What to do when encountering a shark on a kayak?

[luke t]

All jokes aside, this is something that has been on my mind quite a bit .
Haven't been out in the deep blue on the yak yet but back in August I was squidding with a mate, just 300 meters from Rous head ( not that far from the danger mark / Rous head cafe area) when a big barstard GW circled us 3 times within a meter from his 4.5 metre tinny...

It was all very surreal at the time , not really scared !!!! Just in awe of the massive beast
maybe it was because we where in the relative safety of a solid custom built plate boat !! But I'm pretty sure had I been alone in the Kayak, I would have been crying like a baby !!!!
I have a photo I can upload ...just as soon as I figure out how the hell to do I from my iPad ...
Unless of course you'd rather not see it !!!

[luke t]

Estimated 3.5 - 4 meters
21/7/12

[MattYoga]

Nice pic - did it try and mouth the outboard? Were you burleying at the time? (presume not if just squidding).

Did you inform the authorities so that they could close every metro beach 10km north and south of freo!

[luke t]

No, it didn't get aggressive at all !! Just swam directly up to the boat as soon as we cut the engine to begin our first drift!
then turned and circled us 3 times. Never more than a few meters away from us. I'm sure it was even eyeballing us at times ( not just checking out the boat ) then it just sunk down deep and headed in a north westerly direction.. Then that was it

I did call the water police when we got back to the ramp. Then they had a guy from fisheries call me. I gave him all the details like where, when, what kind, how big. I even emailed him the picture. It wasn't really newsworthy I suppose because there had been a few sightings that week.

It won't stop me getting out there on the new PA12 though (when I do get back to perth to pick it up )

[MattYoga]

shame it didn't take a squid jig - that would have been one hell of a capture!

[Graeme]

Sharks circling boats is pretty common. The sacrificial anode on the motor attracts them from some considerable distance because it sets up an electrical current in the water that they are curious about. Kayaks don't have that problem, so it's very rare for a shark to investigate a kayak that it hasn't seen.

Chances are, if you had been in the yak, it would not have approached you and your supply of tissues would have remained untouched.

cheers,
Graeme

[Thalium]

This is something I have thought about aswell since im not far off buying my first kayak, Although the probability is low I have thought that a GPS and VHF radio would be beneficial in this case as an addition to the shark shield. as you could call in the coordinates as a precaution if it was circling you and this would have some people either on standby if you dont call back or I though that it would probably attract some stink boaters who want to have a look which as has been mentioned before their outboards attract the sharks (stink boat burley of sorts). and if all goes horribly wrong or you feel very unsafe in all good theory help wouldnt be far away

[Rusty78yak]

how about sticking a big pair of eyes on the bottom of the yak.
apparently works on bike helmets to stop magpies swooping may work for sharks also?

+1 love your work ROTFLMAOPMP

[Cuda]

History seems to suggest that when you see a shark it is "normally"checking you out and soon works out that you are not its usual food source and will soon lose interest. The one's you don't see either swim by unseen or hit you at top speed in attack mode and there isn't a lot you can do about that

[WDS]

"How did your dad die?"
"He was eaten by a Shark."
OR
"He died at his desk at work."
"He died from too much; booze, fat, salt, sugar,..."
"He died of boredom."