Sharks & Kites, Spring Is Here
 

We've heard news about shark sightings off SE Florida and some may have even seen video clips of some concerned citizens catering an inpromptu buffet at the beach.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album245/sharks.jpg
From: http://www.nbc6.net/slideshow/432609...qs=;s=41;w=320 TWO years ago this month, the migrations have been going on a long time.

Today, the wind edged up into rideable conditions so I threw the gear in the car and tooled down to the beach. The wind was on the lighter side but felt like it might improve. Interestingly enough though there were sharks, A LOT of sharks, some within 10 ft. of the beach. They were pretty easy to see from the beach, visibility wasn't that bad. No one was out yet, not a bad call.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album245/sharks1.jpg

So, went about setting up in no particular hurry. After a while the that mass of sharks seem to have cleared off to the north. So, hit the water and rode for about six hours. The wind freshened nicely into gusts into about 24 kts by the end of the session. There was one more small group of sharks later on, but they seemed to hang close to the shore. When I first passed over them prior to deciding to stay further offshore, they reacted like sharks usually do, the hauled ass prompted by the board noise. At least they ignore you when UW with a camera. Actually, UW cameras are one of the best shark repellents ever created in my experience come to thing of it. They looked like spinner sharks, not in the mood to spin however. There was no bait kicking up, jumping sharks, diving sea birds or other normal indicators of particularly hazardous conditions (fishermen?). The sharks were apparently intent upon swimming up the coast and not much else. I did call it a day before sunset not wishing to push things. It was a good session, mainly for the wind but also the oddity of the sharks added to it.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album245/sharks2.jpg

More about the shark migration at:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in684288.shtml

Shark migration past Boynton Beach
 

From my Blog page @ BEST:

A Full Day

Sat Mar 10, 2007 9:47 pm

Woke up this morning to No wind & none forecast for the next few days. Although there was a small N groundswell rolling in. I hadn't surfed in months, so it was a wonderful thing to take out the Longboard and pick a few waist to stomach high waves off http://forum.bestkiteboarding.com/im...on_biggrin.gif

Suddenly the non-forecast winds started to pick up. So I stopped by the house and swapped gear, then headed down to Hammock Park. Trying to find parking @ 12pm this time of year is INSANE. I got lucky and pulled it off in less then 15min http://forum.bestkiteboarding.com/im...on_twisted.gif
Hit the beach and was pleasently suprised the wind was steady from the N 13-15kts
I get myself rigged up w/the 13 & 135 while getting ready I notice the Life Guards had the RED flags up. Didn't think much of it since it was such a beautiful day. I hit the water and I'm off all smiles, Having already been out surfing and now I was kiting http://forum.bestkiteboarding.com/im...s/icon_lol.gif

Thats when I saw why the RED flags had been posted. Black Tip (spinner) sharks. Pods of them All over the place, mostly running the sandbars in water from 4ft to 12ft. What an absolutely wild thing to see as your gliding over them. They'd spook, Then dart & carve out of the way. It's there annual migration. I remeber it from last year, The plus this year is that the water is crystal clear. How increditable to be able to load up-Boost and while your up there look down at 12-20/4-5ft SHARKS beneath you. Freak'n Awsome! I watched one jump 3ft out of the water not 30ft from me http://forum.bestkiteboarding.com/im...s/icon_eek.gif
For the most part there nothing to fear or worry about. But when you see one Breach and then you fall near or right above a couple. It does get a bit creepy http://forum.bestkiteboarding.com/im..._surprised.gif

They couldn't have bothered me that bad, cause I kited from 12 to 5:30
I believe the wind was a little stronger @ Hammock then LW
03 10 6:00 pm NNE 13-14
03 10 5:00 pm NNE 13-15
03 10 4:00 pm NNE 13-15
03 10 3:00 pm NNE 14-15
03 10 2:00 pm NNE 13-14
03 10 1:00 pm NNE 13-14
03 10 12:00 pm NNE 14-15

Today would have been a great day to have had a Kite-Cam or one that took still shots. I'm sure I could have counted over 100
Posted By: highflyn


I was also able to kite after work on Thru 3-15, the water was a bit stirred up. Which was a good and bad thing. Good because I couldn't see all the sharks that were beneath me. Bad because the ones that I did see were closer to the surface and they were definatly LARGER ones :eek:

Hey Mike,

Were you able to make it out late yesterday? The sideshore wind cooked off! I could have used more waves but it was mighty fine all the same.

Your point about falling near a couple of sharks, I would work to avoid that! They only severe shark attack on a kiter that I have heard about worldwide, involved a guy cheaping out, trying to teach himself to kite in lieu of quality lessons off Hutchinson Island. Too much time in the water particularly with bait kicking up and sharks in the water is a bad idea! They seem to ignore kiters on plane some of the time absent feeding behaviours in OUR area, still experience has shown bathers and surfers are fair game and will be attacked on ocassion. So, once you're in the water your risk appears to go up substantially. I wouldn't be astonished to see a shark go after a board on plane. Of course at the time, there would be a fair amount of astonishment all the same!

The swells of LW Saturday were intense. We went to a wedding on the beach late. Guys were getting 300 ft. rides down the waves! Better than head high too. The wind was side offshore so no good for kiting.

Have the guys off Miami been seeing the spinner migration?

I live in Miami Beach on Collins and 50th street. I usually kite over at Crandon or Matheson because I like the flat water but occassionally I will go out in the back of the building when the wind is strong enough and the surf is not too crazy. I have been out there a few times in the last couple of weeks but I have never seen a shark. I think I would freak out if I did.

I am usually the only kiter when I go kiting behind my building. Sometimes I see people riding up in the 60's and I know a lot of people kite off of 87th street. Has anyone been seeing any sharks off the coast of Miami Beach?

Absolutely!! It ROCKED yesterday from noon till after I left the beach @ 5pm

I kited Outside Boynton Inlet on the Sand bar, There was a perfect 1-3ft A-frame peak out there. It's been an fantastic month so far!

Hopefully you got your fair share too.


I missed that swell, It was small in the am. But did continue to pick up thru out the day. Wind actually went side-on for a while & I wanted to hit the beach, But had priors that I couldn't get out of :(
No complaints here though, I've been getting my share :D

I know there are numerous sandbars in Miami Beach(especially South Beach). Then, there are deep water places not that far away from shore. I,too, never seen a shark in Miami Beach. Im guessing they're afraid of the Spring Breakers...
Yup, I remember a couple years ago in Boyton Inlet that received no less than 50 sharks near shore... scarry stuff
-Danny

I spoke to Paul Menta down in KW tonight and asked if the spinners had shown up there. Apparently not at least not near shore. I guess the narrowing continental shelf and temperature gradient might concentrate the sharks closer to shore off Palm Beach County.

That is a slew of sharks that you saw off of Boynton Inlet. We may have had that much, perhaps more cruise by the beach within 20 ft. in Delray when I first arrived on Sunday. Interesting stuff and a bad time to have left your UW camera at home. I have so few good free swimming shark photos. I once found a spot on the first reef off Ft. Lauderdale where a bunch of free swimming sharks showed up over several dives. I think it was a former inlet some time in the past as there was nothing else noteworthy about the spot. The one time I took a camera out, no sharks. A manta ray did show up as a consolation prize though.

Spring is in the air but so are kites and KITERS! So, some sharks are in the water, as long as they behave themselves live and let fly.

Tonight was a rare session, the kite was just the right size for the winds, this time a Waroo Pro 11 m with winds from around 20 to 24 kts.. There was a nice swell line about 250 ft. offshore great for ramping boosts off of. We were blasting a 1/4 mile down the breaker line and firing backup wind with the ENE to NE winds.

I saw one small spinner jump about 30 ft. away. If there had been more would have called it a day. Also saw one other in the water but viz. was no where as good as it was on Sunday when this thread was started. Anyway, it was an excellent session with nice jumps, great wave riding and no shark interactions, for me anyway.

Near the end of the session, a guy was jumping up and down and waving like crazy. Wasn't sure if he was communicating with me or not. He said that a shark had hit his surfboard, torn off some glass and bumped his foot. The foot looked OK and his board from a distance was missing a strip of glass along the nose. He was trying to call his friend in from about 250 ft. offshore with no success. Figuring statistically surfers are apparently more likely to have a bad shark encounter than kiters, in our area to date, I shot out and told the guy his friends woes and request.

The sun was setting, gold light was glancing off the swells and foam. It was a good time to get off the water with so many blacktips migrating through. The spinners may be moving through well into April, as long as they keep to themselves and the surfers, well enough. No way you would get me out there on a serving platter, uh surfboard. Don't get me wrong, kiters are still at risk. If they are in the water, they might as well be a hapless swimmer or surfer, so don't lose your board and hope a spinner doesn't lunge at moving targets, that is planing kiteboards!

Best part, there's more wind tomorrow in the forecast. Yeeha!

Surely some other folks have some great riding stories from this week. Let's here about it!

Close Encounter
 

[ http://forum.bestkiteboarding.com/im...od_shocked.gif Mood: Shocked ] 3-20-07


Super fun session this afternoon! Great surf 3-5ft East power chop. I saw some really NICE rights (Head high to Overhead drops) on the south side of the Pier. The surfers were stoked! I had the entire North side (with several chunky outside sections) to myself, So I was stoked

I do believe I almost became "that" kiteboarder that was bitten by a shark. I was 40yards north of the pier and out by the end. It's probally 20-25ft depth out there. I pull a weak areial transition and sink a bit apon landing, as I power up to take off. I see this fish come up to the surface with speed from the direction my ass was just positioned in. Off to the side it darts showing it's size/shape and med/light brown color http://forum.bestkiteboarding.com/im...s/icon_eek.gif and away I go.
While riding away I think to myself was it a snook (oh how I wish it was) I knew it wasn't, Not at close to 6ft in length. Perhaps all the Bird activity that was out in 30-40ft of water should have been a clue to me.
It was defanitly a shark, the last few weeks we've had an annual migration of Black Tip (spinner) Sharks heading North and with this weeks rough conditions the water has been churned up. Glad he opted not to take a bite

Put it out of my mind and kited on! Definatly a FUN session on the 9m & 127
Kited from 5:30 to 7:30

Glad you are OK and had a nice session Mike. We didn't have any bird activity, bait kicking up the surface or much in the way of jumping, spinning spinners off Delray. If we had I probably would have missed all that great wind and waves. If you have those signs your risk of attack goes way up even if kiting particularly if in poor visibility and/or waves that can mess up shark perception. Confuse things further with charging bait and plunging birds and you get the idea. It is tough but I would try to force myself to sit out such sessions. The odds are during this migration is that there could be a few dozen sharks close by (within a few hundred feet) at any given time. Every time we hit the water, it is likely that there are latent sharks not so far away at all and with easy striking distance. The buggers are FAST.

The problem with shark attacks, the non-fatal variety, is that you don't know what will be bitten or how much? If it is a mouthing of some thick, muscled area it may not be all that bad if things go well in treatment and rehab. What if there are loss appendages, function, nerve damage or worse, severing of a major blood vessel, you could bleed out or suffer some major shock issues. We supposedly aren't menu favorites for many sharks. They taste and spit us out often enough. Still, there is a lot of damage that can happen in one tasting.

Intellectually, sharks are a bit lacking too, what if another or few other sharks note one buggers interest in you? So, one hits you and then another and perhaps another still? This can impede or destroy your ability to get in on your own and others may not be able to react in an acceptable amount of time. That is a lot of rapid damage to sustain.

Sorry for all the doom and gloom, bad stuff doesn't happen all the time. Just often enough to make it worth talking about and thinking over. Enjoy the wind and avoid snacking with sharks!

You better believe it! :eek:


The one that I saw was defiantly curious, I'm sure if it had been more aggressive. I would have never seen it coming till it was too late.

Though my years of surfing here in South FL. I've seen PLENTY of sharks while out in the line-up from my home break @ Lake Worth to Sebastian Inlet.
The most impressive one that I'll never forget.... It was a beautiful beach day, No surf pretty much oil clam sunny mid day. I was up on Lake Worth Pier flipping a live sardine to the snook cruising among the pilings and a large shadow caught my eye in 8-12ft of water about 100ft North of the pier, This was between the two shelters just to the east side of the sandbar. The fish was heading North in no hurry. I had a closer look and MY GAWD I couldn't believe my eyes. It was every bit of a 15' TIGER SHARK in 8-12ft of water cruising just outside the beach bathers by 50-75 yards TOPS. The Lifeguards never even saw this. I could plainly make out the entire fish, Beautiful actually. Dark gray w/darker gray to black "Tiger stripes" w/it mouth agape. You could see the pilot fish swimming around it's mouth. That's when I saw something else, COBIA all underneath this HUGE shark. I flipped my sardine in it's direction and 3 cobia shot out from under the shark and were in HOT pursuit of my bait. I snatched it away from the to smaller ones and picked up the follower that weighed in @ 32lbs. The shark never broke it's stride North bound, slow and steady. There were a few other cobia caught that had also come off that shark. But I was the only one to actually see the shark (so no one believed it was 15' Tiger)

Until the following weekend (one week later) I was out at the end of the Pier fooling around with the cruising snook again, Not much was happening. So I headed into the surf to see what I could do in there. Next thing I know I see a flurry of activity out at the end, rods bent everywhere. Then some of the anglers start dragging more cobia down to the bait house to have there pictures taken and to tell me as they passed that. They too had seen that very same Tiger shark off the end of the Pier cruising south this time and LOADED w/cobia again.

That was the one and only time I've seen a Tiger shark and I'm great-full for this as that fish was defiantly a MAN eater :eek:


I have two friends that have been hit over the years. One was @ Jupiter Inlet south side that got it on the hand (not bad a few stitches) the other was up in Vero and took it on the calf (40+ stitches and some muscle damage) Both still surf but are ALOT more cautious during the spring and fall bait runs

Tigers, interesting stuff. I've seen cobia hang out with large stingrays but didn't know about the shark association. You come from a background of serving platter riding uh surfing. That's different then, your tolerance to the hazard is higher then. Sebastian, aren't there plans to build a shark fast food outlet there, "Surfers To Go" or something? I think they are to specialize in fried "human tenders" with an appetizing selection of shark sauces.

Sorry for the irony but the shark attack experience in this lightly populated area involving a lot of surfers over the years hasn't been too good as shown in:

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks...usia_60_02.jpg
From: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/

I will dive with sharks, ideally while not in feeding behaviors but wouldn't choose to surf with them. The whole struggling bait imitation thing that you go through when paddling in puts me off. Sharks can be beautiful UW, particularly when they are cruising in that special disinterested way they have. Here's to interesting time on the water without excessively memorable tiburon encounters!

Another good afternoon on the water. The wind was a bit lighter than yesterday at times but it was still fun. Initially didn't see any sharks except for one jumping spinner. About an hour before sunset, I passed over about 6 sharks in less than 10 minutes outside the breaker line. Would swear that three were on an interception heading with one running on the surface dorsal out in the classic way, (curious like cats?). So, I chickened out and rode inside the breaker line for the balance of the session. It was near low tide, shallower and I didn't see any sharks in that area. Heard that one sponger got goosed by a shark earlier in the day but he didn't make a permanent impression. Still more wind tomorrow easing in the afternoon. There may be squalls though, so may miss out.

Lots of guys had to have been out today. How was it?

Shark bite caught on tape
 

How about this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nza6d7-8NDc

It seems that there may be a trend in Youtube to "write your own ending" in some of the video clips. I saw another one yesterday in which a kiter supposedly hit an anchored boat. I didn't go through it frame by frame unlike the one above but at first glimpse I wasn't convinced that the event happened as shown.

Guys be sure to visit our new video section, http://fksa.org/forumdisplay.php?f=69 it is there for folks to upload links to clips that they like. Both of the above clips are already there. Must be lots more out there worth passing along.

And, one more installment on the ongoing "sharks off Delray" serial. Tonight, I didn't see any sharks for most of the session. Again, just about one hour before sunset, a spinner boosted on about 35 ft. ahead. He continued with dinner and I retired inside the breaker zone, again. Chicken! So, this may be a lull in the migration along this section of coast given the early time. Don't let your guard go down.

I did'nt see any shark activity either up in Boynton Beach, but that could have been cause I was pre-occupied w/the 4-6+ft chunky nuggets that I was having an ABSOLUTE blast on.
Yesterday afternoon was by far the best powered session with some of the most increditable surf for me so far this year. It was Bombing lastnight!

The spring tides played havoc w/the surf on the sandbar. There were some 6ft walls of water that would just DUMP and explode. I watched several kites get folded in the ZONE. No kites were damaged just ego's

Winds in my area were ENE 20-25kts
Seas 4-6ft + and well formed up for a chop ( Underlying North swell )
Flew my 9m and 127 float

I hope EVERYONE else has been getting there share, while it's here

Sounds like an epic session Mike! Your waves sound like something out of Tahiti. Could guys paddle into them? Do you have hard bottom out there in places or is it all sand?

When I arrived at Delray there were two guys undergoing instruction. They left after a while. For over two hours I had the entire launch to myself! The only explanation that I can think of is that they have run out of Deep Heat lotion at the drug store for all those sore riders out there. Imagine, blowing off 20 to 25 kt. winds, no squalls, great waves and sunny weather in the afternoon? Amazing.

I am not sure how I did it but I managed to get my kite caught in one of those waves and turned it into a soft pretzel. I couldn't get it sorted out with the wind loading, so deflated the leading edge, did the walk of shame back up the beach and started over.

I imagine your waves are shaped a bit differently around Boynton Inlet and the sand bar there. In Delray approaching low tide there was a fairly calm area out to about 100 yards followed by a zone of breakers about 30 yards wide. It was often calm enough to charge ramping waves at high speed and boost big. Anyway we could schedule a weekend of these conditions a couple of times a month?

It was a bit gusty down off 14th street near the Hillsboro inlet yesterday. I was in the water starting and my leg got bumped, hopefully it was just a pompano or something but I was not taking any chances. Murky water, around the inlet, birds on the water, at dusk, during the bait run. I remember the primary conditions in which shark bites occur watching shark week last year and I think I hand most of the yesterday. However Wednesday I got some nice riding in at commercial, not much but this ENE winds really makes you learn to ride upwind. Ride upwind or end up on the beach now that is motivation. I got to try out my GK Sonic 11m and that kite is awesome.

This weekend looks good so far, it will be nice to ride for more than an hour at a time.

That which bites you has to move pretty fast, I aim to move faster!

seriously tho' , the odds are very low. but I think you guys are jinxing it by all the toothy talk.

Just tell me there won't be any gray suits there this weekend or else I'll have to tell you of the 12' Bull sharks that regularly swim by my house/ launch area :o

Usually, I would agree with you on the low risk part Raul. This case is different though. We have a migration of thousands of sharks northward up the coast escorting far more bait fish along the way. Last Sunday, I may have seen over fifty sharks cruise north within 20 ft. of the beach in less than an hour. Anytime we're on the water during this migration there is a good chance that there are a lot of sharks (dozens, a hundred, more? within a several hour session), within sensory distance, far more than normal the rest of the year.

While were on plane perhaps our risk is lower in this area. In the water retrieving a board or splashing around trying to learn how to water start, etc. I suspect the risk goes up quite a bit. The guys that track shark attacks EXPECT an increase in incidents and attacks while the buggers are cruising en masse so close to shore. A little extra care right now in the area of the migration would be a good idea.

Dang! I was planning venturing out towards one of the east coast inlets for the weekend but now you got me worried!

Any idea which inlet has seen the most sightings/ activity?

Maybe if I go to Monster hole ( S.I. ) the massive number of surfers in the water will dilute my kiting presence :confused:

sebastian, that's an excellent choice. just be sure the cook at STG doesn't fry you too long. the wind forecast is better south. try se fla.

Come on down to Boynton Inlet, The migration is Northward and I saw the larger schools passing threw this area last weekend, which would put then in Seba/Melborne area this weekend :eek:

Not to say that there still aren't some lingering around........

Why do you think they call it "Monster Hole" :rolleyes:

Easy does it Rick, Lets not confuse the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic :rolleyes: . The Atlantic is mild in comparison. I haven't the balls to Kite Tahiti. I saw a few pic's of a guy kiting Teehapoo and all I can say is WOW

There were about 5 or so surfers out taking the drift and hooking up on some nice sections, But I could see them jones-in cause of all the speed and the nuggets I was getting. I stopped and talked to a long time buddy of mine and he asked "Do you even surf any more?"

I laughed and said "NOT when it windy" :p

I CAN'T imagine blowing off 20-25kts that's just sacrilegious

There some hard bottom on the inside-south side of the Inlet, But mostly sand bottom. The thing is with all the wind were had since NOV it manicured the sand bars and last night proved it. It was by far the best Surf/wind session this year.

Today/this afternoon is not quite as windy, But it should still be FUN. I should pull a down-winder to Delray and hook-up w/you. Perhaps this weekend.

Mike wrote:

I've seen it get ridiculously HUGE in Puerto Rico, 20 up to 40 feet, the 2nd deepest underwater trench is just north of them and it really builds up the
North Atlantic storms. Although, when I used to surf there when I was 18 y/o, I only went out in the more usual 6-10 footers . The one time I tried an +15' I got creamed on the bottom hitting all sorts of coral and held under for a minute or so :eek: :mad: seemed like a lifetime

It's not quite spring but the spinners are apparently rounding the Keys heading north. Wonder if they'll be next to the beach this year AND if wind will be served up again? If so, hope nothing goes amiss.

Its a shame what happened to Hamish... :-)
 

I first saw that a while back. Now that you mention it, it DOES look like Hamish. The kiter not the tiburon that slid in later on.

Hey,

Do not use the shark repelant...

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...-30417,00.html

Clew In

So the Spinner aka blacktip migration is on again. Not to worry, the spinners have predators too, aside from us of course. A 1000 lb. 13 to 14 ft. hammerhead was charging through them next to the Lake Worth Inlet off Singer Island in Northern Palm Beach County. A guy actually caught it, not to hurt it but just to take its picture. Sigh. Killed the shark, NOW we'll need more hammerheads to step up to fill the vacancy. People. If you saw this guy underwater it would appear to be up to 18.5 ft. long, big goomer!

http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/02/08/72/image_6772082.jpg

The story follows:

Palm Beach resident Fritz Van der Grift lands 14-foot hammerhead shark off Singer Island
Click-2-Listen

By JOSEPH LUCIANO
Daily News Staff Writer
Sunday, March 09, 2008



(enlarge photo)
From left, Greg Bogban, Minot Amory, Paul Van der Grift and Fritz Van der Grift show off the hammerhead shark Fritz caught Wednesday.

Palm Beacher Fritz Van der Grift had the fishing experience of his life Wednesday.

Van der Grift, friend Minot Amory and charter boat captain Greg Bogban were fishing off Bogban's boat for blacktip sharks in the shallow waters off Singer Island just north of the Palm Beach Inlet. The fish weren't biting, and the group realized they were being stalked, Van der Grift said. They spotted what turned out to be a 14-foot, 1,000-plus-pound hammerhead shark and attempted to catch it.

"It was just this huge shadow circling our boat," Van der Grift said. "It showed its dorsal fin to us. The thing came out of the water. It was like a movie."

Van der Grift, whose father, Paul, is president of the First Serve of the Palm Beaches, said he fought the shark for more than an hour before landing it.

The shark died soon after as a result of the struggle.

"I didn't know if I was going to make it," Van der Grift said. "My arm was numb 10 minutes into it. It was a game of tug-of-war. I would reel it in 20 or 30 yards and he would take off, and then I would reel it in another 20 yards and he would take off again. It was like a game."

Van der Grift, who said his biggest catch before this was a 350-pound bull shark, said when they tried to weigh the fish, the scale stopped working at 1,038 pounds.

The fish's organs have been donated to research laboratories, Van der Grift said.

From: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/ne...story0309.html

I was off Delray on Friday and further north today. Didn't see any spinners at either location although others said they had seen a few. Anyone tripping over the migration out there?

They say the spinners track a mass of water around an optimal temperature.

Looking at last year:http://www.marine.rutgers.edu/mrs/re...4.1056.n12.jpg

vs. this year:

http://www.marine.rutgers.edu/mrs/re...5.1503.n17.jpg

The spring migration is one thing, the rest of the year is another at least around here. Do folks see many sharks off the SE coast outside of migrations while kiting?

Sharls Delray
 

This is very interesting stuff in regards to Sharks. I moved to Florida about a year and half ago. I live in Coral Springs and have been kiting in Mathseson all this time.
I have been wanting to go to Delray since its a shorter commute, but this shark business is spooky. Are sharks around here abundant during the Spring?

Dude there is so many sharks out there it isn't funny! I saw a report a few years back after the attacks on the east coast about the amount of sharks around and how they swim amongst us, we aren't even aware. I think the report was there to show basically if they wanted to eat us they would, there would be a whole lot more attacks then there is. Funny I saw an aerial video that showed A LOT of sharks swimming amongst bathers, kinda freaky but I have also seen some really scary baracuda lOl. Honestly, I myself would fear a large man o war sticking to my face than a bite from a shark, JMHO... Polo :D

Regarding sharks, there never has been a fatal shark attack on a kiter, ever, to my knowledge. I have heard about six attacks worldwide over the last 8 years, only one of which was considered serious but not life threatening. There have been dozens and dozens of riders lost to hazardous wind and hundreds more injured. Tragically, I heard of another one today. It is best to keep things in perspective and watchout for the greater threat. At the same time, I have always assumed that there are sharks within sensory range anytime I have gone in the water off SE Florida over almost four decades.

The spinner migration is an annual thing, likely has been for millennia. The year this thread was started was unusual with so many so close to the beach for so long. This year I never saw one spinner while kiting instead of dozens or hundreds per hour. Despite that, they usually ignored riders except near sunset or if someone stayed in the water for an extended period of time. I think I've seen sharks at other times of the year while kiting off Palm Beach Cty, but rarely in the areas I ride including Delray. So, bottom line, I wouldn't worry about it at Delray, at least outside of a nearshore mass migration which in itself is somewhat rare. When they were running nearshore I think it went on for less than seven days.

Rick;
You are always full of good and important information. Appreciate the quick response. Although you may never know what is really underneath, it is somewhat conforting to hear that someone who has spent so much time in the water has not seen any danger. So Ill give it a shot and be cautious as always.

sharks on the west coast
 

i have only seen one shark in several years of kiting around the venice area (it was 4-5 feet long, in shallow water and near swimmers)

i went in and told the life-guard and he said "ya' , they are out there"

that was it, no big deal, ah ... ok

kd