sharks along sowal coast/ double red flags up???

[Rice2715]

anyone find a good article online about this subject let me know!! keep your eyes open for the bull sharks moving along the coast, double red flags went up today!!:yikes:


peace,love, and happiness
LR

[BlueFox181]

http://www.thedestinlog.com/articles/article.showarticle.db.php?a=1529

[jdarg]

So weird that you posted this- we noticed double red at Dune Allen and Ed Walline, but green at Blue Mt. Heading down to Grayton now.

Peapod just called- she saw her first shark at Camp Helen today!

[Smiling JOe]

interesting. I guess the purple flag, indicating "marine pests" was broken. Remember, the last two "attacks" we had along the panhandle occured around 11:00am-noon. These were also spotted around that time. I paddled beside two 6'-7' sharks last year in front of Grayton Beach SP for about five minutes. That was also around 11:30am. Humans are also tasty for lunch, in addition to breakfast and dinner.:shark:

I throw in the joke to lighten things up a bit, but I think Gary Wise made the appropriate call, closing the beaches earlier today.

[arkiegirl]

Ok, This is NOT what I am wanting to hear, as we are arriving in a few days. :yikes: I have a question on the flags. How does it work, who makes the call, who changes them, etc, etc.
We will be at Camping on the Gulf (where the girl was killed 2 years ago :cry: ) and there is no lifeguard on duty anywhere in that area. I know those flags dont just change themselves, so when the call is made to change it to purple or double red, how does that work??? I am thinking if there is "known" marine life in the area, you need to know asap (not 30 mins later). Is the property owner responisble to make the flag change?

How much weight do these flags hold?

Please explain and ease my mind :confused:

[Smiling JOe]

The SoWal Lifeguards operate under the SW Fire Dept, and it is the SWFD's duty to change the flags at only the public accesses. You can also see the current conditions on their site, www.swfd.org (http://www.swfd.org/). You will note that currently conditions are green flag, according to their site, but you will also read the following posted above the flag on that site:
"Calm seas. Please be aware that a green flag does not guarantee your safety."

Does that answer your question?

[ladyj]

The fire district checks beach conditions and sets the flags around 9 a.m. every day and again in the afternoon somewhere around 2 p.m.
They will only change them at other times if there's an obvious reason to do so such as...well.. SHARKS!:yikes:
Oh, and, the purple flags are not used to indicate sharks in the water. Those are for jellyfish, red tide and such. They either don't post anything or close the water with double reds if there are sharks nearby.

[SGB]

The lifeguards went up and down the beach to get everyone out of the water when the sharks were spotted. The flags were changed to double red. They watched the sharks until they (hopefully!) swam out of the area and away from shore and then changed the double reds back to green. So even though there aren't lifeguards the whole length of the beach, if a shark is spotted, the lifeguards will alert those on the beach in other areas, or at least they did today.

[ATJoe]

:shock: :shock: According to the linked article, a 7-8 foot shark was heading for a group of swimmers 5 feet.....again for emphasis.....5 feet from the shoreline?! How the #$&* deep is the water two steps from the shore?

I guarantee in a couple of weeks when I'm basking in those emerald green waters, if somebody yells "Shark!!", I'll be leaving a chum slick as I make my way to the beach. Egads.

[Smiling JOe]

ATJoe, I've seen the water be 3ft deep within one step from the water's edge.

[ATJoe]

ATJoe, I've seen the water be 3ft deep within one step from the water's edge.

I'd never have guessed. :shock: I've fished abondoned quarries that had less drop off than that.

[jdarg]

Ok, This is NOT what I am wanting to hear, as we are arriving in a few days. :yikes: I have a question on the flags. How does it work, who makes the call, who changes them, etc, etc.
We will be at Camping on the Gulf (where the girl was killed 2 years ago :cry: ) and there is no lifeguard on duty anywhere in that area. I know those flags dont just change themselves, so when the call is made to change it to purple or double red, how does that work??? I am thinking if there is "known" marine life in the area, you need to know asap (not 30 mins later). Is the property owner responisble to make the flag change?

How much weight do these flags hold?

Please explain and ease my mind :confused:

You are swimming in the Gulf. Nobody "knows" when sea creatures will show up. It is your responsibility to watch the flags, but more importantly, watch the water and your kids. As SJ said, a green flag does not guarantee anything. It is posted based on current conditions. The flag could be changed, the fire dept. personnel can leave, and 5 minutes later a shark could swim up.

[seagroovin]

sharks, especially bulls, hammerhead, spinner, sandbar, and makos are daily commonplace to this area...people need to exercise extreme caution in the water, remember the gulf is their home

[peapod1980]

You are swimming in the Gulf. Nobody "knows" when sea creatures will show up. It is your responsibility to watch the flags, but more importantly, watch the water and your kids. As SJ said, a green flag does not guarantee anything. It is posted based on current conditions. The flag could be changed, the fire dept. personnel can leave, and 5 minutes later a shark could swim up.

sharks, especially bulls, hammerhead, spinner, sandbar, and makos are daily commonplace to this area...people need to exercise extreme caution in the water, remember the gulf is their home
So true. At Camp Helen today, I was already on alert because a man was fishing in approximately waist-high water; I told my kids to stay away from where he was fishing. Guess my instincts were good, because not too long after, the man's companion came down the beach to let me know there was a shark nearby and to keep the kids close to shore and watch them. The shark left and later returned, and this time, we saw him. The kids were a little reluctant to swim again but not freaked out, which I figured was a healthy response. Both people who warned us today also encouraged us not to be afraid of being in the water but simply to be on watch.

[Rice2715]

http://www.thedestinlog.com/articles/article.showarticle.db.php?a=1529

thanks for the link......only once have i been very close to a shark while snorkeling in the gulf...and it was only a small sand shark.. i am with the other guy, there would probably be a chum trail left behind if i seen a big shark :rolling:

[yippie]

This was in today's Daily News:





Sharks close beach
Aggressive bulls scare swimmers in Walton
By HEATHER CIVIL heatherc@nwfdailynews.com*


****SANTA ROSA BEACH — Bull sharks swimming near the shore late Thursday morning in Walton County forced hundreds of swimmers from the Gulf of Mexico.
****Lifeguards spotted five or six large bull sharks swimming just off a 3.5-mile stretch of beach from Gulfview Heights to Dune Allen Beach at about 11 a.m. Officials closed the water to swimming for about two hours as the sharks swam as close as 15 feet from the beach.
****“We had one in particular that made a very aggressive approach to a group of four swimmers,” said Gary Wise, beach safety director for the South Walton Fire District.
****One of the sharks was about 10-feet-long, he said.
****After they left the water, many people stayed on the beach in hopes of catching a glimpse of the sharks.
****Bulls are among the most dangerous sharks and have killed and injured swimmers in the gulf. Officials believe a large bull shark killed 14-yearold Louisiana resident Jaimie Marie Daigle in the gulf two years ago.
****That attack occurred in Miramar Beach, about a mile west from where the bull sharks were seen Thursday.
****Judy McDonough saw the sharks near the beach access at Ed Walline Park just before the lifeguards ordered people out of the water. She said she heard a whistle blow and the lifeguards yelling at everyone to get on the beach.
****“I was just glad they were watching and told everyone to get out of the water,” she said.
****Several species of shark live in the gulf and there are sightings almost every day, Wise said.
****Thursday was different because of the sharks’ behavior, he said. They seemed especially interested in people and got too close for comfort.
****“They came right into the shore,” he said.
****Wise advises swimmers who spot a shark nearby to get out of the water until it leaves.
****That’s especially good advice with bull sharks, which are known for their aggressive nature, Wise said.
****Tanya Deer and her 9-yearold son, Jack, weren’t taking any chances when they saw fins in the water. They left the beach for a few hours and came back later. However, Jack was disappointed he couldn’t get a closer look at the sharks before he left.
****“They were cool,” he said.


****Photos by RICHARD OWEN | Florida Freedom Newspapers The shadowy form of a bull shark swims Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico close to an unaware kayaker near the beach access at Goatfeathers Restaurant in Walton County. Although sightings occur nearly every day, the five or six sharks seen Thursday seemed especially interested in swimmers, said Gary Wise, beach safety director for the South Walton Fire District. Top left, Walton County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Gray drives his truck along the beach Thursday after sharks forced hundreds of swimmers out of the gulf. The water was closed to swimmers for about two hours until the sharks left the area.









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[Landlocked]

From our last trip.....

They came through every day we were there.

http://www.sowal.com/bb/gallery/files/5/6/1/FloridaBeachTripOctober2006207Small.jpg

http://www.sowal.com/bb/gallery/files/5/6/1/FloridaBeachTripOctober2006212ssSmallSmall.jpg

[dbuck]

Hey LL! When were you down? How is everyone?

[iwishiwasthere]

From our last trip.....

They came through every day we were there.

http://www.sowal.com/bb/gallery/files/5/6/1/FloridaBeachTripOctober2006207Small.jpg

http://www.sowal.com/bb/gallery/files/5/6/1/FloridaBeachTripOctober2006212ssSmallSmall.jpg


:yikes: :eek: :yikes:

[Skee]

We were down the first of June. Fortunately it was a Porpoise.
Coming down again July 14-21.

[NoHall]

I was talking to some of my Gainesville buddies last night, who were staying in Dune Allen last week. They told me that they were standing in the ocean when all of this happened. One of the sharks swam right up to them (3 to 5 feet of water, right at the shore.) The parents on the beach thought it was a ray, and the ones in the ocean thought it was a dolphin. One of them even made the comment, "Ha--what if that was a shark?!"

They said that it didn't seem particularly interested in them, kind of like a dog sniffing a hydrant. Within a few minutes they were cleared out of the water by the proper authorities...:idontno:

I guess it pays to eat a lot of garlic and not shower before going into the ocean--?:blink:

[Rita]

:yikes: :eek:

Hi, LL! Good to see your post! How's the construction biz? We miss you ................

[BlueFox181]

Some good info...:shark:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vByE33GAA58

[reece]

we saw sharks a few times during our stay down in seagrove, near summer's edge during the second week of june. they were mostly near the first sandbar, but once we saw a small one just about 10 feet off the shore.
fortunately, the water was crystal clear and everyone could see them, so we had fair warning to get out of the water. they seemed disinterested in people.
we also saw a couple of dolphins, which everyone thought were sharks at first, but they weren't. it was so cool. i love seeing those animals, as long as it's from a safe distance :)

reece

[yippie]

Ok, This is NOT what I am wanting to hear, as we are arriving in a few days. :yikes: I have a question on the flags. How does it work, who makes the call, who changes them, etc, etc.
We will be at Camping on the Gulf (where the girl was killed 2 years ago :cry: ) and there is no lifeguard on duty anywhere in that area. I know those flags dont just change themselves, so when the call is made to change it to purple or double red, how does that work??? I am thinking if there is "known" marine life in the area, you need to know asap (not 30 mins later). Is the property owner responisble to make the flag change?

How much weight do these flags hold?

Please explain and ease my mind :confused:

Look you gotta use some common sense as well.

Never and I mean Never swim at dusk or dawn. Those are shark feeding times.

Do not wear shiny things in the water, all those bling bling's get sharks attention.

Those small school of cute fish that swim around you... get away from them. Big fish eat small fish.

Don't swim where people are fishing.

And if you are on your period, don't go in the water.

[Beach Runner]

Thanks for the info. Now I know what color I'll use for my beach mani/pedi. I have been into orange mode http://home.earthlink.net/~beachrunner/gatorSmiley.gif, but I know from experience that bright polish attracts little fishies. So I will use a neutral color to avoid the big fishies.:yikes:

[NoHall]

Hop took NoHall for a surfing lesson early one morning.

Hop: "Fish are jumping out there; that's probably not good."

NoHall: :shock:

Hop: "If you see a shark, you should probably get out of the water as fast as you can."

NoHall: :eek:

But did we stop surfing? Heck, no. Did I put a lot more effort in my paddling? You bet I did.

Some people call them predators; Hops call them motivation.:wub:

[Bob]

now this would be a shark

[ATJoe]

now this would be a shark

Some people call them predators; Hops call them motivation.:wub:

I believe that goes well beyond motivation. :shock: