Sage

I'm just going to put this out for your consideration: color scheme and sharks.

Here's the deal, (and all you other surf yakkers, pay attention.)

Shape:
The surf yak is small and wide, and mimics a large California sealion; a medium to large Stellar's sealion, a large northern fur seal and a medium sized northern elephant seal (this statement does not differentiates sexes; the females are smaller then males). All of the above are prey of great white sharks. To a lesser extent, the surf yak is a skinny version of many smaller sized dolphins, of which all are food for the great white, too.

Location:
The great white shark cruises along the inshore waters including the wave zone. In fact, so close that many attacks on humans occur in shallow water by surprisingly large sharks. However, normalizing attacks statistics, most hits occur in deeper waters found outside of the wave zone (in other words, the majority of people are inshore, and weighing the number of attacks to the numbers in the particular zone, the ratio is higher in deeper waters).
The seals mentioned above are often found in the more productive areas searching for food (with the seasonal exception of the northern elephant seal, northern fur seal and Stellar's sealion which range far offshore). At rookeries and haul-outs, the wave zone and intertidal zone abound with seals, and often one will see a seal surfing or playing in the waves. In addition, many dolphin species surf waves with great passion, and contrary to the myth, dolphins and sharks are often found together in an interesting symbiotic relationship just offshore.

Behavioral similarities:
Seals frequently play and surf in the waves, the California sealion and to a lesser extent, the Pacific harbor seal is more apt to do this then other species. Many hits occur when the seal is so engaged and loses track of the surroundings, possibly due to the many sensory inputs and lower visibility of the water in that zone. In addition, all the seals described above will lounge about in and near haul-outs and rookery sites, wallowing lazily in the swells. The shape and movement similarities are to this and many other humans underwater and studying this connection, amazingly similar. That said, sharks are very much more tuned in, being exquisitely integrated, extreme-definition sensory platforms with a tail and mouth. That they would mistake a surf yak for a seal is probably highly unlikely judging from the lack of attacks.

Attack patterns:
In nearly all cases, great white sharks will sense the surf yak, sea yak, object bobbing in the water or human, investigate it and swim on without anyone even knowing that a shark was close by. Often a shark will hang out in the area for a number of conjectural reasons (and yes, I have a theory which I’ve been testing for some time now). Attacks take on separate and distinct patterns:
The first, the dramatic one is when whatever the object is struck from below in a high-speed, high angle of attack with a rapid, devastating bite. The shark accelerates up to a speed of around 35 knots, it raises its snout and drops its lower jaw and extends its jaws for a massive gape to maximize the bite effectiveness. In fractions of a second, the shark detects what it is in its jaws and bites down accordingly. For actual prey, that bite force is intense, and often is rapidly repeated in a single second. The force is so great in large white sharks that a harbor seal and smaller pinnipeds are bitten through. For the very few actual hits to kayaks, the shark didn’t bite down with the typical force; in fact, the hit was often a hard bump with low-pressure bite causing moderate tooth penetration; in other words, the shark didn’t bite down as hard as it would have if it was food. The shark doesn’t waste its time, energy and its teeth in a useless attack once it realizes what it hit weren’t food.
The second is a lazy approach and a tentative mouthing of the object. This is the typical bite on swimmers, surfers and divers: the shark swims up, bites down and releases for whatever reason. The same pressure is suspected when sharks bite each other in territory disputes and mating. For us mere mortals that’s still a series of knife wounds and a rapid trip to the emergency room, and can be fatal as it was recently at Avilla Beach. For our rides that’s a series of holes and fractures from that force (as occurred years back at Ano Nuevo).
The third is a violent and determined attack as defense. If there is a food source or something being fed on nearby, the shark will attack rapidly and with great determination until the threat is gone or no longer a threat (often meaning dead). This is what occurred in the only fatal attack on kayakers, at Paradise Cove, Malibu.
While I'm at it, if anyone ever sees a feeding event paddle directly away and don't stop till you're at least a couple hundred yards away. If possible paddle close together, too. Other definitive signs is if a shark suddenly is at the surface near you and acting aggressively, or there's a pool of blood in the water, or a breach occurs. Above all, stay away from rookeries and floating dead whales!

Coloration:
There are many around the world that use shapes as attractors. In California, there are legally three of us, all with DFG permits. Mine are dark foam and carpet creations smeared in tuna oil and then heated in the hot sun far from anyone in a sealed plastic bag. I attracted a white shark at Iverson Point (south of Point Arena, California) recently, but the shark apparently wasn’t interested in the shape and swam along under and around me instead. Its purely conjecture whether the shape or tuna oil was the attractor, or my biotic noises from paddling. Regardless, the shape wasn’t bothered. What has been found (for the NE Pacific group of white sharks) is that yellow (“yummy yellow”) and to a lesser extent off-white is colors that whites are attracted to and bite. I had a shape of marine plywood that was struck hard near the West End, north of the western Two Harbors on Catalina Island. Why the unusual color is a mystery to many.

Conclusion:
The color scheme should not be an attractor.
That an attack will either be hard or an explorative nip, but I’ll bet dollars to donuts nothing more will happen then being checked out if you’re lucky enough to ever see the shark.
Think about sharks when surfing though the little dudes at San Onofre won’t try to take on a surf yak at their current size.

So Sage, let’s say there is a shark checking you out:
Take pictures and document the incident! Try to stay alive long enough to get a large number of images, if possible write your observations down. Use blood if you have to. But most important, and this is truly something you must do right away, will me your Night Heron! Do it now, this very instant!

: yes this is the same kayak.

: I am thinking that #4 is a bit bright for the deck but would be cool for the
: hull.

: Sage