About 3 years ago we saw a 10'+ bull shark feeding at the pier at Topsail. Got back in the water the next day. You have to accept that humans are not the top of the food chain when we're in the ocean. I don't gamble but odds are you going to be fine.
Old timer tip:
"Don't look, act, or smell like food and you'll be ok"
if you would see the 5-7' we bring in at the Point in Hatteras you would stay out of the water. I made believers out of a few when we would yak baits out past the outer bar. Stand up 50wides with a harness. Waters/ people part like nothing you would ever imagine. Countless times been spooled when I could not tighten the drag down any more. Getting bumped on a yak by something almost as big as my 12' yak will literally scare the hell out of you. I don't swim in more than 2' and I don't yak either.
The last one looks like a bluefish bite to me unless they saw the shark. Hope the boy still loves the water after this.
I saw a Great Hammerhead swim by 10' from the boat 50 miles off Beaufort inlet. We were in a 23' cc and the fish was about 18' long. It's hammer looked 6' wide and it's dorsal and tail stuck 5' out of the water as it cruised by on the surface. It was in the afternoon and the sea was like glass, the big shark crossed the bow about 100 yrds out, then turned and came right past the boat as we trolled. 3 of us on the boat and nobody said a word as it passed by the boat, we were in awe and speechless. Not a good idea to swim in the surf early in the morning or late in the afternoon, or near a pier when the fish are biting and peeps are cleaning lot's of them while the guts/heads are falling into the surf.
The one we saw was feeding on fish heads n guts early in the evening, around dusk. Two huge rays were taking turns at the scraps too. Several surfers less than 100 yards away. All I was thinking was NOPE!
I have heard about the water being warmer than usual, I would like to know a real scientific explanation. Are there more sharks than usual, different spieces, lack of food, or just plain bad luck with people. Got to be more to it than water temp. We were at fort fisher last weekend, two groups shark fishing, never seen a hook up for two days.
I've had sharks scratch my legs 2 times while I was standing in the surf while body surfing, their skin will give you a nice rash like a belt sander, but like DRkelly said I will not let shark attacks stop me from swimming in the surf, it's too therapeutic and there are much worse ways to die than being shark food IMO. I will not swim early or late, or all alone in the surf, that's asking for trouble.
I'm going to North Topsail in a few weeks and I was talking to a guy I'm going to go fishing with and he was telling me it seems like the current is bringing in warmer water closer to shore this year and the bait fish are in closer so it is bringing the sharks in closer to shore. He said it's an odd year for fishing so far. I know it's not going to stop me from swimming but I'll use my head and keep a very close eye on my son. He won't be swimming at all out at the point when I'm fishing though. In years past I'd let him splash around right close but the water drops off so quick I'm not taking chances this year.