Ryland Blakeney
About Ry
I have been surfing since the age of 5 and I love the ocean. I couldn’t imagine my life without it!
I have had a couple of encounters with sharks over the last 8-10 years. On one incident I was kitesurfing off Scarborough beach where I live. A big shark probably 3.5m + in size swam between me and a mate about 300m off shore and that definitely spooked me.
Then in 2011 we did a trip to the south coast and got chased out of the water by a big shark probably at least 3.5m in length and we were 200m offshore so it was a tricky situation but all escaped unscathed. I have even got the video footage to relive the nightmare!
“I think anything that gives people more knowledge and also another opportunity for the shark to be spooked or not interested is a good thing. Living in West Australia, shark encounters are becoming a more regular thing and there is not one surf session you don’t think about it. So anything to even calm my own nerves makes every time I hit the water that little bit more enjoyable! Yeew!”