In 1975, Steven Spielberg released the notorious film “Jaws”. Based loosely on shark attacks that occurred in New Jersey off the Garden States famed shoreline in the early 1900’s, a killer shark goes on a rampage in the fictional town of “Amity Island” in New York State. While the movie was actually filmed in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, the setting is irrelevant, the premise and plot of the masterpiece scared American’s and people across the world at large out of their wits. Many people were petrified of entering the ocean, basking, or taking a leisurely swim following the viewing, and the movie continues to strike fear into the hearts of people even close to fifty years removed from its release. Released on June 20th, in the opening stages of summer, one can only imagine the reaction that the well-timed release may have caused patrons to movie theaters to have.
Recently, a woman from Australia was bitten by a Great White shark while perusing the ocean. Bridgette O’Shannessy somehow survived being bitted directly in the face by a shark. The woman had been exploring a reef and free-driving near Port Noarlunga in the southern part of Australia. She was with a companion named Brian Gordon Roberts on Friday, November 10th when the shark attacked her. Roberts bravely attacked the shark himself and freed O’Shannessy before getting her out of the water. She underwent two surgeries over the weekend and has extremely serious facial injuries.
While many people worry about sharks, Orca whales are even more dangerous. In early November, a group of these whales attacked a boat near the Gibraltar strait, causing the yacht to sink. The boat sank off the coast of Morocco. Luckily, all crew members escaped with their lives and were relatively unharmed. A polish company had been operating the boat; the crew had attempted to bring it to port before it sank, experiencing severe damage to the rudder.
