“No matter what your instinct tells you, face the shark. You have to, because it's the predator-prey dynamic."
As Australia attempts to adapt to a new reality where Great White attacks on surfers have become more than an abstract concept, Kelly Slater, greatest ever etc, has issued timely advice on what to do if confronted by a shark.
And it’s real simple: get in its beak.
Kelly Slater says the predator-prey dynamic is the main reason you wanna get in front of the shark thereby upturning you from food to beast.
“If you ever find yourself in a situation in the ocean with a shark, face the shark,” says Slater. “No matter what your instinct tells you, face the shark. You have to, because it’s the predator-prey dynamic.
“See, if a lion is spotted, the game changes. With sharks, it’s no different. If you stare at a shark, it notices: ‘Oh, I’ve been noticed.’ I’ve seen some of those people who swim with sharks in Hawaii, the tiger sharks, doing experiments to film and show the reaction.
“The shark is 20 or 30 yards away; if you swim away, thrashing, the shark comes quickly. But as soon as you turn and face the shark, it slows down to half its speed and calms down; this happens because they’re investigating. Things that thrash around look like they’re dying, and sharks are the cleaners of the ocean.”
Kelly Slater’s advice brings to mind a terrific story by Nick Carroll from some years ago where he described being stalked by a shark and instead of steam-boating onto the beach he stuck his head underwater and stared the dreadful creature down, forcing the fish to flee for its life.
At the time, I thought it was one of the bravest and masculine things a man could do.
Have you tried?