Swimming with monster sharks - and surviving

DAVID WHITING
Register columnist

International cold water swimmer Lynne Cox talks about the fatal shark attack last week and her own encounters with great whites.

"The gray oblong mass below appears suddenly.

I'm swimming about 200 yards off the beach at Salt Creek, just north of Dana Point. Stupidly, I'm alone. But I need an ocean fix, and, besides, a long open water swim is what my triathlon training calls for, I've rationalized.

My body goes electric. "Flight" neurons fire. No "fight" here. Visions of "Jaws" push to my frontal cortex, reminding me my black wetsuit makes me look like a sea lion.

Shark food."

[Read the rest of David's article on OCRegister.com]