This article comes to us from our friends at BoatNation.com.

Surviving a Close Encounter with a Shark

The best way to avoid a shark attack is to simply stay out of the ocean. On the other hand, it’s difficult to resist a dip in the water on a warm day. If you do decide to go for a swim, keep the following tips in mind. You may not be able to prevent an attack, but you may be able to minimize your injuries. Believe it or not, unprovoked shark attacks on humans are rare with an average of around 75 per year, resulting in about 10 deaths worldwide. You have a greater chance of dying from a bee sting or being hit by lightning.

Avoid being in the water from sunset to sunrise. This is when sharks are most active.

Avoid being in the water near where people are fishing.

Also avoid swimming during or after storms, which can make the water cloudy and churn up the fish that sharks feed on. They won’t be able to tell if you’re human or prey. The same applies to river mouths – where the water can be muddy.

Avoid peeing in the water. It’s not just blood that they are attracted to. Sharks are attracted to urine. A lot of cases of surfers and divers, that have been attacked by sharks, have been preceded by the need to urinate. Another good idea if you need to pee in the water, wetsuit or not, is to let it go in the white water. Action from the waves gives it a better mix, and it’s not as likely to attract the sharks nose

Do not swim if you have a bleeding cut or abrasion. Sharks sense blood and are attracted to even a tiny amount in the water. Sorry ladies, stay out of the water if you are having your period.

Don’t take your eyes off the shark. Don’t turn your back on the shark as you move. Remember, it’s important to keep the shark in view. Make eye contact when possible and try to keep your eyes on the shark at all times. Sharks like to attack from behind. Keeping your eyes on the shark may help to avoid an attack. In open water, get back-to-back with another swimmer or diver so that you can see, and defend against, an attack from any direction. If possible, Slowly back up against a reef, piling, or rock outcropping – any solid obstruction ‘“ so that the shark can’t circle around behind you. This way you only have to defend attacks in front of you.

Stay in a group. People on their own are more likely to be attacked than large groups. Don’t wander too far from the shoreline.The further you are from the shore, the further you are from help.
Choose your attire carefully. Avoid wearing shiny jewellery, because the reflected light resembles the shimmer of fish scales. Also don’t wear brightly-coloured or patterned clothing, because sharks see contrast particularly well. Special striped wetsuits which look like poisonous, black and white banded sea snakes are being tested which warn a shark that a diver or surfer isn’t safe to eat.

Stay still and remain calm if you spot a shark. Most sharks are just curious and will leave on their own. Attacks are very rare.

If you are attacked, fight back. If you are targeted by a shark, the general rule is, do whatever it takes to get away – but do it calmly. Try to fight back and startle it. The best place to hit is its nose. Also try to claw at its eyes and grab its gills, two of the most sensitive areas on a shark. Make sure you’re able to defend your front and sides and use a weapon like a surf board if possible, don’t use your hands. If you are bitten, stop the bleeding and get help as soon as possible.

Special thanks to George H. Burgess, senior biologist in Ichthyology at the Florida Museum of Natural History

Stay Safe and Happy Boating!
Ashley and the Crew at BoatNation.com

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According to this article from Trade Only Today, boats cruising to Cuba would find refueling difficult and only the basic facilities at existing marinas. Still for those of you with the craving for new waters and new ports, the prospect of taking your boat to Cuba must be absolutely mouth-watering.

U.S.-Cuban ties could be boon to marine industry
Posted on July 20th, 2015

After 54 years of animosity, the United States and Cuba formally restored diplomatic ties.

This morning, the United States opened an embassy in Havana and Cuba opened an embassy in Washington, D.C.

In truth, both countries had for years already been running robust interest sections in both capitals. Today, however, both of those missions were upgraded.

This afternoon, the Cuban flag will be raised on the grounds of the Cuban Embassy in Washington for the first time since 1961, according to National Public Radio.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Havana to raise the American flag at the U.S. Embassy there at a later date.

Starting today, U.S. officials said, the Cuban government will pull back some of the tight cordon of security that had surrounded America’s diplomatic mission in Havana and no longer will record the names of Cubans entering the building, according to CNN.

The Cuban and American heads of their respective interest sections will became charges d’affaires until ambassadors are named.

`A new stage will begin, long and complex, on the road toward normalization,’ Cuban President Raul Castro said in a televised address last week to the Cuban people. `Which will require the will to find solutions to the problems that have accumulated over more than five decades and hurt ties between our nations and peoples.’

The National Marine Manufacturers Association recently announced a third and final exploratory trip to Cuba, set for December.

Cuba has 11 million residents, and if it were a U.S. state it would rank seventh in population, according to the NMMA. Cuba has 1,400 miles of coastline similar to the Florida Keys ‘” if the Cuban Keys were superimposed on the Atlantic Seaboard, they would stretch from Miami to New York.

The NMMA said Cuba also has more than 100 freshwater lakes suitable for boating. Built by the Soviets from the 1960s through the 1980s, the 3- to 5-mile lakes irrigate rice fields and teem with largemouth bass. That means 95 percent of Cubans live within five miles of boating waters.

In December, NMMA export director Julie Balzano told Trade Only about the association’s second visit to the Caribbean’s largest island.

`If and when U.S. boaters would be allowed to go to Cuba by boat, I think probably there is enough infrastructure in place at the moment, though I think it would be basic for American boaters visiting Cuba,’ she told Trade Only at the time. `I think they struggle a bit with fueling stations in marinas,’ for example.

`Cuba, just the country itself, is struggling with infrastructure,’ she said. `If tourism grows, they’re going to struggle with hotel occupancy and eateries. It’s still a challenge to get basic items in Cuba.’

The island, though, has a lot to offer boaters in terms of its beauty. `It’s lush and green and mountainous, and the waters are crystal-blue,’ Balzano said.