Originally Posted by
Defender Mike
Sharks don't seem to like me much. I drove trawlers in the Gulf of Carpentaria when a young fella and had to go over the side at night to open cod ends underwater that were full of mud, fish and sea eggs after we flipped a board. The jaden winches couldn't lift the weight on board.
The crew used to say I came back out of the water like a Polaris missile after free diving down 6 m to empty the nets. When we got the nets on board you could see the holes , bite marks . I remember once my progress to the surface was suddenly impeded when I head butted a rather large object above me. I think I must have given the shark a fright as well as it moved away and I was on board in a split second. A few years later I went over the side for a few hours of unintentional swimming while wearing a red T shirt ,leapord skin jocks and with a 6 inch shifter tied to my wrist.
It took a while for the crew to realise I was missing and then longer to find me. While treading water a 3m Bronzy became quite infatuated with me every time he came close I swam at him and tried to attack him. This a lesson I learnt from spearfishing with Black tip reef sharks it seemed to work on the whaler as well. When he disappeared I was worried he was coming up from below but the attack never came.
While snorkelling on Woody Island off Esperance a few years back as I dived down to look at a little sail boat wreck, a nice size White was on his way up to check me out . We were on a head on collision course , I made it to a large boulder and stood up in only 1/2 a meter of water about 100m from shore. My wife waved from the beach you have no idea of the courage I had to muster to leave that boulder and make the beach. I have never swum so fast in all my life.
Last summer I was snorkelling and free diving on the North Mole off Port Beach Freo. When I came back I swam diagonally across the beach from the Mole . I got out of the water and my wife said there's something big and black in the water . A couple of minutes later the chopper sighted a big white and closed the beach.
As I said Sharks don't seem to like me, the above and a few more events not yet discussed are proof of this . I spend a lot of time in the water on Sea kayaks , racing skis, diving ,fishing and swimming. It would appear hat I have placed myself on the menu many times but have always been ignored . Or maybe i'm just a lucky Bas$##^%& .
Mike:)
