Want to go surfing but nervous about sharks?

Question

i might be heading to hawii with my family and my dad and i are really exited about surfing but sharks really freak me out! how do i get over this? this is kinda strange because i love marine life, and i want to become a marinebioligest so i really want to overcome this fear. please help!

Answer 1

Chances of getting attacked by a shark are very slim and going surfing will probably help overcome your fear of the ocean, so you can become a marine biologists.

Answer 2

Good luck, as soon as you step into the ocean you have entered the food chain.  Try to have nice happy thoughts in your head.  I suggest you take an ankle knife with you.  I want to scuba dive some day & have the same fear so I'll probably scuba in a protected reef area.  The odds of a shark attack are pretty high so you will probably be ok.  Have fun, you only live once I think.

Answer 3

TAKE A SPEAR ALONG

Answer 4

As long as you don't go surfing in an area known to be extremely sharky (eg next to a seal colony), you will be fine.

If you do a bit of quick maths, find out how many people in the last 20 years have been eaten by sharks in Hawaii and then estimate how many people paddle out each day over the last 20 years in the whole of Hawaii and calculate your statistical risk of becoming lunch.

You will find that it is not a very big risk at all.

You are more likely to get killed in a bizzarre gardening accident. It's only scary because it's such a gruesome way to go and also because we are probably hard wired to be afraid of becoming prey for a big animal like a shark, or a lion, so there is a primal element to it which makes us fear sharks more than fast moving busses and faulty electical appliances, which are more likely to kill us.

Take comfort in this knowledge, but if you do get a creepy feeling, and there are no other surfers around, best get out of the water.

Answer 5

make sure you have no cuts on your body, if you are a woman make shure you are not menstrating. you can also put alittle gasoline on your legs.

Answer 6

the chances of getting bit by a shark are extremely slim

just make sure u dont go to far out in the water. sharks are also very shy so if the beach is crowded then chances of encountering a shark are even slimmer.

if u do get bitten by a shark the best thing to do is grab its nose(tip of snout) and push it hard backwards to make it let go or punch its nose to blur its senses. usually sharks dont "eat" people. they usually just take one bite to see how u taste and then swim away.you can also talk with the lifeguard to see of there are any sharks around.if u see a sign that says"warning: sharks" then maybe try finding a different place.if u are surfing, never EVER surf alone. if u do get bit,  seek medical attention right away.

Answer 7

I live and surf in Wilmington NC.  I can tell you you have a better chance of dying on the plane then you do getting bit by a shark!  I look at it this way, if I get bit it must have been fate.  I am saying surf and don't worry about it!  You will regret not surfing for such a reason.  No need to tip toe through life to arrive safely at death.