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.

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Shark food.

Peering through goggles, I can't see any details of the fuzzy object. It's too deep.

Then it's gone. Maybe it's moved. Maybe I've moved. A dolphin? Probably a boulder. The beauty and mystery of the ocean in a second.

The fatal shark attack off Solana Beach last Friday on triathlete David Martin brought back the memory from my little scare a few years ago. An autopsy on Martin on Tuesday found serrated tooth fragments from a great white shark, estimated at 15 to 16 feet long.

The tragedy freaked me out. Although some surfers said no worries, I figured I was not alone so I called friend and world famous cold water swimmer Lynne Cox and to find out what's what. Cox, who lives in Los Alamitos, knows local waters like few others. She started training off Seal Beach in the 1970s, set records swimming the Catalina and English channels and get this has even swum around Africa's tip, the Cape of Good Hope, eating grounds for great whites 18 to 25 feet long.

Q. What's it like to swim with giant sharks, especially when there are so many as during your swim off Africa?

A.It's a very uncomfortable feeling swimming with sharks. The waters off South Africa are known for being sharky, and there are many different species of sharks that swim in the waters off Cape Point because there's a large seal population in that area. The sharks feed off the seals. The first thing I did was to make sure I didn't look like a seal. I made sure to wear a swim suit that was not black.

Q. Weren't you just terrified?

A.I was very concerned about the shark situation so I did everything I could to diminish the risks.

Q. What kind of safety measures do you take on these kinds of swims?

A.There was an elite search and rescue group of police officers who for fun go spear fishing off Cape Point, the area where I intended to swim. They knew the area incredibly well, and they knew how to protect me during the swim. They loved the excitement of it, and yet they were completely professional about it.

We worked out a way to have two boats beside me during the swim, with a diver in the water. He held onto a rope, attached to a dive boat with one hand, and had a spear gun in the other. Because the diver had to maintain an absolute focus on the water, and a possible approaching shark, the diver was only in the water with me for 20 minutes, and then another diver took his place. When the shark started his attack approach, the diver knew exactly what to do.

Q. My wife thinks I'm nuts to swim in the ocean. Don't your friends and family think you are crazy or have a death wish?

A.Swimming in open water is about working out and staying healthy. My friends understand that. If I feel uncomfortable about being in the water, I simply get out. We have instincts for a reason.

Q. You've put in thousands of hours swimming in the ocean off Orange County. Do you see a lot of sharks?

A.In all the years I've swum off the California coast, I've only seen three little sand sharks off Surfside, and five or six beautiful leopard sharks in the waters off La Jolla.

Q. You could swim in lakes, pools, rivers. Why not just stay out of the ocean?

A.The chances of being attacked by a shark are not great, but it really depends upon where you're swimming. I won't swim in areas where there are large seal or sea lion populations.

I'd never swim off the Farallon Islands off San Francisco where there is a huge sea lion population and shark population that the sea lions help support. And I won't swim in areas like off Hawaii, where I know there have been recent shark attacks.

Q. OK, if I see a shark and I'm swimming in the ocean what should I do?

A.I think you have to realize that you're a guest in the ocean. When it's time to leave, it's time to leave! My rule of thumb is, when in doubt, get out. If you know enough about sharks to distinguish the species of shark you're swimming with, then you might not want to get out. There a lot of neat ones that are just fun to watch and swim with.

Q. What did you think when you heard about the shark attack on the triathlete?

A.I was very sad. But I'd like to mention that shark attacks are very rare off the Southern California coast.

Q. Were the triathlete's swimming buddies nuts to try and help him, to tow him to shore? Don't sharks go nuts when there is blood in the water?

A. It was extremely courageous for the triathlete's swimming buddies to tow him to shore. Yes, blood in the water can attract other sharks. But from what I've learned from shark expert friends, that shark zeroed in on just one person, bit him twice in total, and realized that he wasn't food.

Q. Any big swims coming up?

A.I'm working on a couple books right now, and I'm training so I can be ready for the next project. I'm figuring out now what that might be.

David Whiting's column on people and places appears Thursdays. He can be reached at 714-796-6869 or dwhiting@ocregister.com.

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