Posted by capt-ray on June 29, 2001 at 20:30:50:
In Reply to: Great Whites at Catalina posted by Brad on June 29, 2001 at 13:24:40:
If you guys and girls read the original post and the original reports you would already know that the shark was shot in the nose. The info I got was that the shaft penetrated the shark's nose three foot. The good Dr. that shot it was using a Riffe Islander gun. I would have to assume that the thrust at the time of release would have been around 500 to 600 pounds using a 5/16" X 6ft shaft. In order for the shaft to penetrate the shark three foot the shark would have to have been about 5ft. off the tip. The fish was 15ft in his report, not 10ft. Bill also indicated that the shark was closing directly on him and not only had his mouth open, his jaw was racheted open, the yellowtail were out of the picture (because they are so fast in the water, Yellowtail are not even on the list of white shark food unless the are almost dead and floating on the surface). For those of you that have seen white sharks in open water, that would be a very good indication that the shark had every intention of feeding. Although I do not know him personally, I understand that this is not the first encounter Bill has had with white sharks. He has had previous encounters with white sharks and he is not the type of diver to panic or make foolish decisions. I have personally had five encounters with whites, two of those at Catalina. I have never had to do anything aggressive because I have been able to retreat to safety or the fish has moved on. Until you have spoken with the diver involved I personally think it is unwise and unfair to prejudge his actions.
Ray