18 Foot Great White off Cape Town, South Africa

[CraigSca]

Again, from cnn.com:

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- A Great White shark estimated to be at least 18 feet long (5.5 meters) has attacked and presumably killed an elderly South African woman off a beach near Cape Town, officials said.

Tyna Webb, 77, who lived in the area, was swimming Monday off Sunny Cove in Fish Hoek when the massive shark circled her and then attacked, witnesses and officials said.

About 15 people witnessed the attack.

"All that was left was a little red bathing cap," said Paul Dennett, who witnessed the attack from his home nearby.

Dennett told the South African Press Association that he estimated the shark to be at least 18 feet long.

Rescue workers were using boats and aircraft to search for the woman's body.

"All efforts to find the lady have been exhausted by a wide and thorough search. We are hoping that police divers will be successful in their efforts," Darren Zimmerman of the National Sea Rescue Institute told the SAPA.

Crews later spotted the shark.

Great Whites often are seen in the area feeding off the large seal population.

"The shark is bigger than the helicopter ... it is huge," institute spokesman Craig Lambinon told SAPA


I hope they don't kill this thing - how old must this shark be in order to get to 18 feet long?!

[Chief Rum]

Who would buy tickets to a Great White Shark versus Collossal Squid matchup?

CR

[Fritz]

"All efforts to find the lady have been exhausted by a wide and thorough search. We are hoping that police divers will be successful in their efforts," Darren Zimmerman of the National Sea Rescue Institute told the SAPA.

"Jones, hop in that water and have a poke around for the body that the 18 ft Great White ate."

[CraigSca]

My rule for searching for bodies is as follows:

if shark < helicopter then
ok
else
not ok;

[Blackadar]

77? She must have been chewy.

[Bonegavel]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

My rule for searching for bodies is as follows:

if shark < helicopter then
ok
else
not ok;

My rule is far more elegant.

if shark isInWater() {
bStayTheHellOut = 1;
}

[flere-imsaho]

"Nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure."

[rkmsuf]

Someone get Ricky Williams down there to wrestle it.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Someone get Ricky Williams down there to wrestle it.

It is Ricky Williams. He just had the muchies after smoking some weed.

[judicial clerk]

We're gonna need a bigger boat

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Bonegavel

My rule is far more elegant.

if shark isInWater() {
bStayTheHellOut = 1;
}

An odd thing. At my 20 year reunion an old highschool acquaintance asked several of us what was something we had done that was completely out of our character. I responded that my wife and I had gone swimming with sharks.

On our honeymoon in Tahiti, we did a lot of snorkeling(<--that could be QOTM material). Our guide would take us around an atoll, and show us all of these great spots with huge manta rays, beautiful fish, and sharks. One morning he gathered the five or so of us together, and asked us to hold onto a single life jacket. He wanted us all to stay in one place. For some reason, he singled me out. He looked right at me, and said "Do NOT swim away, no matter what". He dove down and speared a Parrot Fish, and returned to the surface to reiterate the need for us all to stay in place. He then returned to the sea floor, about fifteen feet below us.

Once there he ripped the Parrot fish in two, and waved it about in the water. It was actually amazing how quickly the sharks appeared. It seemed almost as if it was an instant shark mix he had spread about in the water. Certainly no more than ten seconds later, there were fifteen to twenty sharks swimming around us. They ranged in size from about three to six feet in length. He fed the pieces of fish to a couple of them by hand, and then returned to us at the surface. He indicated that sometimes at this location, there is a nine foot silver tip that shows up. He said that you either get a slew of smaller sharks or the one big one. If the silver tip shows up late to the party, he said the smaller sharks disappear just as quickly as they appeared.

[Bonegavel]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

An odd thing. At my 20 year reunion an old highschool acquaintance asked several of us what was something we had done that was completely out of our character. I responded that my wife and I had gone swimming with sharks.

On our honeymoon in Tahiti, we did a lot of snorkeling(<--that could be QOTM material). Our guide would take us around an atoll, and show us all of these great spots with huge manta rays, beautiful fish, and sharks. One morning he gathered the five or so of us together, and asked us to hold onto a single life jacket. He wanted us all to stay in one place. For some reason, he singled me out. He looked right at me, and said "Do NOT swim away, no matter what". He dove down and speared a Parrot Fish, and returned to the surface to reiterate the need for us all to stay in place. He then returned to the sea floor, about fifteen feet below us.

Once there he ripped the Parrot fish in two, and waved it about in the water. It was actually amazing how quickly the sharks appeared. It seemed almost as if it was an instant shark mix he had spread about in the water. Certainly no more than ten seconds later, there were fifteen to twenty sharks swimming around us. They ranged in size from about three to six feet in length. He fed the pieces of fish to a couple of them by hand, and then returned to us at the surface. He indicated that sometimes at this location, there is a nine foot silver tip that shows up. He said that you either get a slew of smaller sharks or the one big one. If the silver tip shows up late to the party, he said the smaller sharks disappear just as quickly as they appeared.

#Include <insanitycheck>
using namespace whacked

int main ()
{
printf ("Glengoyne is a lunatic!");
return 0;
}

[Hurst2112]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

77? She must have been chewy.

Ha! Reminds me of that Far Side cartoon with the two polar bears eating the igloos. The one says to the other how he loves these things! Crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy in the center.

Classic

[PSUColonel]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Again, from cnn.com:



I hope they don't kill this thing - how old must this shark be in order to get to 18 feet long?!

well, I think if a shark shows that kind of aggression towards humans, politically speaking..you must take it down. Also to check the contents of the fish's stomach. Sort of a nasty job, but neccessary I think.

[tategter]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

well, I think if a shark shows that kind of aggression towards humans, politically speaking..you must take it down. Also to check the contents of the fish's stomach. Sort of a nasty job, but neccessary I think.

Maybe she was swimming like a seal. To get that big the shark had to avoid pissing-off the humans for a loooong time, so I don't think it went after the old lady because it suddenly added human to its diet.

[PSUColonel]

Maybe his eye sight is failing!!

[tategter]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

Maybe his eye sight is failing!!

Or she smelled like a fish wrapped in bengay.

[JeeberD]

The shark obviously saw the " little red bathing cap" and thought there was blood in the water...

NEVER WEAR RED IN THE OCEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah.