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10-08-2014, 09:22 AM | #1 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 754
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Great White Shark Attack Paddle vs Pedal Numbers
After the recent great white strike on two Hobies, a lot of people blamed the pedal drive. I wanted to see for myself how the numbers stack up. I've kept pretty good records of all the white shark on kayak strikes in California since the first attack on an angler in 2007. It was time for an update anyway.
Give it a look. Since 2007, the score stands at 7 paddlers vs. 5 pedalers. If we limit it to kayak anglers only, it's 5 pedalers and 4 paddlers. That leads me to believe it doesn't matter what you drive if you come across an aggressive shark at the wrong time. In case you're interested, there have been 17 great white attacks on kayaks since 1989, far fewer than on surfers and swimmers. Of those 17 incidents, two fatalities are more or less documented. Otherwise injuries are incredibly rare. Since I posted these numbers in a story for Kayak Fish Magazine, many people have rightly pointed out that it would be instructive to compare the raw attack numbers vs. the proportion of each kayak type. Until kayak manufacturers and dealers release that closely guarded information, we're at the mercy of on the water observation. Of course the proportion varies across the state. Completely subjectively, on a typical day Hobies outnumber paddle kayaks by at least 3 to 1 at La Jolla. In a Facebook post Jason Self put the number about the same up in Trinidad, 3 Hobies for every one paddle kayak, but he was talking about anglers (I think). Scroll down for that great white shark attack on kayaks in California listing I compiled. I attached it so you can all download it if you like. I invite you guys to take the data apart, all of it, not just the paddle vs. pedal question. Any statisticians here? I'm also looking to fill in a couple blanks on the spreadsheet and for additional information such as water clarity, whether anglers had fish on board (personally I don't think it matters), if they were using sonar at the time, etc. Here's the most pertinent part of my story for Kayak Fish Magazine: Quote:
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