Hammerhead Shark "attack" at Grayton

My two kids would have been edging into the water for a closer look (and so would we I think). Sort of like the way jdarg told me she was looking at that rattlesnake over the weekend, poking and proding it, until someone wiser and more sensible told her that that was a poisonous snake she was messing with. Some people scream and panic when faced with nature; others are clueless.

I can?t wait to see how this is reported on the 11:00 PM news tonight in Tallahassee. Some of those kids are bound to have on-going psychological problems. Maybe the parents can sue the shark.

Food for Thought: More sharks see people in the water..than people see sharks.

The same kind of experience happened to us the last week of June. It was not in any way life threatening, but just the mention of "shark" and the memory of the movie "Jaws" puts a real fear in your mind.

There were about six of us about chest high in the water, loving every minute, when our daughter's boyfriend yelled, "Shark!" I thought he was kidding and was ready to drown him....when I saw everyone moving quickly toward shore (no easy feat for me).

All of us were out of the Gulf in seconds (seemed much longer!), but not before one of the two sharks swam right at me....just a couple feet away and coming towards me. Even though the sharks were only about three feet long, it still scared me. It also made me a bit cautious about going back in the water....but we did, just kept looking around for large objects swimming in the Gulf.

I've been swimming at Grayton all of my medium-long life and have never seen a shark in the water near me before. Now, I don't think these two could have "eaten" us or even taken a limb, but they still scared all of our group that was in the water.

What has happened in Nature to bring these animals to the Panhandle coast?

The 1994 net ban has brought back all species of fish to higher levels, including sharks.

Before that, commercial fishermen used gill nets longer than a football field to scoop up everything in their path. Such overfishing led to depletion of a variety of species and had a negative impact on the marine environment.

What has happened in Nature to bring these animals to the Panhandle coast?

fish (food) "happened" and of course the Gulf "happened." If the Gulf weren't so close to Grayton, we wouldn't have sharks around Grayton. :funn:

I guess the same question could be twisted to ask about the human animals, "What has happened in Nature to bring these animals to the Panhandle coast?"

Hi Everyone. I coming to visit the first week in August. Any advice on ocean safety with the kids? The adults are usually close by and we stay in groups. We don't let kids go very far out. Ages are 6 - 13. We have 10 kids in our group. Are there lifeguards at Grayton Beach? Does the water stay shallow very far out? I am always afraid my kids will walk off a sandbar. We stayed in Panama City last year and saw 3 sharks. I know they are in the water but these were very close to shore.

I am the safety lady on our group vacations so any helpful hints would be appreciated.

Thanks.

By the way.. I have been reading these posts for a couple of months. I love it.

I feel bad for those poor terrified tourists. I saw a small shark myself a few weekends ago while swimming in Blue Mountain Beach. I was with a friend and we watched it swim near us for a minute and then it went away.

I have always followed the advice not to go swimming between dusk and dawn, when the water is murky, or when the fish are jumping. And don't go past the second sand bar, because the really big sharks are out there.

Follow that advice and I believe that you are safe in the water.

What is the first sandbar and second sandbar?

Hi Everyone. I coming to visit the first week in August. Any advice on ocean safety with the kids? .

Make sure the little girls (or little boys if it applies) don't have on those "cute" sparkly bathing suits or wear shiny jewelry in the water--sharks are attracted to silvery bait fish.

Hi Everyone. I coming to visit the first week in August. Any advice on ocean safety with the kids? The adults are usually close by and we stay in groups. We don't let kids go very far out. Ages are 6 - 13. We have 10 kids in our group. Are there lifeguards at Grayton Beach? Does the water stay shallow very far out? I am always afraid my kids will walk off a sandbar. We stayed in Panama City last year and saw 3 sharks. I know they are in the water but these were very close to shore.

I am the safety lady on our group vacations so any helpful hints would be appreciated.

Thanks.

By the way.. I have been reading these posts for a couple of months. I love it.

The Beaches of South Walton has a Beach safety section that you would like to read. It also has a click through for tips on avoiding a shark encounter.
Your more likely to get hit by lightning than be attacked by a shark.
Here is the link.

http://beachesofsouthwalton.com/safety_info.asp

Have fun at the beach! and

What is the first sandbar and second sandbar?

Just what it sounds like - it will be apparent when you see them.

There is no lifeguard at Grayton Beach. They are here.

Shark threats are overstated because most aren't interested in people and most are not aggressive, but don't swim if menstruating, avoid dusk to dawn swimming, don't wear flashy jewelry or bathing suits with pics of sushi, stay close to shore, stay away from fishermen.

Worry more about rip tides, lightning, and skin cancer.

http://beachesofsouthwalton.com/safety_info.asp

but don't swim if menstruating, avoid dusk to dawn swimming, don't wear flashy jewelry or bathing suits with pics of sushi, stay close to shore, stay away from fishermen. Worry more about rip tides, lightning, and skin cancer.

You forgot: Don't play on the sand dunes; take the trash and toys off the beach at night; don't ride golf carts on the bike paths and "Enjoy a carefree day on the beach"

SJ I just love how you tell a story :clap_1:

I don't think I have ever seen so many parents screaming with fear and their kids screaming right back at them. The quick story is that about 20 small kids were on a big @ss float at the first sandbar and a few daddies were holding the float while standing on the bar. Someone spotted a shark. The water quickly cleared except for all of those screaming kids and daddies. Everyone was panicking just like the movie JAWS. It was chaos. The dads quickly tried swimming the big float filled with kids back to shore and I am sure it felt like it took them 30 minutes to do so. Kids were crying and screaming, scared to death. ( I am thinking relax. Breathe.) Our brave, local heros, Rick(local), Brian Wise (WaCo Ramblers), Kelly and JP (both work at RedBar) were going in to pull kids to shore. Everyone watched as the small Hammerhead (Rick says it was a Hammerhead but I couldn't tell) swam up and down the beach, very close to shore. No one was hurt, but there are a few kids who will be ruined for life with their shark experience. I say everyone who saw the shark should consider themselves lucky. It was a special moment. (Nothing like that kind of fear to make one feel small again.) ;-)

For those of you who did not read closely, there was no actual attack by the shark.

Good Lord. Did you get an emoticon package for your birthday?

Just what it sounds like - it will be apparent when you see them.

http://beachesofsouthwalton.com/safety_info.asp

Kurt, do you have me blocked? I just put up that link.

poor kids. good thing there was a rambler on hand. boy those ramblers are the hardest working guys in showbiz.....playing shows, working day jobs, fightin' sharks and saving babies.

poor kids. good thing there was a rambler on hand. boy those ramblers are the hardest working guys in showbiz.....playing shows, working day jobs, fightin' sharks and saving babies.

Our local heroes! :clap_1:

Kurt, do you have me blocked? I just put up that link.

Who said that?






I thought I heard something. :scratch:

Last year, we were at the public beach access in Santa Rosa, and a beach fisherman caught and reeled in a shark right up on the beach through the middle of a bunch of screaming swimmers. Since then, I never swim near anyone fishing, and ask those fishing to find a spot away from me (only if my family was in the water at that location first). I also never rent a condo near one of those fishing piers. I always thought it better to stay away from waters chummed by a bunch of kids baiting a hook.

I just looked at the tips to avoid a "shark encounter." All things I have heard before, but good to hear again. The only tip I have always found confusing relates to sand bars. Despite the above posts, I don't think it is easy to detect the first or second sand bars, and their locations are definitely not consistent. In some areas, the sandbars are easy to reach, and in others, they are far out. So I don't think that is an appropriate guidepost for children. Last year, when the teenage girl in Destin was attacked, it was reported she was on the second sand bar, though witness reports conflicted as to how far out she was swimming. The sentiment expressed on the Weather Channel program, "predators in the panhandle," was that she was too far out, and that, in a sense, she put herself in the wrong place and was to blame. My general rule, consequently, is to avoid as much risk as possible (I know the ocean is wild and there will be some risk), stay close to shore in 3-5 foot of water, and save the deep water swimming for the condo pool.

I love the beach and ocean, and know that there is some risk involved , but would appreciate any clarificaiton from a local ocean swimmer on the sand bar rule, and whether or not the local thinks that rule is really helpful. How far out in your opinion is "too far?"

saj - the sand bars move and shift, especially during storms. They disappear after major events. Sometimes and in some areas they are prominent and sometimes not. In general though if the water is at least fairly clear you can easily see them, especially from a walkover. The classic scene is the first sand bar 20-50 feet from the shorelins and the second 50-100 feet beyond that, but they can vary greatly. Sometimes there are none or one. It is harder to see the 2nd bar because it is farther out and usually deeper..

Fish and their predators (sharks) like to cruise in between the sandbars, but the main thing is to not go to far out even though sharks will come right up to the shore it is not as common as deeper water.

Currently, in Grayton, the first sandbar is approx 120' from the beach. The second sandbar is a good 650 ft from the beach (illegal to swim out that far). Sharks, including the one seen yesterday, will swim in the trough between the beach and the first sand bar while feeding. The drop offs near both sandbars are a place where fish like to hang out, thus you will commonly see sharks and Dolphins feeding there. Right now, the trough between the beach and the first sandbar may vary and be as deep as 5 or 6 feet. Even as close as 5 ft to the beach, water can be 3ft deep.

By the way, the second sandbar is nothing which you can stand on, unless you are much taller than Shaquille O'Neal. ;-)

Below is an example (not current) of the sandbars in Grayton with measurements from the beach to the high point of the sandbars.

ehh most those sharks want nothing to do with people. more people die from coconuts falling on there heads...

Also, aren't solid color bathing suits in colors other than yellow or orange better? We always get my son a plain light blue suit that is for the gulf and a wild patterned one for the pool.