Posted by Jim Gillen on July 01, 2001 at 17:22:26:
In Reply to: Re: Catalina Great White Attack posted by JimGillen on July 01, 2001 at 16:52:06:
I think it's also important to note that for years there has been the opportunity to swim freely with a GreatWhite, but strangely all the pictures of them had been taken from behind the bars of a cage.
Finally a freediver spearfisherman in South Africa ( someone help me out here- Is Stephan his name?) Had the cajones to throw caution to the wind and swim up to one with nothing but a very pinprick type Euro- speargun in hand. Then he and another freediver type even stepped up to diving with several GWs in the water at once. After years of not leaving cages Phillipe Cousteau chose to try it, but not before the crazy freediver guys.
I think the Scuba crowd that is being critical of the freediver needs to do the math as far as risk goes. To my knowledge NO scuba diver has been injured by a GW besides pro ab/urchin divers. But no sport divers. Meanwhile quite a few of us freedivers have been attacked over the years. There's like what? 300 active freedivers in California? And that's stretching acive. And how many Scuba sports divers? 3 million?
I mean no disrespect to Scuba divers, I am one myself, but you folks do not look like a natural ANYTHING underwater. That tank, those bubbles, the slow swimming due to encumbrance, no way is that shark going to mistake you for anything.
Doing the math obviously suggests that GWs find spearfishers more attractive. Perhaps they share the opinion of some divers who think spearfishing is evil. Do the math on that subject and you'll be as perplexed as I as to their reasons.
Another way to add it up is of all the freedivers I know, I would say that about a third of them have had some kind of an encounter underwater with a GW. 2 have been shot in the USA and 1 was shot in Mexico that I've heard of. So the GWs are way ahead as far as the injuries dealt out go. And that's out of I will wildly guess about 100 GW encounters that have been had by us and them. Which 90% of the time result in no one getting hurt.
So lets go easy on the guy who I'm sure shot in self defense and remember truly where each of us are in this picture. Reminds me of a joke- How many Vietnam vets does it take to change a lightbulb? - If YOU don't know, then YOU weren't there!
Jimbo