“I swear to God, this thing’s body was so fat, I thought it was somebody’s boat. I thought it was an orca..."
It’s shark season, again, in California. That time of year when Great Whites big and small come and enjoy the tasty waves and cool buzz that only the Golden State can provide. Now, surfers have long suspected that sharks may be near though conventional wisdom had them further north, patrolling Alcatraz, for example. Advancements in drone technology, however, have revealed they are everywhere and in droves. La Jolla, Huntington, Ventura and even Pismo Beach.
Yes, the Clam Capital of the World, equidistant betwixt San Francisco and Los Angeles, is famous for many things, including clams, clam chowder and clam digging. It is not famous for its surf but that doesn’t stop its hearty local for trying to find a corner. One, David Steiner, has been trying for 34 years and used to be fearful of the beasts malingering below. Waiting for a moment to nibble on his tender toes. Well, as fate would have it, Steiner became a drone enthusiast with a particular kink for capturing sharks.
“I started really watching what they were doing, and they were just ignoring surfers completely,” Steiner told the San Luis Obispo Tribune. “That kind of helps my mentality with staying in the water.”
Anyhow, late last month he was out flying his drone and he saw a beast making its way toward a group of surfers.
“I swear to God, this thing’s body was so fat, I thought it was somebody’s boat. I thought it was an orca. And then when I saw it was a great white, I was trembling,” he declared.
Worried, he tried to get the gaggle to head in. “I have tried flying my drone in people’s faces, and they don’t react anyway,” he continued. “They wave you off, they don’t know what you’re trying to tell them. There’s no speaker.”
They all eventually made it to shore without incident, one messaging Steiner later when he posted the footage, but his advice is, “Don’t be afraid of the water. The lack of incidents proves to me that they’re not interested.”
Be comforted here.
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I dig that.
Keep Clam and Carry On.
No IG account = No looky.
“In polling, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation found that Australians were largely indifferent. However, pollsters were baffled to find a sizable contingent who were extremely anti-India and pro-Pakistan. Statisticians working for the pollsters worked to find the reason. They dug and they dug, and unfortunately the common data point was recent travel to or from Denpasar International Airport. This question remains unanswered to this day.”
These majestic creatures are so misunderstood.
What we really need is to develop a drone with a speaker so you can tell a crowded lineup that there’s a white underneath them and then go paddle out after the crowd thins out.
Mind drone business!
Ma-ma-ma-my SharkDrona
Hire some Eastern Europeans to make and pilot consumer drones to drop little “Shark Spotted” leaflets from 300 ft.
If the Ukranians can’t build one and
make it effective, no one can
I’ve got a waterproof floating fishing drone that can carry a payload of a few pounds, so dangling a phone from it with Baby Shark or the theme from Jaws as a call sound (depending on size of shark spotted) would be easy.
Or I could attach a big bait and land it right in front of shark to get attack footage, but dunno if it’d be covered by insurance if it gets smashed up.
Though could maybe sell the video to defray costs…
Sorry to inform you that your business idea has already been taken by DJI as they have had speakers available for certain drones for years now.
That great white is like a big, aggressive tariff that isn’t interested in killing your 401K after all.
Tick tock…..
These aren’t the droids you are looking for. Move along.
https://internationalecon.com/Trade/Tch90/T90-9.php
Tariffs can contribute to economic depression by increasing costs, reducing international trade, and triggering retaliatory measures from other countries. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which significantly raised tariffs on imports, is often cited as a major factor in exacerbating the Great Depression.
but did!
https://uploads.disquscdn.c… Trump said buy the dip.
God, imagine dying at the mouth of a shark because you’re surfing Pismo.
I regret surfing Pismo even when I do come back intact.
My buddy from San Luis Obispo used to harvest clams in the summer at Pismo . Usually they were just visiting from Bakersfield.
hey-yo
I got it good once
Lucky for them the shark just ate a couple of elephant seal pups off of Point Sal.
Pure hubris to think this north of point conception.
There was a big fat tiger shark that would occasionally cruise the lineup at a particular south side spot on Oahu when I lived there. Everyone acted like it was some funny thing to see him and they’d clear the lineup for however long it took for him to leave, give it 15 minutes or so then get back in.
It always struck me as odd that people were so unconcerned with a large predator that could devour them. They’d always say something like “if he’s letting us see him its because he’s not trying to eat us” which I guess makes sense, but still seemed a little risky.
wasn’t it nicknamed “The General” os some shit?
https://uploads.disquscdn.c… Take a look at Deep Blue, the biggest, baddest filmed to date. Talking the real Deep Blue, not that Deep Blue imitator “Haole Girl” that Ocean Ramsey swam with.
#3’s
In high school we named that part of the beach “DTB” (down the beach) – remember some days were so big I was never able to make it outside =(
Our great whites are nice little fellas, unlike those cunty Australian ones that like to bite.
Tell that to the guy who was killed surfing Morro Bay a couple years ago.
But, agreed, they seem less cunty.
Pretty amazing how few fatalities have occurred in California waters actually. Morro Bay guy was a booger which seem to be the choice of meal for California Whites.
There was also a fatal shark attack on a swimmer a few miles north of pismo in Avila beach. Maybe 12 years ago?
Sorry 22 years ago
There have definitely been some. “Weiner” got hit at the back of his boat in 1994 after urchin scouting, a few been whacked at Surf Beach, so they happen but considering that guy films them constantly at Santa Claus right next to surf camps, they constantly are around the corner north of Rincon, and seen regularly at the Islands, its pretty surprising there aren’t more fatal encounters. Granted the majority of the ones filmed around here are juveniles.
Not at all surprising given that there is a rookery/sanctuary less than 2 miles away and they have been seen many times plucking seals at D. Rock. Once again, likely juvenile shark.
Poor man went out in onshore brown storm run off. From Sacramento and didn’t know the dangers awaiting him. Shark was at least 16 ft., but also suspected to be much larger from the bite radius.
Always a mistake to go out in that shit.
It’s because all of the fentanyl that goes out the pipes into the Ocean. They’re freaking wasted on China drug….
Ha!
yeah lot of action on our east Coast as that’s where the juvenile GWS learn their hunting skills…where I grew up in Western Vic….only ever saw GWS’s that were 15′ plus….but plenty of seals…..no attacks….then there’s SA where there seems to a be a lot of attacks….maybe because they have so many cage diving business’s this has changed the sharks behavior…..el smucko is still gathering intel…..
Is that cuz the fishery is healthier in CA? I’m not a scientist
That could play into it but I wouldn’t know exactly. Lots of foods for them in terms of seals and such around here. Also, like I said, this is a known gathering area for juvenile whites but where there are small ones, gotta be big ones. There also is a tendency for them to concentrate more at the offshore islands since its abundant with pinnipeds. Thing about WA is that they are dealing with both Great Whites and Tigers plus multiple other cunty species that don’t exist around here.