Ski/Tube with Alligators??

[ChrisNCarrie]

We recently moved to Charleston, SC from Ohio, and a neighbor jokingly told us to make sure we watch out before we jump in the rivers and lakes around here... be on the look out for GATORS! LoL Really?? I know they are here, but I never really thought about it. How in the heck am I supposed to go swimming now? How am I supposed to let my kids jump in? Am I totally be a fraidy cat? What does everyone do? Do I need to carry a .25 with me?? LoL!!

No really, how much of a concern is this? Should I just leave our towables home? LoL!!

-Carrie

 

[robert graham]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

Charleston harbor is a busy boating/shipping area with a very few, very shy alligators. You might see more of them in the upper, more remote parts of the Ashley, Cooper, Wando or Stono Rivers, but as long as you're skiing, tubing, etc. and moving around it's very doubtful you'll ever even see one. The folks who get in trouble with an alligator might be swimming or snorkling quietly along a grassy riverbank, especially in the early evening. Alligators are drawn to dogs and children playing in the shallow waters, but mostly remote areas. I just don't see it as a big danger factor, probably more likely to get killed in a car wreck on the way to the ramp. You're gonna love Charleston! Good Luck!

 

[reap182]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

dude have fun with the new area. a little bit different than the lakes of ohio.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

Thankfully one thing we don't have to worry about here !!!

 

[jt185]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

Alligators are drawn to dogs and children playing in the shallow waters, but mostly remote areas.

"Here Fido... Fido?"

 

[slasmith1]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

sounds like a new event for the redneck olympics.

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

All lakes have snakes, right, same deal.

You are going to have more trouble with tides than alligators.

Where the alligators live during the times you will ski and tube your boat won't even make it.

Find a friendly neighbor to take you out on their boat in the area before you take yours out. Again, tides are the big factor there.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

Last year a guy snorkling up on Lake Moultrie about 30 miles north of Charleston got his arm ripped off at the shoulder by an alligator. For years he had been in the habit of snorkling around a public boat ramp and park area and finally the gator got him, but he survived. There have been a few incidents in the coastal area at golf courses where the gators live in the ponds and creeks and when folks go in the water to retrieve golf balls, Mr. Gator waiting on him. I just doubt you'll ever have any problems while out boating, tubing, skiing, etc.
We do a lot of boating on the St.Johns River in Florida and it's a totally different gator atmosphere down there, it's just crawling with them! I just don't jump in the water there unless it's a beach or a spring where I can see the bottom. Several folks killed in Florida over the years, mostly snorkling and swimming in the wrong area at the wrong time of day! Better not say too much to your wife about all this or paranoia could set in! My wife thinks there's a gator under every lily pad! Good Luck.

 

[ChrisNCarrie]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

Thanks everyone for the info. I'm sure we'll still use caution. Hey Robert... too late warning the wife... this is the wife! LoL!! I was talking to someone the other day and he mentioned the alligator at Moultrie. He said it stayed on his side of the lake on the opposite side of the beach area. He didnt mention the guy that lost his arm.

"Here Fido... Fido?"

LoL... thats just not right on so many levels!!

-Carrie

 

[robert graham]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

That guy up at Moultrie had been snorkling around that same grassy, quiet area for "20+" years and "never worried about gators", but he is minus an arm at the shoulder now. Only the fast work of some nurses who happened to be there kept him from bleeding to death. They killed the gator and retrieved the guy's arm but it couldn't be re-attached. My guess is that you folks will never even see an alligator unless you're just searching for one. If you're really worried about this you can take your boat out more towards the salt water/barrier islands to do your swimming and tubing and the gators never go way out that far. They like the deep, dark rivers and creeks with stumps, logs, grass,etc. where they can hide and find fish and turtles to eat.

 

[Tommy Monsoon]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

Hey......what do I know but........bring a loaded gun & / or a knife strapped to your arm/leg and good luck! I'd rather break than rules then die!

 

[robert graham]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

Gun/Knife is fine, IF you see him first, but if Mr. Gator comes up out of that black water and grabs your arm or leg, then you most likely going to loose that arm or leg, or worse yet, be his dinner! We've never had any issues or problems with a gator,but the very worse thing you can do is try and feed him by tossing him some food, from then on, the clock's just ticking until he creates some serious trouble for himself and some poor human! I can always tell one that's been fed because they'll lay right over there on the surface and wait for their hand-out, just like a dog! Good Luck!

 

[chuck in WA]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

I lived in Mt. Pleasant from 1996 to 2000. We used to ski and JetSki on the ICW and it's associated waterways all the time and saw lots of gators on the shore. We skiied anyway, but made a slight extra effort not to fall when passing them, LOL! I will say, however, it's a bit disheartening to see them all jump into the water as the boat approaches.

 

[Willyclay]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

the gators never go way out that far.

The SCDNR officer trying to remove the alligator from the lake behind my house told me they will frequent saltwater for food but need to return to freshwater for flushing out. One gator got lost last year and wound up in the surf on the beach at IOP. FYI, they are a protected species in SC and the fine for feeding or harassing them is $5,000. Be safe!

 

[ChrisNCarrie]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

We have kids and I'm just not sure how we're going to handle this. Even more than the tubing, now I'm even more worried about swimming. I cant imagine being on the boat all day and not jump in the water. But...

Those of you from this area... what do you do out on the water, where do you go, how do you enjoy the water the most?

 

[robert graham]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

Don't let all this talk cause paranoia, there's plenty of safe islands, beaches, sand bars, etc. to get out and swim on. Nice tidal sand bar in the bend of the Stono River where everybody congregates to swim, pic-nic, work on their boats, etc. The Ashley and Cooper Rivers tend to be a bit silty and murky at times at that's why we usually run out to the salt water beach areas to swim and fish. Nice crescent-shaped island right at the mouth of the Shem Creek to get out and swim on. You're going to really enjoy boating around Charleston and don't worry about the gators!

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

Gators are not particularly aggressive towards adult humans. They view us more as a danger than a meal. What you have to be careful of, are very large gators. They sometimes do hunt humans, particularly in areas where they are not only fed, but not harrassed. Its when they get used to humans and lose their fear of us, that things can get interesting.

We have areas where I live, that have many "camps" that are accessable only by water. I rarely see people just swimming in the canals/bayous where the camps are located, but they do water ski and tube quite a bit. The trick is to keep moving most of the time, because that scares the gators away.

I would not allow a child to swim off the end of a dock, where there are lots of gators. I also wouldn't do it myself. While the odds of attack are small, that doesn't make a parent feel any better if their child is attacked. We had a kid here a couple of years ago, suffer the same fate as the guy Robert mentioned. He was swimming in a lake in Slidell, LA and was attacked by a gator. If I remember the story correctly, he lost his left arm about at the shoulder.

Don't get freaked out by the presence of gators - just be smart about your recreational habits. If you do that and learn what areas tend to have more gators than others, you will be fine.



???

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

MMMM tastes just like chicken

 

[madurodave]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

Thanks everyone for the info. I'm sure we'll still use caution. Hey Robert... too late warning the wife... this is the wife! LoL!! I was talking to someone the other day and he mentioned the alligator at Moultrie. He said it stayed on his side of the lake on the opposite side of the beach area. He didnt mention the guy that lost his arm.


LoL... thats just not right on so many levels!!

-Carrie

BBWHAHAHAHAHA

 

[madurodave]

Re: Ski/Tube with Alligators??

Thanks everyone for the info. I'm sure we'll still use caution. Hey Robert... too late warning the wife... this is the wife! LoL!! I was talking to someone the other day and he mentioned the alligator at Moultrie. He said it stayed on his side of the lake on the opposite side of the beach area. He didnt mention the guy that lost his arm.


LoL... thats just not right on so many levels!!

-Carrie

double post. one BBWHAHAHAHA is enough I think