Sharks?

[Cavecreature]

Kind of a newby question here. I know that sometimes dolfins will follow sail boats and the like. My question is do sharks ever follow sail boats like they do rafts and if they do are they a problem at all. I thought of this because in Thor Heyerdahl's book The Kon Tiki Expedition, sharks were supposedly a hazard to the people on his raft and great lengths were taken to try and send them packing. Any info is appreciated.

[Weyalan]

I have had numerous pelasurable experiences with dolphins coming and playing all around the yacht. Dolphins seem to be naturally playful and inquisitive, and seem to take delight in putting on a show and playing in the bow wave of yachts.

I have seen plenty of sharks too, but they have never seemed at all interested in the yacht, they have invariably just crossed paths and kept going.

Obviously the above evidence is entirely anecdotal, so make of it what you will...

I seem to recall that Thor Heirdahl's boat was a raft, which moved so slowly so as to have a permanent microcommunity of small fishesand crustaceans living under the boat. It is possible that these creatures attracted bigger fish, and that the biiger fish attracted the sharks. I also recall that they did lots of fishing, and that the sharks were most prevalent when they were pulling in the fish - no doubt looking for a free feed. There are plenty of stories of fishermen getting their catch taken by sharks (or seals).

[BC Mike]

If there are dolphins around there is usually not sharks. Dolphins have been known to come to the aid of people in the water. Opo a dolphin in NZ used to play with the kids at the beach, Opinoni NZ. Even has a song about him, Opo the friendly dolphin.
Good book is thinking dolphins talking whales, written by an NZ fisherman.
Dr. Bombart inventor of Zodiac rubber duckies, who died last week, sailed a RD accross the Atlantic. Sword-fish made holes in his boat.
Sometimes big game fishing boats will drag their large lures just behind the transom of the boat when powering from one spot to another. Now and then a shark will come up from below and grab the lure. Scares the hell out of you according to Phil from Tutukaka NZ. The shark was likely following the boat travelling at about 12 / 14 knots. Whales have been known to sink sail boats. Snow White One from Auckland NZ went down in mid Pacific in about 2 1/2 minutes.
A boat like my Tanzer 22 makes an excellent boat to learn to sail. They are fairly cheap. I paid $2750 US$$ for mine and about the same again for new sails and a bunch of gear. There are quite a few in your area.
Michael

[Cavecreature]

thanx alot there for that info. Good to hear about the sharks... I like them but prob not if they followed me for any great amount of time.... Perhaps if the sharks were there because of the slow rate of movment and the fishing... a similar environment might be created if a boat was caught in the doldrums for a while?
Hmmm... Ive never looked into that boat so ty for the tip... I shall be certainly looking into that. Something easy to learn on is right up my ally....

[Jentine]

of wild animals that kill for the hell of it and dolphins are among the few. Remember they are WILD animals. You don't play with the cute, cudly wild bears. Don't play with the cute dolphins.

[Cavecreature]

heh. Wasnt planning on swimming with or hugging any dolfins I hear some of them make mighty good eating... so i might interact with em that way some time in the future...

[Steve Rust]

Cavecreature
I think you may be confusing dolphin the mamal with dolphin the fish otherwise known as Mahi Mahi. Most of us would not even consider eating Flipper, but Mahi Mahi is very tasty.

[Cavecreature]

Thanx for the info. I know the difference but i forgot its name... dorado or somethin like that is another common name. Very ugly creature but supposedly tastes great. Ive been wanting to sink my teeth into one for years!

[GordMay]

A very large Barracuda used to take up housekeeping under our boat, when moored in 20 foot deep (tidal flow) channel at Staniel Cay, Bahamas. It’d be suspended about 4 - 6 Ft down, in the shadow near the keel, and facing up-flow.

[Cavecreature]

Cool. My Bio teacher was an avid scuba diver and goes to the Caribbean for two months every summer. He had all kinds of awsome stories to tell about sea life... especially barracuda. Quite facinating. By the way, how big can barricuda get? Ive heard 6 feet somewhere. And do they make good eating (I love fish!)?

[GordMay]

YES - Smaller ‘Cuda make great eating! Personally, I don't eat anyrthing over 24", and prefer around 18".
Goto: “ CIGUATERA POISONING”
http://cruisersforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=964

YES - great barracuda are large fish. The record for a hook and line caught great barracuda is 1.7 meters (5.5 feet), 44 kg (103 lbs) and the species is reported to attain a size of 2 meters (6.5 feet), 50 kg (118 lbs). Any barracuda over 4.8 feet (1.5 m) in length can be considered very large. Based on scale analysis of large specimens, great barracuda have a lifespan of at least 14 years. Sexual maturity is reached at a length of about 23 inches (60 cm). At this size, males are typically about two years and females close to four years of age.

[Cavecreature]

Kewl... sounds tasty

[Alan Wheeler]

What's with this Ciguatera poisoning. After years of study, I have still to see a fish smoking a ciguarete.

Down here in the South, we have Baracouta. Also a nasty wee animal which is a memeber of the Gen=mfish species I believe. Nothing more infuriating than to hook up to a really great catch and just as you get it to the surface, it is suddenly sliced in half by a couta. All they leave you with is the head. And of course, they always take the really big ones

[Cavecreature]

I was wondering if anyone would make a comment about that. Seems to me if I were to be lucky enough to be able to sail down south... I'd spend much of my time fishing! Always wanted to catch some nice big jucy fish... yum.... Sounds like some good times.

[GordMay]

What’s the big deal about Ciguratera Poisoning?

Although ciguaratera poisoning can cause death, almost all patients with ciguatera will recover. Recovery, however, can be slow and some symptoms may persist. Ciguratera poising is ALWAYS very unpleasant!

Ciguatera poisining may cause nausea, vomiting, and neurologic symptoms, such as tingling or numbness around the mouth, fingers or toes, feeling of loose teeth, itching, muscle and joint pain, slow heart rate, and low blood pressure. Victims may also find that cold things feel hot , and hot things feel cold (neurological impairments). The average duration of intense symptoms is 8.5 days, and many people have symptoms for one to two months, but mild annoying, chronic symptoms can last up to ten years. There is no standard treatment for ciguatera poisoning, and there is no cure

The prognosis is generally excellent, however in some patients, long-term symptoms occur after eating fatty foods (oily food, peanut products, sesame oil), seafood products (fish, shellfish - even if cigua’-free), and alcohol. Even though it is almost never fatal, ciguatera poisoning can result in long-term symptoms of muscle aches, joint pains, and a weak, tired feeling - symptoms not easily treated. In chronic cases, there can be a misdiagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome. Remember that subsequent poisonings are often more severe, and no one knows how long the toxin stays in the body.

Prevention is your best ally.

Notwithstanding, I love small “cuda - great eating!