Ralph Collier of the Shark Research Institute spoke with J.J. Powell for about 30 minutes on July 26, 2004 regarding the encounter that day at Linda Mar Beach. Like the Ocean Beach incident two days before, there were more than a dozen surfers that witnessed the event.

(Linda Mar Beach) On Monday, July 26, 2004, J.J. Powell was about 75 yards from shore at the north end of Linda Mar Beach. It was 12:05 P.M. and he had been in the water about an hour. There were 9 or 10 other surfers in this area with four surfers just south of his location. It was sunny with a brisk wind and the water was a, "very murky, almost a reddish color." Three Harbor Seals were observed inside of the surfers in the white water.

JJ recounted, "I saw a dorsal fin, 12 to 18 inches in height, about 125 yards from the beach or 50 yards further out from where I was in the lineup. The shark’s dorsal fin seemed to be shifting back and forth as if the shark were twisting in the water. The shark rolled slightly to one side and its tail, which was very large, came out of the water as it moved from side to side. I thought I saw a 'hump' in the water near the shark. It appeared to me as though the shark might have been feeding on something. One of the other surfers thought he saw something spotted floating in the water near his location. We decided to alert the other surfers in the area and began yelling to get their attention. After we exited the water we saw the shark a second time, about 20 yards north of its original location, moving slowly across the surface."

Although a positive identification of the shark is not possible, White Sharks are known to frequent the area around Linda Mar Beach. It is suggested that caution be exercised while using this area for your ocean activity.

Please report any shark encounters to the Shark Research Committee and SurfPulse.

Read other shark-related articles in SurfPulse's Shark section.