With age comes nostalgia, and at sixty-seven, I find I am succumbing more and more to a longing for the good old days of Maine summers, when the weather was seldom hot and humid, when smoke from forest fires in Canada did not spread their haze over our state, and finally, when beachgoers could swim in the ocean without worrying about an encounter with a Great White shark
Time was when we swam at the ocean, all we had to worry about was the cold water. And cold it was. My family developed a technique of going in gradually, until the cold stopped stinging our legs, which in turn became, well, yes, numb. Then we could play in the waves until our teeth started chattering, and we had to take a break. After all, we are Mainers. We eat ice cream in the winter, don’t turn on the heat until October when the temps dip below 30°, and don’t let a little thing like bracing water stop us from swimming in the ocean.
But Great Whites are another matter. Previously, they came only as far north as Massachusetts, on the warm side of Cape Cod. Far, far away from us. Or so we thought. In the halcyon days of the 1990s, we swam without concern about large ocean predators.
But in the past five or so years, the Great Whites have moved north. So far, only one Maine woman has been killed swimming, and that was in 2020. Still, the Great Whites are out there, and the sightings have been increasingly common, especially this year, when shark flags have been flying at popular beaches to warn swimmers of potential danger.
And why are the Great Whites coming as far north as Maine? According to Maine Coast Islands, there are two prime reasons: One, due to preservation efforts, seals have made a comeback along the Maine coast, and Great Whites like to eat seals. Two, our waters are warming, thus drawing the Great Whites northward.
Here is a video of an encounter with sharks that a lobsterman recently had:
For the record, I do not think predators are evil. I know that they have to make their living, which involves eating other creatures. When either coyotes or fishers got two of our cats, I didn’t take it personally. Still, I mourned the loss of those cats, Finnegan and Margot.
Likewise, I don’t want to become a meal for a Great White. Ditto for family and friends or anyone else for that matter. Because of arthritis, my swimming days in the Maine ocean were pretty much over. The Great Whites have sealed the deal as the saying goes.
Still, my love of the ocean remains strong, and it is a great pleasure to be on the shore, looking out at the vast sea. The salt air, the call of gulls, the lapping of waves will never lose their appeal.
When I do go, as I scan the water, I will be keeping an eye out for a fin cutting the water. As much as Great Whites give me the shivers, it would be a thrill to see one.
As long as nobody is in the water.
To complete my nostalgic yearnings, I’ll end with an oldie but goodie from Toad the Wet Sprocket.
Notes From the Hinterland 
Seems to be a day to write about the impacts of climate change here in New England. Great whites have not come into our harbour and beach area as yet but the time will I come I think.
Being the same age, I also remember those blissful days swimming on Cape Cod and RI beaches without a worry. Now if I do swim, it’s on protected beaches. The National Seashore is patrolled by plane daily with alert systems in place when a sighting is reported. It helps!
Interesting! The sharks sure have moved north, haven’t they. Sounds very sensible to swim on protected beaches. Maine might have to start patrolling with planes.
It’s a crying shame that things have changed — all over — and not necessarily for the better. I can appreciate your lovely memories of swimming in the cold ocean, Laurie, but I’m happy you’re not still trying to do that, what with sharks in the water! Our summers here are so much more hot and humid than when I was a kid (or maybe that’s just the way I remember them); we really need to get a handle on how poorly we’re treating Mother Earth.
I know. Sigh. So true that “we really need to get a handle on how poorly we’re treating Mother Earth.” When will we wake up?
Like you, I love to walk on ocean beaches. Especially when few people are around. The combination of sands, water and open skies is hard to beat.
A winning combination, that’s for sure.
I’m certain I couldn’t handle the cold, and so I’d be safe from the sharks. Every year when I go to the beach, I think about sharks when I first go in the water, but that feeling lasts only about 5 minutes. Now, my knees are so bad I don’t go in past my ankles, so no danger, except for falling down and making a fool of myself.
One advantage to having creaky knees. I have them, too, so I can sympathize.
Nostalgia for the fun times of our youth is a glorious thing! Thank you for sharing some of yours 🙂 As for sharing the ocean with sharks … we have protected beaches in some places and have ‘shark spotters’ in others. Like you, I can no longer swim in the ocean, but enjoy walking along the seashore sometimes.
Sounds very sensible to have protected beaches and shark spotters in other. Maine might have to adopt these strategies.
Interesting about the sharks – maybe not in a good way though!
An unexpected result of climate change.
I love the nostalgia parts of this post, Laurie. Memories of lazy, hazy days that weren’t oppressively hot and humid, water temps that we handled with pride, all part of summer fun. You’re right, big time; these unwelcome sharks are scary. The lobsters are even finding the water too warm! Trump’s reversals of US climate change regs are going to make things even worse, including uncontrollable wildfires. It’s all downtowns-made climate change. 🥲
I love “water temps we handled with pride.” Oh,
yes!
Scary to think about how Trump’s policies will be setting us back. I keep wondering when we will wake up.
Let’s hope it’s soon, for everyone’s sake.
Amen!
I can understand why you prefer to stay out of the water Laurie and having sharks further north is a danger to local wildlife too …
Yes, the poor seals must not be impressed at all.
As much as I like to get into the water, the potential of encountering a large shark would definitely put a damper on my desire to swim in the ocean.
I think I would still take off my shoes and socks and walk through the waves on the beach, though, and I hope that’s something you can still enjoy.
Alas, all of us have to get used to the fact that some (all) of our favorite places are changing . . .
Yes, favorite places are changing. Sigh. A very shallow walk through the waves can still be enjoyed but even on the edge, caution is needed. It’s amazing how sharks can swim in extremely shallow water, and they can come mighty close to the beach.
It is a long time since I swam in the sea, but your post made me wish that I had the opportunity to do it again, especially as we have no worries about sharks here. Jellyfish yes, sharks, no.
Is the water warm or cold off the coast of Scotland? Perhaps some day a pedal and a dip?
Cold generally. The Solway Firth, our nearest sea, is not really conducive to swimming as the tide is very fast and there are miles of mudflats at low tide. The east coast is much better, but quite far away.
I can understand why it’s been a long time since you swam in the ocean.
Weirdly, I remember many shark spottings and some “attacks” when I was younger …of course coinciding with the appearance of THAT movie in our cinemas…but not so many of recent years. I still like a splash around in the ocean but always with that cello phrase lurking
Yes, yes! Be careful.
Hi, Laurie, We’re the same age (roughly), and both love walking the ocean beaches. I remain grateful that the ocean beach is just a short walk from my home. ❤
How wonderful for you! Past photos on your blog have shown that you live in a place of beauty. Must admit that I am a little envious.
That’s kind of cool in a way. I put my feet into the ocean when we were in Maine and it was COLD! I don’t think I could swim there anyway. Does anyone do shark tours like they do for whales? We went on a big boat to look for whales but didn’t see any. They gave us a voucher for another trip but since it was our last day in Maine we gave the voucher to our host and she took her grandson. I don’t know if they saw whales either.
No shark tours yet, but just yesterday my husband was talking about such a tour. Great minds…
With this being the 50th anniversary of “Jaws,” there has been a lot of interest about sharks. There was a piece on NPR a few weeks ago (I can’t find it now) about a guy in Australia who was attacked by a shark. He was such an avid diver that he basically invented the shark cage. When Jaws was being filmed, they learned about his cage and contacted him. He thought it was great, until over the years he realized the movie totally demonized them, which was not his desire or intent. Another point the story made that was, before the movie, they were just White Sharks. “Great White” was attached (and has stuck) since the movie. It’s very sad. I’m becoming more and more ashamed of being human. And yes, I love ocean swimming, and if I get to swim at South Padre Island (in the Gulf of MEXICO) again I will be very alert.
Didn’t know that Jaws coined the term “Great White.” Whatever they are called, they are here in numbers, and they never used to be. Now we have to adapt, and in the comments, other blogging friends have told how various beaches by them are dealing with sharks.
You call that age? The sharks are one aspect of global warming I hadn’t considered
Tee-hee! ‘Tis for me. When it comes to global warming, there are all kinds of unexpected results, including terrible flooding in places such as Vermont, a state that until recently never really had to worry about extreme flooding.
Sharks, high temps, and humidity so thick you could cut it with a knife – the times they are a changing here in New England.
Alas, they certainly are!
That is Maine’s one big drawback, for me. As I told my mother as a kid “they filled up the ocean too cold!”
I really like to get in all the way and swim and it’s never warm enough for that in Maine. I don’t worry much about sharks, lol.
No need to worry about the sharks if you don’t swim in the ocean. 😉
I do swim in the Ocean in Rhode Island a lot…for some reason Cape Cod has far more shark problems than RI.
Interesting! Maybe there are more seals around Cape Cod than there in RI.
Oh man, one more thing to add to the list of worries!
Right? I think there needs to be an alert system so that swimmers can feel relatively safe. For me, I’m staying out of the water. Being on the shore is just fine with me.
Even in September, it’s too darn cold!
Oh, yes! Even without sharks, my ocean- swimming days are over.
Sharks !!!!I stopped swimming in the ocean years ago as here too sharks are moving up North, if ever you are attackt by a shark you have to try to push his eyes inward, then they’ll be blind and swimm away someone told me. I know they are not vicious, they only think we are seals, not humans but I am not entering the ocean anymore, after all it is their home, not ours, But I loooove !!! the seaside,
Yes, yes! I love the seaside, too. I don’t need to swim in the ocean. I’ll leave that to the sharks.
Being just a couple of years older than your good self, I couldn’t help chuckling at your wistful nostalgia. The world’s changed out of all recognition, hasn’t it, and even nostalgia isn’t what it used to be! 🤣
Regarding Great White Sharks, I’ve never seen one. I can understand the fear they engender, but like you I have no problem with predators. They, like us, are simply part of an eco-system and deserve some space.
The world sure has changed. Great Whites off the coast, hot, hot days, bad wind storms. Mother Nature is warning us, but we don’t seem to listen.
I completely agree that predators are part of the ecosystem and deserve some space.
There have been a few sightings of Great Whites in the Gulf near Texas, but I think the last one recorded was in 2005; most Gulf occurrences are around Florida, with wanderers showing up around Louisiana and Mississippi. Our problem isn’t the Great White, but the proliferation of other species: especially blacktip, mako, sand, bull, and nurse sharks. Anyone who wade fishes learns the lesson fast — don’t keep your catch on a stringer! Sharks like an easy meal as much as anyone.
What’s fascinating is the way dolphins keep an area free of sharks. They’re a frustration when boat fishing, since they’ll follow a boat and scoop up the easy fish, but they do help with any shark threats. To be honest, the biggest threat here from sharks is to surfers. When they’re paddling out, lying on their boards, those dangling arms and legs apparently look like fish to a shark — attacks are rare, and mostly a case of mistaken identity.
Back in the day, sharks were never a worry in Maine. The ones we had were too small to bother with humans.
Dolphins are a wonder, but I suppose it’s irritating to have them scoop up fish.
Well, the Great Whites are here now, and we have to learn how to deal with them. For me, that means not going in the water. Younger people might make different choices.
There are so many harmless sharks, it seems a shame that people hate them because of their looks. But the Great White, for sure, is one you want to stay away from.
Yes, indeed. A shark to respect and stay away from.
Stay safe over there Laurie! I don’t think we have anything in the sea here more dangerous than jellyfish but who knows? Climate change is gathering pace and anything could happen.
Oh, absolutely! What next?
I had no idea sharks had reached Maine and I would definitely be joining you on shore and staying out of the water. It does feel like a summer of nostalgia and there is much to be missed about childhood memories and better weather.🙂
Yup, they are here. Just had another warning this weekend. Very different from when I was young and the kiddos were young. Never worried about sharks.
The shore is the safe place to be.
The orcas and dolfins are seen in Norwegian fjords and have got attention in media specially during summer months but have never read about dangerous species or if any swimmer or people in kayaking got attacked.
May it stay that way!
😊
I enjoyed your nostalgic take on childhood summers in Maine. It’s good to know that you can still enjoy the shoreline. Our closest beaches are too cold for me, but I remember the first time I swam in the ocean off of Maui. It was quite the experience.
I’m saddened to hear that a woman died in your waters, and that climate change continues to erode your quality of life. You can choose to stay out of the water, but hazy, smoky air is hard to avoid unless you shut yourself indoors and who wants to do that?
As we usher in the last full month of summer, I hope you get to enjoy a few typical summer days.
I’ve gone diving with sharks on more than one occasion, Laurie, but Great White? No, thank you! I don’t want to become fish food either. And too cold for me too now. I hope you get to enjoy the beach this summer, my friend. Hugs.
Many thanks! My arthritis keeps me out of cold water, and, as it turns out, away from sharks.
I was telling my husband about it. We’re both New Englanders born and bred, so it was a little unnerving.
It is unnerving. Until recently, we never had to worry about them. Recently, I read they had made it as far north as Nova Scotia.
I didn’t realise anyone had taken the name Toad the Wet Sprocket, I just thought it was a made up band from Monty Python.
Tee-hee! Nope, a 90s band.
How strange . . .
The world is changing.
No time for silliness in the modern world, I suspect all band names are selected by marketing departments after a succession of focus groups and running it up a flagpole to see if anyone salutes it . . .
Maybe so. Bands in the 90s were known for their silly names. A different time.
Certainly was. 🙂
I love your paragraph describing how to get in the ocean. Although I’m a Massachusetts native, the process was the same for me, and most of my childhood vacations were spent in Maine. I was recently on Cape Cod, the very beginning of the Cape actually, and saw seals in Cape Cod Bay – I hadn’t realized they had come that far inland, and also worried if that meant sharks would follow.
New England water tends to be brisk, and the farther north you go, the brisker it is. But now the ocean is warming. Unfortunately. Sharks do follow seals, so I would be on the lookout.