www.theage.com.au/national/search-fails-to-find-missing-diver-20100210-nrix.html
www.theage.com.au/national/diver-missing-20100210-nsgp.html
I saw this report in the age yesterday saying a snorkler had gone missing from Half Moon Bay. He went snorkling at dusk on Tuesday evening and has not been seen since. His car is at half moon bay and his diving bag has been found but no sign of the guy. This is a terrible story and I really feel for the family!
Not that this is necessarily a shark incident but it got me thinking that there were rumours that the great white (pictured off Altona) had been spotted around Half Moon Bay but that it was being keept quiet. It would be tragedy if it turns out that this potential incident could have been avoided with a bit of public education/communication.
I have often windsurfed past dusk at Dendy St or Ricketts Pt (just around the corner from Half Moon Bay) but I'm pretty sure I'd think twice if I knew large sharks had been spotted in the area.
Hopefully things work out with the snorkler but take care windsurfing around dusk and dawn (which I do a lot)... I think I'll be doing more uphauling!
I can never work out why they kept so quite about the altona shark. I know they dont want to scare the public, but now look what has happend
i saw some kiters, kitesurfing down there the other day
There is no rips around there when the water is calm, so it could of only of been one thing, jaws.
the bay and sharks is one of the big conspiracy cover ups. Speak to dive boat operators and those that have spent a lot of time on the bay and you will hear of many "missing people". Bayside communities dont want bad media.
Hope the guy turns up alive.. fingers crossed.
I am sure we would all sail a little less stressed if this fella was not around.
Ever since I heard about that shark in the bay I've nailed 99% of my jybes!!
There was a whitepointer spotted at Cowes maybe 3 to 4 years ago during the Jan holidays and I'm pretty sure they closed the beach and put signs up for a little while?
Thats a fair point Fletch..
remember a while back a tagged white pointer came with in 100m of a swimming beach in the middle of summer in NSW or QLD?? and the info only came out months later when they release the data and it hit the fan a little bit as to why this data was availble and not used to possibly protect swimmers??
Could be some liability there??
Anyway I think the white pointer seen off Altona is probably just one of thousands and thousands of sharks down our end.. probably a few of which are whites - and I am yet too see any one get chomped?? Although swimming across the channel for my gear at Margret river last week - the thought does cross your mind!!
I had a fairly large fin pop up in front of me wavesailing at Sandy point in Dec... that was a big fin too!!
Not sure we need to assume a shark attack just yet. Could be heart attack, life insurance job, escape the missus for his mistress, North Korean sub (a la Holt).
Or perhaps he got run over by a windsurfer...given that topic was well-discussed a little while ago and has gone suspiciously quiet! ;)
Select to expand quoteCambodge said...
North Korean sub (a la Holt).
kawindsurf said
got a feeling in me gut it might of been a north korean sub too
The big shark in the Bay was confirmed to me by a very reliable source who saw it off Sandy during the Sail Sandy regatta just before Xmas. He said it was big, around 4 metres but not a Great White, most likely a bronze whaler.
Let's hope this is not a Shark attack and the bloke turns up alive and well.
Select to expand quotemr love said...
He said it was big, around 4 metres but not a Great White, most likely a bronze whaler.
So we have had 2 big sharks in the bay this year well thats great to hear. i hope every ones jibes are all good
after sailing in some sharky spots in WA,,,, i have no fear of sailing in the bay....
apart from the jellys 
I think you would have to be pretty unlucky to be snapped up on a windsurfer. Reltavely speaking we dont spend to much time in the water. I have always felt more comfortable on a windsurfer than the surfboard.
I think there has only been one fatal shark attack on a windsurfer in aus. 1999 on Yorke Peninsula (good sailing though) by a great white.... Unfortunately the surfers dont fair so well.
Having a black wetty on, with flippers.... makes you a bit of a seal. They say sharks attack humans in confusion... so if they are eating seals and you look like a big one... well....
I have a theory that that is why body boards are often taken... where as surfboards and windsurfers, especially with a sail flapping around... is a bit different to them instinctly....
There! I have made us all feel good now
And I TOO, also believe that this guy, widdle kimmy, has something to do with the missing diver....
Lol. Seriously though, I used to surf every weekend up the Gold Coast - Bull shark capital of OZ 
And we usually went early hours of the morning - feeding time, and especially in the murky storm weather - surfers and divers are generally a more higher risk....
And surfing we used to go to places like Curumbin Alley, Point Danger (Dbah) - which opens to the Tweed River, and both spots are full of sharks migrating... yet attacks are "reasonably" rare...
Once had a bull shark swim near us in the Tallebudgerra Creek, told the clubbies and they said "don't worry mate, heaps go through all day... nothing to worry about..." and there were kids swimming just near us.....
maybe its just QLDers.... but up there they don't seem too fussed... even swimming in the canals... no dramas... BUT I am not encouraging swimming in canals!!!!!
There is a bit of irrational fear in this thread. Consider the following:
1. You can't possibly assume that the only or likely cause of death/disappearance in this case is shark attack. I can of many other possible explanations - heart attack, stroke, seizure, entrapment, murder, drowning due to other causes, blue ring octopus sting, etc. Some posters need to turn on their critical faculties and hone their logic! Disappearance of diver + no rip does not automatically = shark attack.
2. As for conspiracy theories on shark sightings/attacks being hushed up - what the ???? Local rags salivate over those opportunities to hook in an audience. People LOVE terrifying shark stories just like they have a morbid fascination for stories on plane crashes and other rare catastrophic occurrences. And who would have the ability to hush up those stories? No one I can think of. It would take a lot of money, power, coordination and an impressively quick response time to intercept a bay shark story.
3. As for the Shark Shield website - that is a company trying to sell stuff to fend off sharks. It is in their interest to foster fear if it means more sales.
4. Of the windsurfers that have died on the water, how many deaths can be attributed to sharks? Bugger all I'm guessing. The last windsurfing death I think of involved a heart attack. And that was years ago. While possible, the likelihood of a fatal shark attack for us is surely very, very low.
On to the jellies. Everyone should consider making contact with one. Unless you have an allergic response (rare), you will experience a mildly irritating (and kind of intriguing) rash for maybe an hour or two. It's worth doing so that you get over your fear and don't wimp out of that attempt at a forward. People around Melbourne are freaking out over the Blue Blubber Jellyfish and it's utterly irrational. I totally agree they look irksome and creepy, but they're less painful than a Bee sting or Bull Ant bite.
I hope you're all able to get over your less-founded fears and just go and enjoy the water! Life's to short to be disabled by irrationality.
OK scottw smarty pants...but I note you have no come-back on the widdle kimmy theory. So following through the logic when all other possibilities and impossibilities have been discounted we are left with only the truth. Arise widdle kimmy - you've been nabbed!
Forget the shark shield and get a pair of scissors!
Fletch Its your job to update us on the latest with this case. Either put our minds to rest or start a jaws fear. Can't find anything on web. Was he found? What was the outcome?
The police were still searching today, couple of divers and a boat with them. The copper chopper also came for a look for a few minutes..
Scottw, well said.
Latest is that the police are thinking possible staged disappearance. And possible cardiac arrest..... nothing sharky thus far.
