Crikey it’s wet

[Litespeed]

Beautiful riding weather here in Port Stephens....waters calm, fish biting and a 167 HP steed awaits.

[red750]

Raining here again today.

[facthunter]

Sharks biting also?   Nev

[Litespeed]

They only bite on weekends when the tourists arrive.

[facthunter]

There's PLENTY of them so maybe some are more hungry or curious than others.  I used to GO where you ARE all the time. Nev

[Jerry_Atrick]

On 16/11/2025 at 2:58 AM, Litespeed said:

Beautiful riding weather here in Port Stephens....waters calm, fish biting and a 167 HP steed awaits.

Are trying to attract new residents to the area?

[Litespeed]

No , it's aweful, stay away and keep safe from Jaws

[Jerry_Atrick]

The cat's out of the bag now, mate...

 

[onetrack]

It's sorted. We're gonna organise a Social Australia Forum, all-members meetup, at Port Stephens Marina next month. Just have to set the day, and have Litespeed let us know the name of his boat, so we can all meet up on his deck. 😄 

[Litespeed]

Sure,

 

Just fly in and land at WilliamTown RAAF or maybe a Drifter on floats to motor to my boat.

 

 

[facthunter]

Don't go there. Everything RUSTS, and Sydney discovered it years ago. Best Places to eat are in Newcastle.  note DO NOT CALL IT NEWY. Nev

[Litespeed]

Agreed, sharks are complaining about the poor quality of tourists.

 

 

[Litespeed]

Sadly ,

 

it appears my mate 'Boris' the bull shark has been greedy feeding and eaten a Swiss tourist and mauled her boyfriend on a local beach just up the coast a little bit.

 

Tragic but completely avoidable, they were swimming at sunrise to film dolphins feeding. This is absolute maximum danger time to be eaten as that's when the bait fish accumulate. Anything in the water in the low light conditions can be mistaken for a big fish or seal and will be bitten. Most sharks will spit a human out, but a Bull shark will just eat regardless.

 

Hopefully it will not lead to the senseless killing of more sharks locally- they are just doing their normal thing. It's us humans that need to be careful.

 

My condolences for the tragic death of the women and I hope he recovers quickly.

 

We have had many deaths along the coast recently and all involved extremely poor decision making from night swimming , surfing in extreme weather, rock fishing with no safety gear etc. 

 

Mostly tourists or newer immigrants but us locals sure can be stupid as well.

 

We must remember enter the water at your own risk, it never forgives mistakes. You also risk the lives of anyone trying to help you either by been attacked themselves or drowning trying to help you.

 

Sadly the local coast will see many avoidable deaths over the summer esp with tourists doing things way outside their skill base and experience.

 

Stay safe people.

 

Boris does not need humans for food.

[red750]

Sharks only attack when you are wet. Stay dry. As well, that spot was signed with Shark and No Swimming signs.

[Litespeed]

Yep,

but most folks esp tourists think the sign is just being over cautious or part of the " Aussies scaring tourists lark".

 

Sadly most signs get ignored.  People on holidays seem to ignore the risk of all the dangerous stuff they would normally never do, but do, to fit in the holiday experience and get the footage for Instagram etc.

 

Most tourists seem to leave their brain at home and dose up on ego pills. It's not just foreign tourists but Sydney people that cause a lot of grief. Fuckwits on jetskis are a particular problem.

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

2 hours ago, red750 said:

Sharks only attack when you are wet.

I intend to not become shark ship, so that is advice I tend to take in waters where sharks are likely. My partner has called me the most un-Aussie Aussie she has met.. 

[onetrack]

I only like swimming where there's shark patrols. There's just too many of the buggers close inshore today - all a result of the Chinese stripping the oceans of fish.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-30/china-super-trawlers-overfishing-world-oceans/10317394

[rgmwa]

It has been said that most shark attacks occur in waist deep water in places like Sydney Harbour, until someone pointed out that that's where most of the people are. 

[Litespeed]

Two feet is enough for a tiger shark, they happily chase large fish through the waves to grab a bite.

 

The most common way to catch a big shark is from the beach, because thats where the fish are. Thats a big hint for survival, change of tide plus dawn and dusk are the big beach fishing times, also prime shark times.

 

But rgmwa, your on point , if your not in the water you are normally safe. The more people in a area increases the risk. Surfers are particularly at risk as from below the look like a large Tuna, Mulloway etc or dolphin alone or a seal.  

Been killed fishing from a boat is also a nasty surprise- recently a game fisherman hunting Marlin in the big Port Stephens competition caught a large Bull shark? On his line and was dragged into the water never to be seen again.  I assume the beast turned the tables and lunched on him. I expect that this may be the cause of many a lost fisherman out solo, boat found perfect and sometimes trolling along, no one on board.

 

A freak accident? No, surprised it doesn't happen more.

 

I have seen guys in a 12' tinny come in with a 2.5 metre shark onboard and they videoed getting it aboard still alive and thrashing- life may be short for those young fools. Instagram fame can have a very short life.

 

We call sharks the taxman, they deserve their fair share and essential for a well run ecosystem.

Many a big fish comes up from the deep just a head on the line minus 20 kg of body.

 

 

Mother nature does not care how big your game boat is, nor your harbour address. Doesn't give a shit about YouTubers, holiday heroes or even salties like me. Once you enter the salt water, you are at her total mercy.

 

Beware of entering the liquid jungle, there's Tigers below.

[onetrack]

A bloke taken by a shark at City Beach in Perth on 6 November 2000 (Ken Crew) was chewed up in waist deep water, not long after sunrise on a dull, overcast morning - a typical "high shark hazard" day.

 

Edited yesterday at 12:20 AM by onetrack

[facthunter]

Only swim in water clear enough to see them and have shark spotting facilities. I did a seasons shark spotting at Newcastle. Caves Beach to Stockton. After that I stopped swimming in Most places I used to.. You are a sitting duck on the surface.  Nev

[red750]

[onetrack]

We'll send you Summer with a Vengeance, shortly. 39° here on the Left Coast today, a record for the first official day of Summer. It's a bit of a shock after a long, cool Spring.

[old man emu]

It's raining! It's raining! But it will stop within a couple of hours. Better a little than none at all.

[red750]

Had the most ridiculous weather I have ever seen. Forget 4 seasons in one day.

 

Driving a distance of less than 5 km, I was in sunlight, then rain so heavy I needed the wipers on continuous, not intermittent, then back into sunshine, THREE times.

 

At the shed today, we were sitting at the lunch table, in hot sun through the skylight, the next minute unable to talk due to the rain on the metal roof. So loud I had to take my hearing aid out of my ear. Here is what the roof looks like.