Sharky blog

It was kinda sharky this past weekend. We had our annual Memorial Day get-together at our spot this past Saturday and had some fun knee to thigh dribblers, but we ended up having to share them with several members of the family Carcharhinidae. There was a lot of thrashing about, so there must have been more than one. Plus, Burbo reported getting chased by one over on the West side, so there probably were a bunch of bait fish close to shore. It was scientifically interesting, but I prefer not to be tangled up in the food chain.

When we surfed Saturday morning, Thor got bumped by one and it made a run back out to sea and disappeared, only to turn back in again as we paddled for a set wave. I don’t normally associate sharks with any intelligence, but it seemed to know what it was doing because it snaked the peak about 10 feet from us and rode it all the way in to the beach. Pretty impressive ride — made even more so by the fact that a five-foot shark commands a certain bit of respect just by being there, let alone showing you that it can surf, too. Interesting that it chose to bump Thor before catching the wave. Now that’s localism. I thought this was supposed to be our spot.

So, having a Jacques Cousteau moment always serves to remind me that I am a visitor at best. And when you are in the water as much as I am, you get to see all kinds of interesting creatures. I hope I’m wrong, but I have an impending sense of doom as I watch the oil spill in the Gulf. I don’t think it’s a question of “if” the oil comes here, it’s a question of “when” and “how much.” There’s so much oil in the water that it can’t help but come our way eventually. I can only hope it’s not going to be as bad as I think.

As for surf this weekend, you’d better get out your longboard, because I don’t see much swell in the forecast. But if you’re looking for something fun to do, go to the Washout on Saturday and Sunday and hang out at the annual Wahine surf contest. It’s always a fun vibe, and the performance level of female surfing rises every year. Wonder if the shark we saw was a female? If so, she’d definitely win the heat.