It used to be that all I ever thought about when I went swimming in the bay was Jaws. The visibility in the bay is 12 – 24 inches, so you are pretty much swimming blind. Each stroke I would imagine rows white teeth coming up from below. Not a pleasant thought, but I couldn’t help myself. I blame Benchley and Spielberg.
To quell my fear, I read everything I could get my hands on to better understand sharks and Northern California waters. My two favorites are Benchley’s shark redemption book, “Shark Trouble” and Susan Casey’s book on the Farallon Islands, “The Devils Teeth”. I also scoured the internet for shark facts and figures. Rationally, I came to understand there is no real shark threat in aquatic park or San Francisco bay at large.
Apparently, this NEVER happens. . .
Nonetheless, each time I took a breath and turned toward the darkness, I still saw Jaws.
Who knew, all I had to do to get over my irrational fear of sharks was lose the wetsuit! Now all I ever think about is exposure to the cold. It is like a pyramid of fear. At the base level, I have to concern myself with the most immediate threat, hypothermia. Fear of sharks is way at the top of the pyramid. The cozy wetsuit musings on imaginary sharks have been replaced with questions like “How long have I been in? How am I feeling? How much do I have left? How far am I from shore?” I never get that “sharky” feeling anymore.
Of course, I recognize the irony of replacing one fear with another, but here is the thing. . .
The conditioning to the cold is starting to work. As long as the swim is 45 minutes or less, I now know exactly how my body will react and hypothermia is not an issue. Thus, particularly in the shorter swims, I am having a great time out there!
