Shark hit this AM

April 25 2008 | Jim's Blog,
by Jim

In 1975 I waited three hours in a line to see the film Jaws. I hated it. The next day our family drove to Rhode Island for our annual vacation... the first day we walked onto the beach some kids were beating up a sand shark... I remember not spending much time in the water that vacation.

Over the years I've spent a lot of time in the ocean and, aside from some post-sunset sessions and one crazy session in Panama, my fear of sharks has waned. Related, I recently watched a film which should be called the Anti-Jaws. "Sharkwater" almost singlehandedly killed my fear of sharks and ratcheted back up my deep appreciation of them.

This morning I dropped my daughter off at school, noticed an ambulance pulling into Pillbox in Solana Beach. Serendipitously I hooked up with Alan Honadle and we paddled out for an hour or so... the waves weren't anything special... waist high peelers, fun fish waves. Our session ended due to being called out of the water by a helicopter. A shark had just attacked and killed a triathlete fairly close to where we were.

This event causes me to reflect, it's important for us to understand that oceans are wilderness. We can't try and control the oceans the way we try to control... everything else. The oceans are filled with complex ecosystems, amazing creatures and laws that are not written in books.

Sharks, overall, are not aggressive creatures... in 2007 there was literally one fatality in the world due to a shark attack.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the surviving family.

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