shark attack

My sister has been living in Australia for 6 months. We normally skype once a week and from my laptop screen I've watched her gradually get more and more tanned and more and more relaxed. The laid-back, outdoor Aussie lifestyle obviously suits her - I'm sure the constant sunshine definitely helps too! So there we were today, having a good catch up and I said that I'd been swimming this morning with a friend. My sister mentioned that she's considering signing up for a triathlon but doesn't know which distance to pick, should she pick the one with the longest swimming leg as it's likely to be her strongest category or a shorter leg as she doesn't want to spend too long in the sea because of sharks. Now I know there are sharks in Australia, and box jellyfish and numerous deadly snakes and spiders. I've been there myself. But I hadn't quite realised how much of a problem sharks were if you wanted to hit the beach. I thought they rarely attacked people but apparently I'm wrong. My sister, quite casually, told me that there have been 5 shark attacks in the last 6 months in Perth and they now even have 'shark watch' helicopters patrolling the beach. (I googled this in case she was winding me up but it's true.) Apparently the trick is not to swim at dawn. Or dusk. Or if it's overcast. And you shouldn't swim too far away from shore. I know Aussie's are renowned for being laid-back but haven't any of them watched Jaws?! I can think of a far better way of preventing shark attacks - JUST DON'T GET IN THE SEA!