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When I was 18, me and my buddies use to roadtrip to Sebastian Inlet from Miami on weekends. Sebastian Inlet is probably one of the most popular spots to surf in Florida. The water at the inlet is dark murky water and as I remember it you couldnt see your hand when you stuck it straight down to your elbow in the water. The Inlet on many occasions had clean waist to head high surf and we would be out in the lineup, waiting for the next set to roll in, with dozens and dozens of people all around us. Definitely there is a shortage of surf for the amount of people wanting to catch waves in Florida.
So after one session, we drive north to Indialantic and are sitting at the pizzeria that is oceanfront facing the boardwalk (mmmm Bizarros) and we strike up a conversation with this guy dressed in coast guard fatigues. This guy flew in the helicopter team for the Coast Guard and he asked us if we were surfing today. Sure, we replied and we just came from Sebastian.
His left eyebrow raised and he leaned in close and said, "Do you have any idea of how many sharks are there?"
"Oh man please, we could get killed by walking to our car today as much as sharks..."
He then proceeded to tell us how in the last week his job was to fly over the beaches and photograph the water using some sort of camera that made it easier to see below the water. On any given day at Sebastian Inlet, there were two to three times more sharks than surfers swimming in the general area where the lineup to catch waves was. Big sharks too, like over 6ft he said.
We left Indialantic, drove home to Miami and it was quite sometime before I went back to Sebastian and everytime thereafter I got creeped out easily and found myself sitting as much out of the water as I could.
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