There were two recent shark sightings at Waddell Creek reported to the Shark Research Committee:
Sighting #1:
On September 23, 2006 Jeff Parker and two friends were observing the surf conditions from shore. It was 6:45 P.M. and it was sunny with patchy fog developing. Parker recounted: “We weren’t in the water, we were checking the surf out from the van in the parking lot. There were about 12 surfers in the water, scattered from south to north with 100–150 yard gaps between surfers. We were about to suit up and chose a peak between two groups of surfers when I noticed what appeared to be two boogie boarders that showed up out of nowhere. I asked my friend if he saw the same thing and he concurred. After 3–4 waves of this appearing and disappearing, I realized it was a shark just floating at the surface, barely moving and right in the takeoff zone of the surfline. Birds kept flying overhead and I was able to grab my video camera and capture maybe 10 seconds of footage which verified both dorsal and tail fin, eliminating the chance of it being a dolphin. It was no surprise to any of us to see a shark at this location. The distance between the dorsal fin and tail was 7–8 feet.”
Sighting #2:
On September 26, 2006 ‘Doc’ Rivera was filming his friend, ‘Beak’ and another unidentified surfer on a longboard, from the beach at Waddell Creek about 50 yards north of ‘The Warden’ sign at the North end of the parking lot. It was 11:30 A.M. and ‘Beak’ had been in the water about one hour. There was an overcast sky and a brisk wind. Air and water temperatures were in the low 60s and 50s Fahrenheit, respectively. The ocean floor was primarily sand and 3–5 feet deep with a 3–5 foot shore break. Several pinnipeds were observed inside the shore break with an undetermined number of birds on the outside of the surf line and in the air. Rivera recalled: “‘Beak’ had just taken a wave on a larger set, the ocean/waves had just gone slack, when the back of a large White Shark appeared at the surface chasing a seal. The shark’s tail sprayed and splashed water as it chased the seal through the shallows. Its dorsal fin was 16–20 inches high, with the shark a dark grey and 13–14 feet in length. I was amazed at the amount of water the shark displaced while chasing the seal. This lasted about 10–15 seconds. ‘Beak’ got out of the water and 20–30 seconds later a second seal, larger than the first, hurled itself through the air near the longboarder. The seal surfaced next to the longboarder as if it was huddling up next to him, half in and out of the water. The longboarder was outside in the flatspell post the set. The longboarder then promptly left the water on the next wave set. His words upon leaving the water were: ‘That was @#$&ING Scary!!!!!!’ ‘Beak’ and I returned about two hours later to see another seal around county line swimming and jumping erratically toward the beach (very odd behavior). This went on for about a minute, then the seal was gone. The birds were outside feasting on an obvious oily slick that was not a bait ball.”
Caution should be exercised when utilizing this location for your ocean water activities. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.
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