l would like to learn how to surf but l am terrified of sharks! Have any surfers on here ever been attacked by sharks while they were surfing? What should you do if a shark comes near you while you're surfing! l would really like to learn to surf but l am seriously terrified of sharks!

you're more likely to drown than be eaten by a shark

lol, the only shark i've run into was a little sand shark; when l was a kid l went right in the water after seeing the movie ''Jaws''.

Bottom line is love casts out fear and you gotta love surfing more than you fear of sharks.

Think of good things like dolphins!

You're many times more likely to be killed in a car accident in a wreck on the way to the beach or be killed getting stung by a bee or bit by a dog.

You can take some simple precautions though.
-Do not surf at sundown or sunrise.
-Be very cautious about surfing around river mouths or inlets. -Paddle in if a school of bait fish surfaces near u & is breaking the surface trying to get away from something or if u see a shark big enough to concern you.

Oh yeah, if u see shark that is big enough to seriously scare u just remember that u do not have to be able to paddle faster than the shark can swim. You only have to paddle faster than the person next to you. ;-)

Just surf waves that are ultra crowded. It lessens your chances.You also have to find a way to get rid of that fear. If your always thinking about sharks when you surf, you will never have fun.Also, surfing mid-day on super sunny days is in my opinion the safest time.

It also helps if you surf in little bay like areas, sharks spend more time moving up and down the coast, they do not like to go into little coves.

when you start surfing all your fears go away, l guarantee that you will not think about currents, sharks or anything, just you trying to get that perfect wave you been waiting for


trust me on this

i love surfing, its my life l set aside anything and everything for it, fear, stress and anger

yea its really rare to see a shark that will actually eat you or even bite you

plus sharks would nible at you before they actually take a huge bite so between that time you can try and get to shallow water

also skin divers swear to it that if you stick your head under water and scream then this will actually scare of sharks

dw about sharks...theres not as many as the stupid television makes out to be

Sharks is one of your least worries. Worry about staying above water. No surfers have been attacked while surfing.. A couple have been bitten while out in the water. But those surferes knew how many and big of sharks were in there. Always surf in groups and you will forget about those big fish.

Imagine the number of breaks on say, one coast like cali or east Australia, there must be thousands., ,
http://adventures.worldnomads.com/destination/14/itinerary/88.aspx

Pretty much every day of the year u will have 5 to 1000 surfers at each break throughout the day.

How many shark attacks have their been in the last 10 yrs?
I've heard of about 4.(on the east c. of Aus)
But say there were 100.
Calculus : average 30 surfers a day per break/per year/ for 10 years : 30x3000x365x10 =328'000'000
that is 1 chance out of 3 million if there were 100 sh. attacks in the last 10 years. And that is not counting all the swimmers & so forth...
l do not fear...

Poke it in the EYE!! nah seriously.. if you are that scared then there is a leash that you can buy that sends electrodes through the water and this really pisses the sharks off. These products have been trialled and tested in SA and are meant to actually work. Hope this helped.

I've surfed many times and usually once l am at the beach, l totally forget about them since l get to go surfing. The best thing to do is not worry and just have fun.

just dont be a little bitchh and man up l puched a shark while bodyboarding and l do it almost every day
not punching sharks
but bodyboarding

well depends where u live. my dad lived in mexico for a while [hes a old surfer :D] & l guess when surfing he ran into a shark, it did not bother him it just scraped against his leg & he has a huge gash in it to this day. theres always danger in the world no matter what u do. l lived in hawaii [one of the most common places to find sharks] & it was HORRIBLE. l was doing North Shore once & saw one about 40 feet out from me, l swam for it! Its hard to get used to it, but its a lot of fun. Hope u get over the fear.