• A person is more likely to be killed by a dog attack, lightening, a falling coconut, or by being buried by a collapsing sand hole than by being attacked by a shark.
• In 2008, there were only 59 shark attacks reported world wide. Only 4 reported attacks were fatal.
• Generally, shark attacks result in 5-15 deaths world wide each year. This is an estimate as some attacks are not reported.
• Despite the fact that more people are venturing into the water, the trend over the past century from 1990-1999 has revealed the world wide fatality rate from shark attacks has gone down.
• It is estimated that humans kill up to 100 million sharks per year.
• World shark populations have declined approximately 90% in the past 3 decades.

The collapsing sand hole thing is new to me, but how often could that happen. Maybe more often than you’d think – people get to digging tunnels at the beach, and before you know it, the sand has collapsed on them. If you see feet sticking out of the sand, give them a yank.

Source.

TOP 10 US SURF TOWNS:

1. Santa Cruz, CA
2. Haleiwa, HI
3. Encinitas, CA
4. Paia, HI
5. San Clemente, CA
6. Kill Devil Hills, NC
7. Malibu, CA
8. Montauk, NY
9. New Smyrna Beach, FL
10. Ocean City, NJ

It's all fun and games until someone gets bit!

Source.

I found this blog post that shows how these guys turned the surfboard above into the chair you see below.

Here’s the finished product. I’m gonna have to make one of these.

When the tide is low, water is being taken from the beach area and sent out to sea. This causes the water on the beach to be more shallow than usual. During low tide, you may find that you can walk out into the water a lot further than usual because the water doesn’t get deep as soon. Some areas that are normally covered by water may not have any water at all. You’ll probably have some areas of sand that are only about two inches under water, and some dry sand, little narrow “islands” that come up out of the water. It can be fun to walk in the shallow water and then onto the dry areas, especially when the water is warm. Sea gulls like to hang out on the little islands.

Also, low tide is a great time to walk the beach and find starfish, but you better go very early in the morning or other people will beat you to them.

Safety During Low Tide

Something you need to be warned about is that since the water is going back out to sea during low tide, it’s (remotely) possible that you’ll be taken far out to sea, possibly never to return. You don’t want to swim or paddle out very far during low tide for this reason; you might not be able to paddle back to the beach.

One time I was right at the end of a jetty when the tide started going out. I was on this little Rusty surfboard that requirs a lot of paddling in any type of condition, and I’m still surprised I made it back to shore. I floated past the jetty and was headed into the wild blue yonder. I paddled as hard as I could, and when I was so tired I wanted to stop paddling, I’d think, “If you don’t paddle you’ll die.”  After several minutes of paddling, it looked like I’d traveled maybe 3 feet. I eventually got back inside, and I was so tired I was done for the day.

High Tide

When the tide is high, water is being brought into the beach from the ocean. This means the beach water will be deeper than usual. The deeper water is, the bigger and more powerful waves it creates and sustains. When you surf, the bigger and more powerful waves you can find, the better your surf sessions will be.

Plus, high tide will bring you home if you get tired out there. Just relax on your board and the water will push you toward the beach. Imagine closing your eyes and drifting off a little on your surfboard (not really recommended), then suddenly you hear your board float right into some sand. You were out there and now you’re on the beach. You look up and say to the ocean (or God, or however you view mother nature in its most awesome form), “Hey, thanks, man!” Nothing to it.

• Surf during high tide for the safest and most fun sessions.

You really should checkout the full collection of surfing tattoos inspired by Jay Alders, but look at this tattoo and the painting that inspired it (below).

Surf Artist, Gabe Prusmack

Another surf artist you might want to talk to about your next tattoo is Gabe Prusmack. You can call him at 409-939-8050 or checkout his myspace.

Random Surfing Tattoos

For Kids

Here are a couple of surfing tattoos for kids to stick on themselves. Not bad for just $1.50.

Can you survive a shark eating you?

Probably not, but it really depends on how much of you it eats, what parts, and how much blood you lose before you get to the hospital. If it eats 1/2 of you, you probably won’t make it. If it eats your head, you’re doomed. If you lose 1/2 your blood before you get to the hospital, you probably won’t even need to go to the hospital.

Are you more likely to be kicked to death by a donkey than bitten by a shark?

I don’t know, man. I looked for info on this, ended up at Snopes.com, and they don’t know either.

Are you more likely to survive a shark or lion attack?

I don’t know. But one time when I was little I put a tarantula and a scorpion in a jar, and the spider won.

Is there a shark repellant for surfers?

They best thing I’ve found is Shark Shield, but I haven’t tested it out. If they’ll send me a free setup to test it for you, I’ll let you know how it goes.

What colors attract sharks?

Bright colors. Shiny things. So the wetsuit I have that has yellow and blue and red all over it is not a good thing to wear in the water, and jewelry isn’t a good thing to wear in the ocean either.

You also shouldn’t skinny dip in the ocean… the one time I got bumped by a shark, I had just slipped on my shorts under the water.

What do you do if a shark is near you?

Get back to shore quickly but without splashing and screaming. Splashing and screaming could excite the shark and cause it to attack you. But I’ll admit that the one time I was bumped by a shark, I got out as fast as I could and I did quite a bit of splashing.

Are there a lot of sharks in Galveston surf?

I’ve been told sharks like to hang out between the second and third sand bars. This sucks because the best waves are right in front of the second bar. I’ve never had any trouble with sharks in Galveston though, and I used to surf it nearly every day. This includes San Luis Pass, which people tell me is infested with sharks and has crazy rip tides. Never had any trouble there, it was just a great place to surf.

Do sharks attack people alone or in groups?

Sharks mostly attack people when people are alone, but they’ll attack people in a group also. It’s best to surf in a group. You probably won’t get attacked, but if you do, you have people to help you. And it’s more fun in a group anyway.

Do sharks come out in the rain?

Rain stirs up the water, and fish are known to bite more during or just after a rain. It seems likely that sharks are more prone to “attack”, or feed, during and just after a rain.

How fast do sea lions escape shark attack?

Hmm. I’d say sometimes it isn’t fast enough.

If a shark is involved in a fight and loses a limb will that limb grow back?

No.

Can you surf during menstruation?

I wouldn’t recommend it. Blood and even urine attract sharks.

Sharks attack surfers because they think they are:

Turtles. You look like a turtle from under the water when you’re on your surfboard and your legs and arms are hanging off the sides.

Staying calm around a shark…

I don’t think I could stay very calm around a shark, so I don’t have any mind tricks to share.

Will a shark leave if you hit them in their sensitive spots?

It might, and that’s what you should do. But the spot you should hit is their nose. I’m thinking it’ll be easy to see their nose in order to hit it because it’s right above the teeth they’re trying to eat you with.

At no cost, every day hundreds of surfers will see your ad. It’s easy, fast, and free.

Sell USED and new surfboards, wet suits, leashes, track pads, whatever you have, and make some easy cash.