(11/4/02) Tom Hauscarriague, of Pacifica, was surfing at Ocean Beach, San Francisco on Sunday afternoon when he met one of the most powerful yet understated locals of San Francisco- a great white shark.

Hauscarriague, who has been surfing for 20 years, was surfing a peak near Sloat with only three others around dusk yesterday. Hauscarriague claims he was riding a wave when he saw a 12-foot great white shark swimming approximately two feet in front of him on the same wave. Tom suspects that the shark was eyeing him as dinner until it realized that he wasn't a seal. After cruising in front of the surfer for a few moments, the shark changed course and submerged into the depths.

Apparently Hauscarriague barely made a section of the wave during the encounter. The local Carcharodon carcharias might not have been so welcoming to the Pacifica surfer had he fallen from his board. Fortunately for Hauscarriague, he's an experienced surfer.

Ty Shapiro, Public Safety Lifeguard at Ocean Beach, said that Hauscarriague called their headquarters today to report the incident. Shapiro, who spoke directly to Hauscarriague, was convinced of the surfer's sincerity in reporting the incident.

Sometimes surfers start rumors about sharks in an attempt to keep crowds at bay. Even when someone credible reports a shark sighting, there are naysayers who try to shrug off shark sightings as cases of mistaken identity. Shapiro believes Hauscarriague's story because, "He's been surfing for 20 years," and more important, "I could hear the adrenaline in his voice."

Shapiro mentioned that the lifeguards, whose primary goal is public safety, wanted to get the word out about the sighting.

The only other shark incident reported recently to local lifeguards occurred at Stinson Beach last month. In that occurrence, a panicked seal, which had apparently been bitten by a shark, jumped onto the board of an equally alarmed surfer.

With the serene backdrop of sunny, autumn skies that Northern Californians have enjoyed at the beach over the past few days, it's easy to forget that this is the season of the shark. And regardless of the time of year, we regularly surf within one of the most densely populated areas of great white sharks in the world.

Respect the locals and don't hesitate to let one drop in on you- especially if it's ten times your size. But whatever you do, don't fall.

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