Gopher's First Blog Post

Howdy there all you bloggers across the world! This is Gopher, the crew’s cook. In addition to my cooking and other responsibilities aboard Galeos, I also like to help keep everyone entertained so I thought I’d share something a little fun this week with my blog post. 

I thought you all might enjoy watching a little video of my pet shark. His name is Pepe. 

Not many of us have had the chance to see a Great White shark up close. I have and let me tell you, it’s pretty awesome. Now if you haven’t, one of the cool things you can do with this game is take a pretty close look at a Great White from several different angles. You can look at the top, bottom, and both sides of the shark. Then there’s my personal favorite—the front with his mouth wide open. He’s got lots of teeth, that Pepe does, and later in the post I will give you some tips on how to avoid them.  But first, here’s a short video of the different views you get in the game.

Now any of us, myself included, would be crazy to attempt to feed a Great White in real life, but that’s the beauty of a game like this. One of the tricks you can do is to feed Pepe lots of different things, such as life preservers or puffer fish, and if he doesn’t like it, well he just might spit it back out at ya.  Watch the video below and see what I’m talking about. 

That was fun, wasn’t it? So now that we’ve had some fun with sharks in a completely safe way, let me give you some safety tips on how to avoid them in real life. 

First of all, you should know that while sharks are fearsome predators, humans are rarely on their menu. In fact, more humans are killed or injured by dogs and a whole slew of other animals more than they are by sharks. Still, if you’re going to venture into the water where they are, it’s a good idea to know how to fight off an attack. However it’s even more important to know how to minimize the risk of one in the first place. 

1. The first tip I have for all of you folks is the easiest one of them all, Stay out of shark infested waters. I mean really, how much easier can it get?  Obviously you already know this of course means staying out of the ocean, but what some of you might not guess is this also includes coastal rivers and lakes.  Think I’m crazy? That I’m joking? No way!  A very real fact is that one of the most dangerous sharks out there, the Bull shark, can tolerate fresh water and has been known to travel up rivers far inland. They have been spotted as far up the Mississippi River as Illinois.  Imagine coming face to face with one of those buggers on a fishing trip. It really could happen.

Now before all of you water-lovers out there think I’ve lost my mind, hold on a minute. If you love the water as much as all of us here at Team MMR do, there is no way you are going to stay out of the water. That doesn’t mean you are doomed to become shark bait. There are some things you can do to minimize your risk. The biggest thing you can do is to heed warnings that might be posted. Avoid steep drops offs and areas between sandbars where sharks like to hang out. Also, you should avoid waters contaminated with effluents or sewage. Not only are they nasty and gross, but both of these things tend to attract sharks. The last situation to be wary of is an area with lots of fishing activity. The sound of a struggling fish and the blood from being hooked are like a bat signal to sharks. If you’re going to get into the water with sharks, then don’t be a Joker.

2. My second tip is, Know your shark. I know you’re probably thinking, dude, I don’t have time for that. And I get that it’s not realistic for most people to know what each type of shark looks like, after all there are more than 300 species of sharks.  But you can learn a few things about the three that are considered to be most dangerous to humans. The Tiger, the Great White, and the Bull—they are responsible for the vast majority of human fatalities.

3. Next up we have, Carry a weapon. No, not a gun you silly people.  When diving in waters where you’re likely to come face to face with sharks, carry a spear gun or a pole spear. Of course this doesn’t mean that you should provoke an attack. No teasing or taunting the sharks. And don’t think you are Superman either by letting yourself be fooled into thinking you’re invincible with one of these weapons.  However if you are attacked, having one of them may help save your life. 

4. Dress appropriately. Okay for number four, I am sure I will get the evil eye from all of you women who spend countless hours searching for the perfect swimsuit. But I bet you wouldn’t be so fond of that swimsuit if it caused one of our ocean friends to come check you out. Stick to dull colored swimwear and wetsuits. Bright flashy colors such as yellows, or those with high contrasting colors, can attract sharks. Something else you should avoid wearing in the water is jewelry. Tell all your spouses this is the one instance where it’s okay to take off your wedding rings. The reflection of light off of the brightly colored metals is similar to the reflection of light from a fish’s scales, making you look like food.  You don’t want any of these big fishes thinking you are lunch, do you? Nope, I didn’t think so. 

And while they might save your life, brightly colored flotation devices can also attract sharks. However if you are in the open ocean, you must take into consideration that these colors also make you more visible to rescuers should you need one. 

5. Be vigilant. You have to always, always be watching out for any hazards you might encounter while swimming, surfing or diving. We at MMR take pride in all the safety measures we go through when we are going to be in the water studying any type of shark. We are aware of everything from the clarity of the water, to the weather conditions and any fishing happening in the area. And if you spot a shark, you better watch it like a hawk. Don’t let it out of your sight until you are safely on shore or in a boat. 

6. Move gracefully. You don’t have to be an Olympic swimmer to adhere to this tip. All it takes is for you to avoid splashing on the surface of the water, swim smoothly and avoid sudden or erratic movements when in the presence of sharks. All these might draw attention to you, or worse yet, give you the appearance of being wounded. There’s no easier way for a shark to catch his dinner than spotting wounded prey. So if you see a shark nearby while you're diving, stay as still as possible to avoid attracting its attention or threatening it.

7. Swim in a group. Regardless of the danger of sharks, you should avoid swimming alone. It’s just not safe, folks. Sharks are less likely to approach and attack a group of people, and if one member of the group is attacked, help is immediately available. Here at MMR, when we go on a dive with sharks, one member of our group is solely responsible for doing nothing else other than watching the sharks and looking for changes in their behavior.

8. Recognize aggressive behavior. Number eight is very important. If you are going to be in the water with sharks, you have to have some amount of knowledge about their behaviors. Sharks swimming slowly and smoothly are generally not a threat. Even if they approach divers, they are generally just saying “Hi, I wanted to see what you are” out of curiosity. Now if it starts making sudden movements, swimming quickly or erratically, or if it shows signs of aggression or irritation—pointing its pectoral fins down, arching its back, pointing its head upward, zigzagging, or charging—it may be considering an attack. It’s time to get the heck out of there if this happens. Swim quickly and smoothly to safety. 

9. Stay out of the water at night and during dawn and dusk. No moonlit skinny dipping, kids. You saw what happened to that chick in the movie Jaws, right? Sharks hunt most actively at these times, and they're harder for you to see in dark conditions. Also in shark-prone areas try to avoid overcast days. These light levels are similar to those at dawn and dusk—feeding times.

10. Stay out of the water if bleeding. This one I think is pretty self-explanatory. No blood and no open wounds. Most sharks can smell blood from a mile away so even if you don’t see any when you get into the water, you should assume one will be along shortly.

And believe it or not, ladies you need not be concerned if you want to swim during your special time of the month. Certain types of feminine products remedy this, and the amount of blood released in a 30-45 minute dive would be exceptionally minuscule. It’s true, I wouldn’t tell you this if it weren’t.

11. Avoid provoking sharks. If you do this, then you are just plain crazy. Would you poke at a growling grizzly bear or taunt a rattlesnake? I sure hope not. But I bet you’d be shocked to know that a little less than half of all documented shark attacks result from harassment of sharks, particularly by divers. People, all you have to do is use common sense and give sharks plenty of space. Remember when you are in the water, you are in their house. Would you be rude to a friend when invited over to their house for dinner? Didn’t think so. So do not attempt to catch or prod sharks. Don't corner them, and don't try to get close enough to them to photograph them. Doing so will likely not have a good end result for you. If you really want a picture of a shark, buy one of Masen’s—He’s trained to take them.

Well that concludes my blog post for today. I hope you have found it to be entertaining and helpful as well. And remember, sharks are friends, not food! 

See ya next time,

Gopher