chepar - any opportunity for such sightings deemed to me by fate, I wholeheartedly offer to you...no strings attached. Whale sharks and hammerheads? - they're all your's with my blessings.
((S))((*))

I read several different accounts, all of which said he was 200 yards from the beach. Still too far IMO, but not as far as 400yds.

kamahinaohoku-

and I thank you very much for all of your "shark sighting opportunity points" :D - I've got all my family's deemed to me too.

It came from the Maui News. http://www.mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=15375
My husband said a friend of his who is at the Kama`ole Point Lifeguard station told him the guy was three hundred yards out.

But whether he was 200, 300 or 400 yards out, he was beyond the reef, in deep water and much further out than the average swimmer will ever go. The water was clear enough for him to see the shark clearly in the water. But when you get out that far, you are in their territory.

As I said, he was way too far out, but as he got back in most of the way by himself, and no lifeguards were there, nobody really knows how far out he was. Keawakapu is a gorgeous beach, but there are no lifeguards there.

Also, it's not very smart to go swimming in the ocean by yourself, especially when there aren't any lifeguards on the beach.

chepar, this is the scary thing, he and his best friend never saw the great white, they felt it. After it bumped my husband, it kind of swam the length of him then bumped his friend.

They consider themselves very lucky.

Not that I would want to get close enough to find out; but, aren't Whale Sharks harmless filter feeders?

Reply to <font color="blue">DawnCt</font>, Yes link below lists them as harmless: <font color="blue">marinebio.org/species.asp?id=47
<font color="black">
That being said, in my own experience-having been stepped on by a &quot;harmless&quot; dairy3:O,#o any large animal could inadvertently cause harm especially when out of one's normal element. One of the reasons we continue to visit Molokini is the slim chance of seeing one there.</font></font>

On another note, found Discovery channel's recent airing of &quot;Killer Jellyfish&quot; fascinating, it focused mainly on Australian waters but surprisingly even had a small segment on Waikiki beach.

Hi Dawn,

Whale sharks are harmless to humans and are the ocean's largest fish. They are amazing animals.

Hammerheads are not regarded as generally dangerous - although they have attacked very rarely.

The &quot;BIG THREE&quot; are Great Whites, Makos, and Bulls. (Some add Oceanic Whitetips to the list, but they are open-oceangoing, so people don't come into contact with them much.)

Twice, my husband and I have paid to swim with Caribbean black tip reef sharks on a 40' dive in the open ocean in the Bahamas.

As a frustrated erstwhile marine biologist, sharks are one of my favorite animals.

To be in the open ocean within arms' reach of one of the most enduring and stunningly-designed creatures on the planet is truly awe-inspring.

To know that you are essentially in the zoo animal's cage is an incredble experience.

The chances of anyone encountering a shark while swimming are exceedingly small, and the chance of getting bitten is roughly the same as being hit by a speeding Greyhound bus.

The majority of people bitten by sharks are spearfishing, surfing or grabbing said shark by the tail.

I've been snorkeling and diving literally hundreds of times, and have seen sharks only a handful of times. The one time I have seen a dangerous shark (a bull), was very exciting (to me), but uneventful.

Anytime we are swimming in the ocean, we need to remember that we are in an environment where we can encounter wild animals. (And it's THEIR home, NOT ours.)

Luckily, we are not on the menu. Most times attacks occur when people are in murky water or are mistaken for prey. (Seals look disturbingly like surfers on surfboards from below.)

Go swimming - not at night and not in the morning. Don't worry. :)

Mr. GoTravel just corrected me. It wasn't a great white but a horn shark that bumped him.

Appears some are having a white Xmas to remember: <font color="blue">www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10600884/</font>