[milan72]

Hi all,

Yes I am new to kayaking and yes I am also being a little on the cautious side when it comes to sharks :?

I have read so many posts re the shark shields that cost hundred of dollars with some strong and some dubious accounts of its effectiveness.

Has anyone heard of shark camo ( http://www.sharkcamo.com )? Seems like a credible concept. Would like to hear others opinions and thoughts. For a price of $39.95 for a kayak I am thinking that maybe it wouldn't hurt, unless of ourse for some reasons it attracts sharks :shock:

Cheers,

Milan

 

[Dodge]

Gday Milan and welcome to the forum.

Had a look at the link and think its another site pandering to peoples fears, everything there was doom and gloom, and his product would solve any perceived risk.

We put eyes on our hats to stop the magpies so maybe eyes on the kayak bottom may scare Mr Big equally as well.

When you read the worlds kayak forums you have to balance the many thousands of hours spent on the water trouble free to the odd encounter; and surfers and swimmers have done it for years without shields or patterns.

Its really a case of your own summation and the threat perception, which I would regard as minimal in local waters, but I certainly wouldn't ridicule anyone who wants any shield options

 

[DGax65]

Milan
Sharks do not rely on visual cues when hunting their prey. They can detect scent and vibration over great distances in the water. The shark is going to know that there is a large unfamiliar object in the water well before he sees the patern on the bottom of your yak. If the shark takes the time to look at the pattern on the yak, it probably has already decided that you aren't food. Those vertical attacks on seals that you see on television are probably triggered by silhouette and contrast more than by pattern. A shark that is hurtling up at you from the depths probably wouldn't see that cool pattern on your yak until about 3 miliseconds before it slams into you. That fingerprint pattern looks nice, but I doubt it would provide any measurable deterent. I don't know if the shark shield is as effective as claimed, but I would rather go with an active deterent than a passive system.

 

[Magicrik]

lmao........thats one of the most stupid things ive seen.
Hi Milan
welcome to the forum mate.
Its a con. you might as well as put daffy duck on your yak for all the good it would do.
The reason for this is:
Sharks use sight as a last option and plus if its a GW that about to attack you having a pretty pic on your yak is pointless as a GW rolls its eyes into the back of it head to protect them.
sharks use EMP to hunt with
here some info:
The ampullae of Lorenzini are small vesicles and pores that form part of an extensive subcutaneous sensory network system. These vesicles and pores are found around the head of the shark and are visible to the naked eye. The ampullae detect weak magnetic fields produced by other fishes, at least over short ranges. This enables the shark to locate prey that are buried in the sand, or orient to nearby movement.

Recent research suggests that the ampullae may also allow the shark to detect changes in water temperature. Each ampulla is a bundle of sensory cells that are enervated by several nerve fibers. These fibers are enclosed in a gel-filled tubule which has a direct opening to the surface through a pore. The gel (a glyco-protein based substance) has electrical properties similar to a semiconductor, allowing temperature changes to be translated into electrical information that the shark can use to help detect temperature gradients.

Hope that helps some more

 

[RedPhoenix]

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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[Magicrik]

Oh yeah one more thing if you want to see how much of a chance you would have if a GW wanted to take you out see if you can find the doco on "Seal Island in south Africa" its one of the best shark docs ive ever seen.
People think sharks are dumb :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[milan72]

Thanks for your replies guys,

I think I will save my forty bucks. :roll:

I had a general idea that maybe it was not so effective but it does look good - especially on a surf board

Cheers.