"Look at that. Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, bull shark."
After one of the gloomier weeks for Sydney surfers, five bull shark hits, one kid all but dead, a surfer might lose his leg, the water has cleared, the clouds have parted and a four-foot south-east swell has kicked off the weekend.
A little swish in the warm green water revealed little bull shark paranoia within, rare for your ol pal DR who is wildly sensitive to the idea of being un-alived or made into a amputee ’cause he wanted to ride a few head-high waves.
Back to normal-ish, you could say. Like Bondi after the Hanukkah murders. Normal. Ish.
Anyway, two days back, Newcastle shark fisherman Joel Nancarrow, a man with “a deep dislike for bull sharks”, reeled in a half-ton bull shark just off the beach at Camp Cove. It’s the prettiest of the Sydney Harbour beaches, north facing means it eats up the sun all day, and at the southern end, oowee, my pal Omer has the sweetest cafe you could ever imagine. Order the Salted Sardine Bruschetta or the Smoked Eggplant with Tahini and pomegranate.
“I’ve never fished down in Sydney before and found the sharks so fast. There were people swimming when I was fighting this one,” Nancarrow wrote. “I was at Camp Cove next to the pink public mooring. Please don’t swim off boats at the moment.”
Anyone who might’ve wondered what happened to this majestic bull shark, one of the kings of Sydney Harbour, will be pleased to learn it was given a final tour of the harbour’s many sights, including the Sydney Opera House, one of the world’s most iconic buildings, perched on Sydney Harbour’s Bennelong Point there, and designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon.
(A curio of the design competition process was Utzon’s design being thrown in the trash only to be retrieved by Eero Saarinen – you got a tulip table? That’s a Saarinen – and then successfully advocating for it.)
“Look at that,” says Nancarrow in a piece to camera. “Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, bull shark. How good’s that!”
Below the line was a battle between the realists and the dreamers.
“Another potential human life saved! Well done champion, love your work.”
“Everyone should know the dangers swimming in the ocean by now. If a shark has a bite of me or even kills me I wouldn’t want that shark tracked down and killed, we are going into their environment and they are curious to see what is on the menu.”
“Ur a fucking grub mate! We’re the ones in the wrong u grubs!!”
“Come over to Bondi and get a few!”
Question, do you lean realist or dreamer?
Do you believe in a world where a small number men do the unpleasant biz that keeps regular people safe and fed or are you more a utopian where, ultimately, the planet lives in a cosmic harmony, a few eggs broken here and there, surfers and Jews etc, but otherwise all very nice?
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
Reckon those Bullies have got Fast as a Shark by Accept on speed dial in their ancient yet sharp devouring brainbox.
You know what I believe? I believe you Australians are a bunch of weirdos. Filming yourself driving around Sydney Harbour in your tinny showing a dead shark all the sites then posting it on social media is very very odd behavior. I don’t want to hear any more shit talking about Americans ok.
Mate, Did you see you profile picture.
Nice
Great way to help the situation….
classic dickhead Aussie
Takes a real douchebag to pose with your kill like that. I’m all for a well managed shark cull but there is absolutely no need for barbarism for an ego stroke. This type of behavior only feeds the wackos on the other side of the argument and ensures a common sense solution is never reached.
Cue 1 million Instagram shots of blokes holding a fish they caught while proudly smiling for the photo that no one has ever negatively commented on. You do know a bull shark is a fish yeah?
Yeah but the goal is to get the population in check. So achieve the goal without giving fodder to the opposition to call you a savage. I’m all for a shark cull as I said but just cull the shark no need to rage bait the environmentalists which is 100% what this is for. Anyone who parades around a corpse of anything to take selfies with has some issues. It’s one thing to be proud of your catch snap a pic with it on deck then prep the catch for eating or disposal but to motor around the harbor snapping photos with the dead animal framing landmarks in the background for amusement is just childish and gross. Show some respect to the animal you just killed. Its body isn’t a prop and treating it as such is disgusting.
We need real estate article or 2. For balance..
I prefer the world where everyone gets in and has a go at cutting the numbers down by fishing all rivers, harbours, beaches and coastal areas.
But realistically, a few hundred full-time fishermen for a couple of years could get the bull explosion back to more reasonable numbers…
Everything is fucked and grumpy. I just observe the world now. Hopefully a mass awakening of consciousness hurries the fuck up and people stop licking the anus’ of gluttonous reptiles.
Xox
Love an Israeli joint. If you’re ever feeling fruity and going through SF, Sabra by union square is the fucking titz. Lighting sucks, decor is random, menus are basically a word document, and you’ll end up having the best spread of two people at $25. And the eggplant fucking hits
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
You one of those weird veggie cunts Dez cuz that sounds fucked. More of a b and e roll with bbq sauce man myself and fuck those brioche rolls cuz it’s like having your brekky in a doughnut. No wonder we can’t win a world title anymore with most of the groms eating that weird shit ay haha
your mates cafe looks great. what a spot too.
Oh brother, it’s a dream.
love how you weave Jews in there
just for you.
I hate sharkweek
Saw my first bull shark fin this morn.
Was hitting a bait ball about 50m out.
Seemed content doing its thing with a couple of tasty looking birds floating between. Not worth the average surf but.
Also you’re getting no sympathy if you get hit at this point of the Sharknado
Gnarly stuff you all are dealing with there. Wish you and yours well.
Gnarly stuff here in the US thanks to you sharks.
Stay on topic
Stay on board.
Don’t get thrown overboard
Too late mate.
Not crazy bout Elvis so I’m good.
It’s like you have no appreciation for Snake Plissken’s acting skills
Who?
Xoxo
Maybe a lil bit of sympathy. Cresso must be pumping.
You think there’s a reason National Geographic chose Will Smith instead of, say, John John Florence for the Pole to Pole doc? An earnest question. Who could’ve told a better storyline?
Was bitch slapping Chris Rock on a stage on national television a prerequisite?
Not sure but eggplant is pretty gross.
No harm taking a bully out of the mix though- plenty of them about.
He is probably being a fuckwit parading it around on social media though.
Cracking open the Ov Window.
Strange times here- checked point yesterday just after lunch- OH, super fun 4 or 5 turns a wave and not a soul out there.
Leading into the Aus Day long weekend, still school hols.
Lucky you
Or better be lucky to be you
💦🍆
Xox
you don’t like Baba Ganoush (Middle Eastern) or Bhaigan Chokka (Indian) ? Both are amazing ways to eat Aubergine.
Worth a try, when eating at a good ethnic restaurant.
Baba Ganoush is OK I suppose- as good as eggplant gets.
Keep eye out for Bhaigan chokka if you like Indian food.
I’m not an eggplant guy either.