A bit sad, but sharks gotta eat too.
Here's a fun video - all freediving with Roberta Mancino & Mark Healey. At about 5:50 they are riding sharks.
While I don't have any empirical proof that we aren't tasty, I just try to see it from the sharks perspective:
"Hmmm, I'm REALLY hungry. What's that sorta stringy lookin thing flailing around up there? Not my usual sea lion or floating dead whale snack. It doesn't swim very well, smells different, might be sick. It might hurt me if I try for a bite - better be careful if I go for it."
IMHO when they have other choices, they'll take them first. That said, if you ever notice that EVERY sea lion in the area has suddenly left, you might want to as well!
One more video - Guillaume Nery freediving "Dean's Blue Hole". He doesn't hit the true bottom (663ft), but one of the ledges on the way down - very deep none the less. Still I thought the base jumping style it was shot in was cool.
"Hooch goes Fishing"
Dad thought it would be a good day to see how his dog, Hooch would like sailing in the boat. So Dad, my brother in law Mark & I went sailing with a panting, wagging, happy to be included Hooch. Hooch is a high energy mix of pointer and sneaky neighbor dog; he'd have made a great hunting dog - Sticks, balls, kid's toys & anything else he can bring back to "his people" are all fair game for retrieving in Hooch's eyes.
Hooch had been having fun barking at sea lions, was fascinated by the sparkles in the water, and nearly went overboard when we passed alongside a few strands of floating kelp. After a while he settled down in the aft end of the cockpit, at the base of the wheel where he could still peek under the walk-through to the swim step and see what was happening on the water.
There wasn't a lot of wind, and we were only moving about 2.5 knots - not exactly exciting sailing - so we figured we'd rig some poles and see if we could come up with some dinner. My Dad had just finished tying a sparkly pink squid lure to his pole. As he brought the rod back over his shoulder to cast, I felt Hooch come to attention at my feet. At that moment, Dad whipped the the pole forward and cast the lure far out into the Pacific; and before anyone could react we heard the sound of the big dog's claws struggling to find traction on the deck as we watched his furry black form leap over the lifelines in a long arc over the water. Hooch hit the water with a splash! And popped up, looking just as shocked and wide eyed as we were at what he'd just done!
Mark pitched the man overboard pole to mark the dog's location as we quickly dropped sail, making a mess of lines & canvas all over the deck, but stopping the boat. Dad & Mark cleaned up the deck as I got the little 3 cylinder diesel started and reversed the boat towards the panicked pooch. Putting the engine into neutral, Dad took the wheel while I moved onto the swim step and pushed the ladder into the water so I could fetch the retriever from the briny blue.
Hooch was happy to cooperate as we heaved the soggy dog back onto the deck, wet and shivering, but safe. Having completed our dog overboard exercise, we hoisted the sail and continued on. Even though there was much to see, poor Hooch stayed in the center of the cockpit for the rest of the voyage, his excitement forgotten - until next trip.....