Corey
11-25-2004, 03:22 AM
As a kid I worked as a diver on a seine in Trinidad for a short time. (Purse seine : http://collections.ic.gc.ca/pacificfisheries/techno/sein.html) We used to go out about a mile or so offshore at the end of the work day to swim, terrorize each other, and feed leftover fish to dolphins. The dolphins swim with you, and they protect you from sharks just like in this story:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/11/24/dolphin_newzealand041124.html
As a sidebar here is a picture I found of a crew pulling seine at Mayaro beach where we lived. This is 13 years after my last trip but it looks like the very same guys, same boat, and even the same net. I can taste the salt. :)
http://www.trinidesktops.com/gill_collection/pullingnets.jpg
Close up of the boats, you'd be amazed how small they look once you get seperated from one out in the ocean :)
http://www.traumfotos.de/caribsurf/tt/bilder_tt/Tr004May.jpg
The abandoned beach house where we used to huddle during weather, for such a tropical place you'd be amazed how cold it gets down on the beach at times. Note the huge amount of "chip chip" (empty half shells) on the beach:
http://www.traumfotos.de/caribsurf/tt/bilder_tt/Tr001May.jpg
Couple more. The things you see on the beach are "chip chip" and blue bottles (Portugese man-o-war) not fun to step on either one really. The white stuff is just sea foam.
http://www.ttcsweb.org/photos/mayaro1.htm
And for kicks a pic of a local during carnivale.
http://www.traumfotos.de/caribsurf/tt/bilder_tt/Tr014POS.jpg
Anyhow back to dolphins. Real sea dolphins are not clean and blue and shiny, that's only captive animals. Real sea dolphins are kind of mottled and have scars, etc. Some of the old ones are missing pieces of fin, etc. Scary at first, they're large and fast and the sea itself is pretty scary once you get away from the boat that far offshore. You're *really* on your own out there. I can remember being completely frozen with terror at moments. Mayaro in particular is also reknowned for a high rate of drownings due to the tricky currents. But eventually you learn to trust the dolphins, even rely on them.
Anyhow as far as I know dolphins are the only thing which can/will kick a sharks butt (???) in the open sea. Ironic how such a playful and intelligent creature would be the sole foe of such a feeding machine. I love irony. Sharks get a bad rap, they're not mean, they're just hungry. I've flipped a few hammerheads out of the seine. Not fun. A 4 foot shark weighs *a lot* and they are *strong*. Like one long muscle, and no matter which way you go, they go the opposite, slightly faster than you do. But they'll avoid you if they can, certainly not aggressive per se.
All that being said I question the veracity of the lifeguard in the story. There are several bunk details there. Most notably, it is intrinsically *unhuman* to almost get eaten by a great white and not mention it all for a few weeks but then suddenly go full hog for maximum press coverage on the 22nd day. As if... I think he spoke to dolphin experts about the group's behavior after the fact, (as it states) they mentioned to him that it had actually been a routine shark attack thwarting, and then he ran with the ball... Monkey. :)
When I grow up, I want to be a dolphin. :yes
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/11/24/dolphin_newzealand041124.html
As a sidebar here is a picture I found of a crew pulling seine at Mayaro beach where we lived. This is 13 years after my last trip but it looks like the very same guys, same boat, and even the same net. I can taste the salt. :)
http://www.trinidesktops.com/gill_collection/pullingnets.jpg
Close up of the boats, you'd be amazed how small they look once you get seperated from one out in the ocean :)
http://www.traumfotos.de/caribsurf/tt/bilder_tt/Tr004May.jpg
The abandoned beach house where we used to huddle during weather, for such a tropical place you'd be amazed how cold it gets down on the beach at times. Note the huge amount of "chip chip" (empty half shells) on the beach:
http://www.traumfotos.de/caribsurf/tt/bilder_tt/Tr001May.jpg
Couple more. The things you see on the beach are "chip chip" and blue bottles (Portugese man-o-war) not fun to step on either one really. The white stuff is just sea foam.
http://www.ttcsweb.org/photos/mayaro1.htm
And for kicks a pic of a local during carnivale.
http://www.traumfotos.de/caribsurf/tt/bilder_tt/Tr014POS.jpg
Anyhow back to dolphins. Real sea dolphins are not clean and blue and shiny, that's only captive animals. Real sea dolphins are kind of mottled and have scars, etc. Some of the old ones are missing pieces of fin, etc. Scary at first, they're large and fast and the sea itself is pretty scary once you get away from the boat that far offshore. You're *really* on your own out there. I can remember being completely frozen with terror at moments. Mayaro in particular is also reknowned for a high rate of drownings due to the tricky currents. But eventually you learn to trust the dolphins, even rely on them.
Anyhow as far as I know dolphins are the only thing which can/will kick a sharks butt (???) in the open sea. Ironic how such a playful and intelligent creature would be the sole foe of such a feeding machine. I love irony. Sharks get a bad rap, they're not mean, they're just hungry. I've flipped a few hammerheads out of the seine. Not fun. A 4 foot shark weighs *a lot* and they are *strong*. Like one long muscle, and no matter which way you go, they go the opposite, slightly faster than you do. But they'll avoid you if they can, certainly not aggressive per se.
All that being said I question the veracity of the lifeguard in the story. There are several bunk details there. Most notably, it is intrinsically *unhuman* to almost get eaten by a great white and not mention it all for a few weeks but then suddenly go full hog for maximum press coverage on the 22nd day. As if... I think he spoke to dolphin experts about the group's behavior after the fact, (as it states) they mentioned to him that it had actually been a routine shark attack thwarting, and then he ran with the ball... Monkey. :)
When I grow up, I want to be a dolphin. :yes