My rule of thumb with marine life is that if the creature approaching me is bigger than me and the boat combined, I’m outta there. Possibly by revving my feet so fast that I plane over the water like Wile E. Coyote after the Roadrunner.
The picture is taken from this article in the Sept. 2005 issue of “Africa Geographic” on great white shark research in South Africa. In search of a way to observe the sharks, the researchers opted for kayaks. As the authors Tom Peschak and Michael Scholl note, “sitting in a 3.8 metre sea kayak and watching a four-metre great white approach you is a fairly tense experience. Although we had extensively tested the sharks’ reactions to an empty kayak and had observed no signs of aggression, this gave us little comfort as we eyed a great white heading straight for us, albeit slowly. Just a metre or so from the craft it veered off, circled and slowly approached from behind. It did this several times, occasionally lifting its head out of the water to get a better look. Then it lost interest and, as it continued on its way, we were able to follow a short distance behind.”
