Afraid of Sharks

It depends... is it a phobia or just a conscious fear? As in, can you control it, or do you start shaking, sweating, and sh....ing at the thought of swimming with sharks?

 How much you should be concerned is really relative to how much the fear effects your performance. If you can get offer the fear, I think the sharks will leave you alone, for the most part.

I didn't particularly like the idea of swimming out far into the ocean when I first started, and I still don't for training.  But when the race gun goes off, and there's 2000 other people out there, it all goes away.  Part of it is probably the odds at that point, and part of it is that it's a race.  I might not like being the last of the group. :-)  But in the middle, that seems ok.

The same thing sort of happens for me with riding the bike down hills "too fast."  Not in training, but race day is totally different.

Fact:  When you enter the ocean, you enter the food chain.

I still say race.

Lol - So I did open water swims in Australia this summer...

To the OP - Its ok to be scared but realisitically in an event you are safe!

I'm assuming you didn't get bitten...

To me, it seems like that should allay your fears, cause if they were dangerous, you'd have teeth marks.

Cue scary music.

Oh Crap - when exactly is seal season.................

I think about sharks EVERY time I am in the water.  I am terrified and I prefer swimming with my goggles fogged up a bit and in rough sea because of this.  Yes, odd I know.  I have once had a panic attack in the sea because I thought am sure I saw a shark, luckily it was in a race and I called the safety boat to come and get me.

But I do live in South Africa and sharks, including a Great White have been seen off our beaches.  In fact a Great White was spotted the day before we did a sea swim last month.  But saying all this, nobody has ever been attacked in our area and there are a LOT of us in the sea regularly.  Although I am terrified, you can get over it and sea swimming is now my favourite part of triathlons.  I try and get in the sea at least once a week, and now with Ironman coming up I have been OWS twice a week. 

I suppose there are things you can do to avoid attacks, like staying out of the water at dusk and dawn (or so I have heard).  Dont go swimming in the middle of a sardine run or near a seal colony.  But other than that....  How would you rather go?  Doing something you love or of boredom because you spent all your life on the couch?

I always thought I was safer in a group but lately the words "bait ball" seem to keep popping up in my head.  Especially after watching this video of a sea swim in Australia earlier in March..... 

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/Sharks-Hammerhead-Underneath-Swimmers-In-Surf-Lifesaving-Race-In-Sydney-Australia/Video/200903315242175?lpos=World+News_6&lid=VIDEO_1837063_Sharks+Close+In+On+Swimming+Race&videoCategory=World+News

I get the same thing when I'm surfing, more because you are just bobbing out there in the water with nothing to think about.  I've only seen one once (a great white) and that was when I was on an Assault Ship (USS Duluth) and luckily not in the water.

 Is it an unreal phobia?  Yeah, but we all have them.  I have a major phobia of Mountain Lions when I go trail running or mountain biking.

probability or not once you see a shark 2-3 ft next to you and you are 500 yrds from land.  you won't be so tough. 

Depends on the shark. And really, if I can see it, my odds are pretty good. If you're gonna  be scared, you should be more scared about the ones you can't see.

Cause they are always there.

Granted swimming like bait, and scuba are vastly different....

But, we dive around alot of big sharks, mostly without incident unless we are spearfishing.

Diving is more comforting because you can sit on the bottom and see them coming (mostly) and identify species and gather what risk you are in...

As others said, odds are pretty slim.

Remember you don't have to swim faster than the shark, just faster than the guy beside you