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29/09/2004: "SHARKS and rubber boats.........food for thought!"
'Lessons learned' from the sharks episode of last Saturday is how necessary an anti-shark device is for people at sea in a life raft. When these big tiger sharks finally decide to bite, nothing is going to change their mind, no amount of shouting, hitting or kicking. And when they bite - the entire piece comes away. No spitting out of anything. South Australian shark bite celebrity, Rodney Fox was fortunate a white pointer mouthed his chest in 1964 and not a tiger shark!
An inflateable lifeboat without an adequate shark repellant aboard as a life-saving device is a foolish excercise in cost-cutting, yet this is how they all are!
The electronic POD and a powerhead (on a handspear) would be my suggestions of the minimum additions to all life saving craft, especially in Hawaii where there are plenty of tiger sharks.
Costly and extra bulk but that's information. Too many have already vanished at sea without a trace. We can guess their fate more clearly now.
Be prepared for the worst circumstances to happen. If these don't happen - great. Powerheads are lethal and as dangerous as a bad shark so some form of container with a seal might be necessary.
