Safe in water??

Is it safe to go swimming in the waters around the islands.??

%26#39;Jaws%26#39; comes to mind.

Safe in water??

Yes, just as ';safe'; as the ocean everywhere else. There are sting rays, sharks, dolphins, and other sea creatures - just keep your wits about you.

Safe in water??

Here%26#39;s a piece of wisdom from a SCUBA diver in Hawaii - When you enter the water you become a part of the food chain.

Sanibel has safe and quiet water - but like any open water it has jellyfish, sharks, stingrays [small kind], and a variety of other hazards - including gators. I know gators are fresh water creatures, but they can and will swim on the Gulf far a wide range of reason. Between May and November it is generally wise to stay out of the water from dusk to dawn. That%26#39;s when sharks are most active.

There are NO lifeguards anywhere on Sanibel, so it%26#39;s swim at your own risk. Avoid the area where water runs from bay to Gulf. The undertow can be very strong at these points. Enjoy the calm Gulf, but pay attention.

Marine predators in the waters of Sanibel/Captiva are enjoying a fantastic supply of fish. In fact, the dolphins in these waters do not even migrate to find food, but rather stay all year long.

What it tells us with regards to sharks is that they are unlikely to change their diet and go for your yummy legs.

However, common sense always prevails as Tourmaline puts it.

Indeed it is better to avoid Dusk/Dawn, do not swim next to fishermen (wounded fish attract sharks), and shuffle your feet when you enter the water to scare away stingrays.

I have been swimming and fishing in Sanibel for the past 10 years and never saw a shark.

A girl was bitten this week in Sarasota Bay, necessitating over 100 stitches to her midsection. She was in the water just after dark, on a dark night. I swim every summer on Anna Maria Island. Never any kind of problem, but swim during the day, and do the stingray shuffle.

I%26#39;ve never heard of a shark attack off of Sanibel, Captiva, or Ft. Myers Beach. I read somewhere that Lee County has only had three shark attacks since 1970 so it is definately an extremely rare occurence. Also, in all three cases the shark bit once and swam away so technically they weren%26#39;t even ';attacks.'; They were just bites. They also have a chart that rates Florida%26#39;s coastal counties from most dangerous to least dangerous when it comes to shark attacks. Lee was pretty much at the bottom of list so it is extremely rare.

I%26#39;ve never thought about becoming part of the food chain, Tourmaline, but you are right! Kinda puts things into perspective!

That being said, I asked pretty much the same question before we went to Sanibel. I was freaked out about sharks and gators and never saw one! We even went on a tour of Ding Darling and STILL didn%26#39;t see any alligators.

We did see a stingray that someone had caught out on the 3rd sandbar. It was about 2%26#39;X2%26#39;. We did the shuffle after that. Never had a problem.

There isn%26#39;t anything in the water that sees you as food. Period.

The girl who was bitten last week was on the local television last night, laughing and well on the way to recovery, and joking that she was thinking about getting a tattoo, but now she has really cool-looking scars instead. (I couldn%26#39;t make that one up!) Keep in mind that they were NOT swimming off the beach, but from a boat in a bay, at night.

If it eases your mind, think about how many people are in the water in Florida on any given day -- and how few are ever bitten -- and of them, how few don%26#39;t live to tell the tale (precious few -- it makes news because it%26#39;s so rare.)

The experts say you%26#39;re more likely to be struck by lightning than to be bitten by a shark -- and you%26#39;re more likely to be kicked by a donkey than to be struck by lightning. How%26#39;s that for odds? I%26#39;ll take that risk.