Shark cages have been used by ocean swimmers since at least the 1924 – and perhaps earlier.
A shark cage is a strongly built rectangular deterrent, supported by pontoons that is towed by an escort boat to serve as an open water swimmer’s protection against sharks and marine life from other apex predators to jellyfish in the ocean during a marathon swim or channel swim. Shark cages are also used by marine biologists, cameramen, and others who enter waters where there may be threats of shark sightings, shark encounters, or shark attacks. The cages often have mesh around it in order to protect from jellyfish, poisonous fish, flotsam, or jetsam, or simply to increase the speed of the swimmer.
Historic Shark Cage Swims
The first cage swim in Australia was across an 8 km channel between Magnetic Island and Townsville in North Queensland. This area is a nursery ground for tiger sharks and an area often strewn with stingers. Douglas Pitt was the first to complete this crossing on Australia Day 1924. In order to protect himself from the numerous marine life in the channel, Pitt swam inside a shark cage made of timber and wire that was towed by a boat.
The second swim across the channel was done two years later, also on Australia Day 1926 when Bert Gard crossed in rough seas that tossed him out of his shark cage three times during his 3 hour 23 minute swim.
The 8 km Magnetic Island to Townsville Swim has been held in Townsville, Australia since 1954 when surf lifesavers – Kauko Kaurila, Don Howlett and George Marshall – swam in three separate shark cages from Magnetic Island to Ross Creek as a celebration of a Royal visit to Australia by the Queen of England.
The history of these courageous swims are described in the book Caged. The First Half Century of the Magnetic Island to Townsville Swim.
The Magnetic Island race has continued with hundreds of swimmers completing the swim, including such Australian open water swimming luminaries as Susie Maroney [shown above], Melissa Cunningham, Tracey Wickham, Duncan Armstrong, Dick Campion, John Koorey, Shelley Taylor-Smith, Josh Santacaterina, Chris Palfrey (12 times), and Penny Palfrey (14 times). Penny has completed the most number of shark cage swims in history. But in 2007, the Townsville Open Water Swimming Association decided to make the Magnetic Island Swim a cageless event, enabling many more participants than the previous maximum of 11 solo swimmers to compete.
In 1961, Greta Andersen attempted to swim from Molokai to Oahu across the Molokai Channel in Hawaii, some of her 22 hours of swimming inside a shark cage before aborting the swim.
In 1966, 36-year-old Mihir Sen (see below) crossed the Strait of Gibraltar – in a protective net – that between Spain and Morocco in 8 hours 1 minute.
In 1968, Linda McGill MBE swam 40 km across Port Phillip Bay in Victoria, Australia from Portarlington to Frankston in 14 hours in a shark cage. Seven others also swam across the 40 km Port Philip Bay in shark cages.
In 1971, Chris Guesdon and others used shark cages in a 8 km race in Papua New Guinea.
But in 1973, when Guesdon all got together with Dick Campion, Susanne Guesdon, and John Koorey to form the Australian Long Distance Swimming Federation, he recalled, “One of the items we agreed on was swims in shark cages would not be recognized as major feats and were certainly not ratified by the body. Vary rarely do we now hear of a shark cage swim anywhere in Australia or the rest of Oceania. I have no knowledge of them being used [currently]. Too much cheating goes on in those things like feet on the back of the cage. How fast to you want go? Swimmers hanging onto the cage when feeding.”
But shark cages continued to be used.
In 1973, Turkish swimmer Ersin Aydin swam 96 km in a shark cage from Mersin in southern Turkey to Kyrenia (Girne) on the north coast of Cyprus in 43 hours 20 minutes, a significant political event at the time. Inside his shark cage, Aydin ate 14 lamb chops, 13 chocolate bars, 20 cheese sandwiches, nearly 8 pounds of peaches, 25 glasses of tea, and 3 jars of honey while becoming the first person to swim from Turkey to Cyprus.
Susie Maroney did a number of mesh-covered shark cage marathon swims: 180 km from Cuba to Florida in 24 hours 31 minutes in 1997, from Isla Mujeres in Mexico to Las Tumbas on the western end of Cuba across the Yucatan Straits in 38 hours 33 minutes in a cage with a mesh net wearing a special Lycra stinger suit in 1998, and she completed a 36-hour, 190 km (119 mile) swim from Montego Bay in Jamaica to Marea del Portillo, Cuba in 34 hours 50 minutes in 1999, wearing a stinger suit.
Des Renford swam 93 km from Watson’s Bay Sydney Harbour to North Wollongong Harbour in Australia in 1974 in 27 hours 29 minutes inside of a shark cage. Shelley Taylor-Smith replicated his swim, also using a shark cage, when she swam from Sydney Harbour to North Wollongong Harbour in 12 hours 28 minutes in 1995.
In 1977, Kevin Murphy and Des Renford raced each other in Sydney Harbour, Australia in shark cages as the first stage of The Great Duel.
In 1978, Diana Nyad attempted a crossing from Cuba to Florida in a shark cage, sponsored by Colgate, that was aborted.
Also in 1978, 68-year-old Walter Poenisch, billed as the World’s Strongest Endurance Swimmer, completed a 208 km shark cage swim from Cuba to Little Duck Key, Florida in 34 hours 15 minutes, using fins with occasional rests (see below).
In 1979, US patent #4166462 was issued for a self-propelled shark proof cage. The cage was designed to allow abalone divers to collect abalone without becoming vulnerable to attacks by sharks. With the propulsion system, the abalone divers would exert themselves less and therefore be able to collect their prey for longer periods of time. The patent abstract details a self-propelled cage with at least one access opening and a propeller mounting frame that carries both an air motor and a propeller. Buoyant objects are attached to the frame so that the cage may be made approximately the same density as saltwater.
In 1993, Skip Storch attempted to swim across the Straits of Florida from Cuba to Florida, but was forced to retire after 25 hours in his Coral Reef Relief Swim while swimming in a shark cage manufactured by Fibber McGee (see photo below by Tim Johnson).
In 1994, David O’Brien built two separate shark cages for his 33 km swim from Kurnell to Sydney, Australia. But both cages sank and he successfully completed the Settlement Marathon Challenge in 7 hours 54 minutes without the cages.
In 2012, Chris Green swam from Morocco to Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar in a shark cage. With an inquisitive mind, Green went to the Hydrology Department at Manchester and experimented with various shark cage designs to optimize for channel swimmers. This theoretical work was continued by a welder in Florida who added his own touches of adjustable pontoons for support to later versions. Green later attempted a swim from Cuba to Florida across the Florida Strait, but a Portuguese man o war got inside his shark cage, stung him, and caused the swim to be aborted after 32 miles.
In 2012, Mohammad Hossein Bibi Kobadi used a shark cage during his 84-day 1,000 km assisted stage swim in the Persian Gulf from the Strait of Hormuz to Arvand Kenar along the coast of southeastern Iran called the Persian Gulf Swimming Project.
Going Cageless
With Shark Shields and all kinds of different shark deterrents on the market, it is highly likely that ocean swimmers may never use shark cages again. But in 2007, race director and president of the Townsville Open Water Swimming Association Inc. John Barratt explained the change from requiring shark cages in the Magnetic Island swim to going cageless:
Daily News of Open Water Swimming: How did you manage the shark situation over the last two years? Did you change the safety plan as a result of the eliminating the shark cages? If so, how?
John Barratt: From the photographs, you can see how we went for the first time without the cages. At the start of the race where some swimmers are standing in the knee-deep water and shortly after the start when swimmers meet up with their accompanying paddler, you can see our new arrangements.
The cages that were used in the 1954 event were made of 44 gallon drums, wood and chicken wire. Better cages were built in later years but they still needed to be put into the water using a large crane and required boats that were capable of pulling a cage with a big drag factor. Trawlers were perfect, but not always available. In addition, a support dinghy was lashed to the side of each cage for the swimmer’s coach or handler and a official observer to ensure a fair swim.
In some years, with the wind at 25 knots, the cages, dinghy and the swimmer and people in the dinghy, got knocked around. The cages are only about 10 feet long, 5 feet wide and by 6 feet deep. The swimmers tried to swim at the front of the cage, but constantly got moved from side to side and towards the back of the cage through the actions of the wind and waves and surge of the tow rope.
There were plenty of cuts and bruised hands. Quite often, the lashings would come loose and the support dinghy came adrift. When we did the disclosure to our insurers, we noted that we were removing these dangerous elements associated with the cages.
We only had 11 cages and this factor meant that the swim would always be limited in participation. We could get more cages, but we would have difficulty in getting tow boats. Even with 11 cages and boats, things used to get messy with tow ropes around propellers, cages sinking just before the start of the race and tow ropes getting tangled between tow boats as swimmers tried to pass each other.
The decision to swim without cages was taken to encourage greater participation and remove these hassles. But, to swim without shark protection was still an issue. In fact, the course for the swim goes past shark ‘drum lines’ which are used to protect the beaches of Townsville and Magnetic Island.
The course is marked with large pink buoys and swimmers are required to stay within the course boundaries to avoid being swept northwards with the prevailing current. The plan to ensure swimmer safety is to have every swimmer accompanied by a paddler on a surf-ski, kayak or outrigger canoe.
In addition, we had a number of motor boats on the course. The paddler could assist the swimmer to keep on course, provide water or support if they have a cramp, etc., and could signal to one of the boats for attention in the event of an emergency. We have a sufficient number of boats to get all of the swimmers out of the water if required.
The swimmer has to meet up with their paddler by the time they reach a buoy about 500 meters off the beach. [Organizing] 50 swimmers and paddlers gets a bit messy but most seem to work it out. In 2009, we had the added support of the local surf lifesaving clubs. Their rigid inflatable boats (RIB’s) are very maneuverable and add extra noise in the water which deters any marine life (sharks) that may be any the area. Of course, we have first-aid at hand in the event of any problems. This year, we did have one swimmer who was removed from the water due to hypothermia. It wasn’t particularly cold (21°C), but he didn’t have the in-built insulation that some of us do.
Stingers are also prevalent in tropical waters during summer. They may occur later in the year which is one of the reasons that we have allowed the use of fast-skin and blueseventy style full swim suits. We considered a category for wetsuits in 2010.
So, that is what we did about the sharks and the fact that swimmers are out in the big blue without a black line to follow. Now, let me tell you about the crocodiles…
Daily News of Open Water Swimming: What was the response from the swimmers, parents, community and local media as a result of the elimination of the shark cages?
John Barratt: The local media were very quick to report that we were going to do a cage-less swim. Local fishermen, previous swim organizers and even a local politician were quoted about the dangers of sharks in the area. Each year, the government releases figures about the numbers of sharks caught in the region through the beach protection scheme. Fisherman have lots of tales to tell about sharks biting off the biggest fish they had ever caught just as they had got it to the boat.
We knew about the sharks and have put in place measures to minimize the risks. The newspaper did note that there were open water swims conducted all over the world with similar issues. Despite a bit of initial negativity, the local media have been very supportive of the event.
With the restriction on numbers lifted, many adult swimmers have jumped at the chance to do the swim. Chris Bell who did the swim in 1959 did it again in 2009. Younger swimmers are still a bit cautious, although the winner in 2008 was a 16-year-old lifesaver. In 2009, the second female home was a 15-year-old local girl who has since gone on to win open water events at the State level.
Daily News of Open Water Swimming: Did you foresee continued growth in your event?
John Barratt: The swim has been strongly supported over many years by Penny and Chris Palfrey. They have done the swim more times than anybody else. Having done swims like Rottnest Channel Swim, they were keen to see the swim grow and used their knowledge from other swims to make a major contribution in establishing procedures for the initial cage-less swim.
Chris was particularly keen to see the event grow to be as good and as big a draw card as the Rottnest Channel Swim. We certainly want to keep improving the event and making it attractive to swimmers to put on their ‘must do’ list.
At the moment, we have coped with the increase in numbers from 11 swimmers to 69 in 2009. If we get more swimmers, we will need more paddlers or a different safety arrangement. We are working with the local council to put in onto the events calendar.
Daily News of Open Water Swimming: What happened to the old shark cages?
John Barratt: Each year after the swim we returned the cages to a holding area at the Port of Townsville. They are aluminum and occasionally needed repairs to the wire or the floatation. In 2006, one cage was almost wrecked when the bottom got caught on the coral reef off Picnic Bay.
The cages are still in storage with a few weeds growing through the wire. We have thought about sending one to the local museum and the rest to the local scrap metal dealer, but if there is anyone out there who thinks they have a better use then please get in touch. Rob Hutchings, who did the Magnetic Swim in 2008, has decided to go with a Shark Shield for his Great Barrier Reef Swim so he won’t need one.
In response to concerns about swimmer safety, 11-year-old Jordan Hoffmann said, “I’m not worried about sharks. I do surf lifesaving all the time here (on The Strand).”
For more information, visit www.towsa.com.au.
To provide additional information on the use of shark cages by ocean swimmers anywhere in the world any time in history, please email information to headcoach@openwatersource.com.
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