Most of us have seen the movie Jaws and are terrified of Sharks. As Lifeguards, we do our best to be vigilant and warn you of Sharks. In the off chance that you come face to face with a Shark, here are some helpful tips to be safe.
Step 1: Remain calm, don’t panic! Avoid splashing around, this will only excite the shark and make him even more interested in you. Sharks don’t have hands to reach out and grab you so their only option is to use your mouth, this is why they bite. By remaining calm, you can decrease your chance of being bitten, which is a sharks way of exploring things.
Step 2: Maintain eye contact. Now we know this sounds weird, but it is important that you keep your head on a swivel and never let the shark out of your sight. Sharks like to make surprise attacks from behind its prey. If you are constantly turning around and maintaining eye contact, it is less likely to attack you.
Step 3: Make yourself as big or as small as possible. If a shark is clearly in attack mode, you need to make yourself seem bigger than him. The bigger you are, the more respect you will get from the shark. If the shark hasn’t spotted you and is just cruising by, curl up into a ball and make yourself small. Sharks tend to see us as competition for food, so if you are really big they may become interested in you. By curling up, you look like less of a problem for the shark and they might leave you alone.
Step 4: Don’t play dead! If a shark is attacking you, don’t just go limp and pretend to be dead. Fight back! Punch, kick, poke, do whatever you can to give it hell. Be careful where you aim though and try to avoid the mouth area.
Step 5: Slowly back away. This is a difficult task but could really help put some distance between you and get to more shallow water. Remember though, do not splash around, swim slowly backward keeping the shark in sight. Do not make any sudden movement while swimming backward. Try to be a smooth as possible with your movements. The key is to be slow, do not try to swim away as fast as you can.
Sunset Beach Lifeguards 