt paranoid but much m,ore aware than usual

[oldman]

I'm always seeing 'em. Blurry distance vision means that I am always seeing things, wondering if it was just a little wind, or some fish, or something chasing some fish.

Can't tell, and always have to deal with the mental anguish. Particularly bad when on your own, but that isn't such a problem these days.

Some beaches, reefs freak me out a lot more than others.

It's the vibe.

[otway1949]

Yep they're right up there with the first time your legrope got caught on an underwater ledge as you were sitting and a wave came and it felt like you were being dragged backwards and under by some sort of sea monster.
Cloudy bay on Bruny in Tassie spooked me, pink (bloodstained looking) water and reat big rushing fronds of bull kelp breaking the surface and shifting through the face of the wave.
Some spots just have that vibe........

[marcus]

who in sydney has actually SEEN a shark while out in the water...
i've seen plenty in qld, and northern nsw but none yet in sydney and surrounding waters...

yeah but not many really, only years ago
most usually see them fishing off the Nowra to Bawley area and they are usually hammerheads.
bronzies at nobbies but only small ones and heard about the great whites at Stockton but haven't seen them personally.
spear fisho mates see them the most, usually stealing fish off the rig lines.
oh and there's a big one at seal rocks near that island off the point that freaks my mates out and stole a mates spear gun. one guy even had a shark shield on, lets call him tink, as that's all you hear as he shoots at rocks all the time... he wouldn't come in and just sat on that rock island and wouldn't swim that 50m or so to the beach

[Trev]

who in sydney has actually SEEN a shark while out in the water...
i've seen plenty in qld, and northern nsw but none yet in sydney and surrounding waters...

yeah but not many really, only years ago
most usually see them fishing off the Nowra to Bawley area and they are usually hammerheads.
bronzies at nobbies but only small ones and heard about the great whites at Stockton but haven't seen them personally.
spear fisho mates see them the most, usually stealing fish off the rig lines.
oh and there's a big one at seal rocks near that island off the point that freaks my mates out and stole a mates spear gun. one guy even had a shark shield on, lets call him tink, as that's all you hear as he shoots at rocks all the time... he wouldn't come in and just sat on that rock island and wouldn't swim that 50m or so to the beach

I surfed Seal Rocks once many years ago, all alone, about 4pm. Certainly one of the scariest places I've ever surfed. But boy, the waves were good. Didn't see any sharks but I "saw" plenty of them. Peripheral vision? Yep.

[Surfin Turf]

obviously over many years I've seen plenty of strange splashes and things which are unnerving ... and on trips to exotic surf locations I've seen plenty of reef type sharks cruising about ...

last winter there was a big south swell on a windy freezing cold day and I paddled out to longy bombie with 2 mates ... it was nasty out there, we were a long way out with 8 ft peaks rearing up on the reef ... I was sitting on the peak with one mate, and our other mate was sitting about 30 ft outside us ... then up popped something big , not huge, but about as big as a person and it was dark in colour , it was too hard to figure out what it was because it popped up about 10 ft from the guy sitting wide and thrashed around furiously for about 5 seconds creating a lot of splashing and then disappeared .... my mate did not move a muscle and was just sitting there with a stunned look on his face , and I said what the f'ck was that ... he just said "I dunno, but I wish it was over there with you " ...

we talk about that often ... it was very freaky and disturbing ....

[Felix]

Saw plenty Manly to Palmie in the 60s and early 70s. Some of them real big and close. Have seen none between '72 and now but then I don't surf at the same times I used to surf. I always thought around Ulladulla and Tathra to the south and around Nambucca and further north around Anga, Evan's, Ballina, Lennox, Byron and Boggangar were the sharkiest. Noosa was also sharky before the nets. Straddie and Fraser Island have always been off the Richter.

...and of course, there's Treachery!

[turtle]

[quote="TrevG"][quote="marcus"][quote="iggy"]who in sydney has actually SEEN a shark while out in the water...
i've seen plenty in qld, and northern nsw but none yet in sydney and surrounding waters...[/quote]
yeah but not many really, only years ago
most usually see them fishing off the Nowra to Bawley area and they are usually hammerheads.
bronzies at nobbies but only small ones and heard about the great whites at Stockton but haven't seen them personally.
spear fisho mates see them the most, usually stealing fish off the rig lines.
oh and there's a big one at seal rocks near that island off the point that freaks my mates out and stole a mates spear gun. one guy even had a shark shield on, lets call him tink, as that's all you hear as he shoots at rocks all the time... he wouldn't come in and just sat on that rock island and wouldn't swim that 50m or so to the beach [/quote]
I surfed Seal Rocks once many years ago, all alone, about 4pm. Certainly one of the scariest places I've ever surfed. But boy, the waves were good. Didn't see any sharks but I "saw" plenty of them. Peripheral vision? Yep. [/quote]





^^^^^^ in my mind this is one of the scariest arears. Periphery vision goes nuts on me when surfing mid coast.
me and the missus off to forster for 7days in 3weeks so ill be surfing the area.
paranoia will probably be through the roof after the topic.
id say 50% of periph sitghings around seal rocks are suspect.
when the swell is on, maybe cloudy/windy day i find it a mental challenge to stay in the water. every now and again either one of 2 things, ill get freaked by a peripheral sighting or my mind will do it to me.
i know they are in the water.
i know they can kill me.
the stoke always seems to win

[nu boy]

I've been surfing Maroubra for the last 37 years and I've seen heaps.Last year in a boat out sth point big school of hammer heads crusin the bay.When all the salmon come in in summer sharks f...en every where.Fish of the beach at night and you might never go surfing again,my mate fishes for them all the time and he is rarely disappointed.