SurfPulse » Sharks

Shark Attack in Monterey County on Saturday, October 29, 2011

matt — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:26:48 +0000

From KSBW.com:

“MARINA, Calif. — A surfer was attacked by a shark at Marina State Beach early Saturday, emergency crews said.The surfer, Eric Tarantino, 27, was surfing with friends at about 7:15 a.m. The friends said they saw the shark before it attacked.Tarantino was bitten on the arm and neck. Paramedics said they treated Tarantino on the beach and then took him to the marina airport. He was later flown to Regional Medical Center of San Jose.Friends said that Tarantino was in stable condition.”

Photo: philstr

Shark Sighting at Ocean Beach on Wednesday, July 20, 2011

matt — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 00:10:45 +0000

From the Shark Research Committee:

On July 20, 2011, Myung Kil was surfing at Ocean Beach, San Francisco, almost opposite Beach Chalet. It was about 8:30 AM and he had been on the water 45 minutes. The sky was clear with air and water temperatures estimated in the low 60s and 50s Fahrenheit, respectively. The ocean was calm with decent swells for good small to midsized surf. No marine mammals were observed in the area. Kil reported: “I was waiting on my board for a set, looking outbound when slightly to my left, perhaps 10 o’clock and about 25 yards away, I saw a fairly large triangle fin a good foot to foot and a half and part of the sharks brownish back exposed from the trough of an incoming swell. It was moving perpendicular to me, cruised under the incoming swell and disappeared. I don’t recall much water thrashing when the shark broke the surface. I’d seen birds dive into the ocean for baitfish previously. I waited for seconds, registering that I had seen a shark, looked at the other surfers around me then saw a decent wave to catch back to shore perhaps minutes later. The shark had a very large dorsal fin, light and water shimmered on the back end of the shark, which was visible slightly out of the swell for a moment. In the light, and water, the shark looked brownish and I would guess 8 feet in length from my perspective.”

Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Photo by jutecht via flickr.

Shark Attack in Oregon on Thursday, October 28, 2010

matt — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 13:26:19 +0000

Who says lightning, or sharks, don’t strike twice? The following report was provided courtesy of the Shark Research Committee:

Florence, OR — On October 28, 2010 Seth Mead and Gus Gates were surfing 75 yards from shore and about 100 yards from the North Jetty of the Siuslaw River at Florence, Oregon. It was 3:20 PM and they had been on the water 5–10 minutes. The sky was overcast with a light southeast breeze and an estimated air temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The sea was calm with a 4–6 foot swell over a sandy ocean bottom 15 feet deep with poor visibility and an estimated temperature of 54 degrees Fahrenheit. An undetermined number of Harbor Seals were observed near shore with one animal dead on the beach. Gates reported the following:

“I was paddling out on my surfboard to where my friend Seth was surfing, approximately 100 yards north of the North Jetty in Florence. I was watching him as he was paddling back out after catching a wave (his first and only after about 10 minutes in the water) from a distance of about 50 yards, all of the sudden I saw a bunch of commotion and a large grey dorsal fin and the shark’s tail out of the water next to Seth. A wave in between us blocked my view for an immediate second as I contemplated what I had just seen. When Seth reappeared he yelled, ‘paddle to the beach now!’ and we both paddled as hard as we could and caught a wave on our bellies. Seth was totally unharmed physically, minus the loss of a favorite surfboard. No rescue was needed, Seth was relieved that he was not hurt and wonders why sharks seem to like him so much. I told the Coast Guard officer who was on the beach about the encounter and asked that she notify others in the event that they might paddle out.”

Seth Mead was attacked, but uninjured, by a White Shark on 20 September 2004 while surfing at Gold Beach, Oregon. Additional information will be posted as it becomes available. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Photo: hermanusbackpackers (flickr)

Shark Kills Bodyboarder in Santa Barbara County on Friday, October 22, 2010

matt — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 18:36:01 +0000

On Fri., Oct. 22, a 19-year old bodyboarder, Lucas Ransom, was attacked and killed by a shark—suspected to be a Great White Shark between 14 to 20 feet in length—at Surf Beach in Santa Barbara County. The beach is a part of Vandenberg Air Force Base with public access. Mr. Ransom was a junior at UCSB, studying chemical engineering. He suffered a major trauma to one leg and by the time his friend and another witness pulled him 100 yards back to shore, he had died from the injury.

Photo courtesy of SBSO

In 2008, a surfer was attacked by a Great White Shark at the same beach.

More details at The Santa Barbara Independent.

Photo of Mr. Ransom above courtesy of The Press-Enterprise.

Possible Shark Sighting at Ocean Beach, SF on Thursday, August 19, 2010

matt — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:34:41 +0000

According to a comment on stokereport.com, there was a shark sighting at Ocean Beach on Thurs., August 19 at about 5:30 PM. It’s that time of year—already seeing an increase in observed shark activity for the upcoming autumn.

Photo: Martin and Julia

Numerous Shark Encounters in California, August 14–16, 2010

matt — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 02:51:35 +0000

The Shark Research Committee has sent us a number of reports of shark encounters in the past week. We tend to only post the reports in central and northern California, as the one below from Pigeon Point, but this much activity raises interest along the entire state’s coast. Old Whitey seems to have it in for kayakers this year.

San Onofre State Beach — On August 16, 2010 Abby Joseph and her son were Stand Up Paddle Boarding at Dog Patch, San Onofre State Beach. It was 8:30 AM and they had been on the water about 10 minutes. The sky was overcast with a light fog. Air and water temperatures were estimated in the mid-60 Fahrenheit. The ocean was flat and glassy with small waves. No marine mammals were observed in the area. Joseph reported:

“I was Stand Up Paddle Boarding with a 10′ 3″ board, orange bottom, yellow paddle. I first saw the shark when I had just paddled out. I noticed a fin about 20 feet out, Northwest from my location. I was pretty much by myself, except for my son who was nearby on a longboard. There was a group of about five standup paddlers and watercraft South of me. I pointed out the fin to my son. He did not see it. I saw the fin disappear, and did not see the shark swim away. I just thought I may have been imagining something. I continued to paddle around and catch waves. A group of guys were on the South end of Dog Patch and they remarked that a shark was swimming right by where I had been and told me to stay in the group and not fall off the board. The guys who talked to me had gone in. I kept talking to my son about it and he said if I really saw a shark I wouldn’t still be in the water. Right then, we heard some guys in the water talking about there being a ‘big one.’ I looked over and about 40 feet away saw the shark swimming through the group of SUP’s and kayaks/watercraft. I was able to see the fins and by the way the shark moved it was clearly not a dolphin. The dorsal fin was triangular, with part cut out. The second time I saw the dorsal fin, another fin, and the tail were also visible. It just skimmed the water and swam in and out of their group within just feet of the men. My son and I got out of the water. I think we had enough for the day. On the beach, I talked to the guys who had seen the shark. One of the men who had been near the shark said that it was about 10 feet long, which he said was as long as his paddle board.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

La Jolla — On August 15, 2010 Mike Lee, Staff Writer, Union-Tribune, San Diego, posted the following:

“Shark sightings prompt warnings at La Jolla. San Diego lifeguards are warning beachgoers to be alert after two reported sightings of a possible Great White Shark on Sunday afternoon, one by a kayaker and the other by a lifeguard, said Maurice Luque, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman. He said lifeguards are advising beach visitors on Monday ‘to use their own judgment as to whether or not they want to go into the water.’ The advisory spans the area from La Jolla Cove to the Scripps Pier. It is among the most heavily used coastal zones in the region, drawing swimmers, kayakers, sun bathers and others. The first incident was Sunday morning when a kayaker said he spotted a shark about two miles offshore that was longer than his boat, said Lifeguard Sgt. Rich Stropky. At about 4:30 PM lifeguards in the main tower spotted a fin roughly 50 yards offshore near Tower 30 at the Southern end of Kellogg Park. Stropky said they just saw the fin for a couple of seconds, but it was ‘in character with a shark, not in character with a porpoise.’ Lifeguards put an extra patrol boat in the water on Sunday afternoon and plan to continue precautionary measures on Monday. ‘We are not saying stay out of the water. We are saying this is a little unusual,’ Stropky said. ‘We know that there are sharks out there in the water. What is unusual about this is that it came so close to the shore in an area where there are swimmers in the water.’ Fear of sharks runs deep partly because, April 25, 2008, a swimmer was killed by a Great White Shark during a group workout near Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach.“ Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Pigeon Point — On August 14, 2010 Adam Coca was kayaking off Bean Hollow Beach just North of Pigeon Point, California. The following was obtained from Adam Coca’s written description with additional information provided by Allan Bushnel, Journalist, Santa Cruz Sentinel:

“Coca said, I was South of Bean Hollow Beach off those beaches toward Pigeon Point on the San Mateo coast. I stopped to fish in about 30 feet of water when I felt the shark strike the nose of my boat from below, like boom, then KABOOM! It flipped the boat over and I was half-way in the water. The shark was chewing on the bow of my boat while swimming in a circle. We must have done three or four circles like that with the shark pushing and chewing on my boat. I was finally able to climb atop my boat, while the shark continued to chew on the nose. My boat is 13 feet in length and the shark was at least as long, maybe longer. The Great White Shark became tangled in my leash and might have been distracted by the flailing paddle, which it did bite and severe my leash. The shark submerged and disappeared. I flipped my boat over and jumped in and hung on to the rails and braced myself, waiting for the next strike, which never came. I had made a distress call on my VHF radio which brought other kayakers to my location quickly. They helped me collect my floating gear that had been dislodged from the kayak when it flipped over. The bite marks on the bottom of the boat measured 18 inches at the widest portion of the arc, and the individual tooth marks were about 2 inches apart.” This is a preliminary report. Additional information will be posted as it becomes available. This represents the fourth, authenticated, unprovoked shark attack from the Pacific Coast for this year. It is the second attack on a kayaker in less than two weeks. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Point Dume — On August 14, 2010 Gerry Wallfesh reported the following:

“This morning I was SUP surfing at Little Dume in Malibu. I was paddling back to Westward Beach around 11:30 AM when I saw what looked like a Great White Shark. I was approximately 200 feet offshore near the entrance to Point Dume when I saw the shark. I observed the shark swim towards my board and then veer further offshore as we passed one another. My board is 10′ 6” and I would estimate the shark to be 8 – 10 feet in length with a grayish black color. Waves were 1 – 3 feet and there was a 1 – 2 foot swell/chop when I was paddling back to Westward Beach. Approximately 2 – 3 minutes after my sighting, as I continued my paddle back, there were a few Dolphins nearby that were slapping their tails against the ocean surface repeatedly. In addition, approximately 15 minutes after the sighting, I saw another pod of Dolphins near Tower 5 at Westward Beach. There were approximately 10 Dolphins in the pod and they were maybe 50 feet offshore. They remained in this spot for a few minutes.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Sunset Beach — On August 14, 2010 Jonathan Cohen was surfing at Sunset Beach, California. It was 8:30 AM and he had been on the water about 20 minutes. Air and water temperatures were estimated in the upper-60s Fahrenheit. The sky was overcast and the surf was described as ‘slight onshore.’ No marine mammals were observed in the area. Cohen reported: “I was sitting with five or so other surfers at the North end of Sunset Beach about 40 yards offshore. About 100 yards from us toward the horizon a shark breached completely out of the water, shot straight up, then flipped back into the sea. From our distance it was difficult to make out any details other than its underside was white and it was easily 6 feet in length.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Photo: Michael Heilemann

Shark Attack in Santa Barbara on Monday, August 2, 2010

matt — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:35:39 +0000

From the Shark Research Committee:

Gaviota State Beach * — On August 2, 2010 Duane Strosaker was kayaking off Gaviota State Beach, Santa Barbara County. It was 12:40 PM and he had been on the water for 5 hours and 40 minutes. The sea was calm and the sky overcast and foggy with air and water temperatures estimated at 65 and 62 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. His sea kayak is 17.5 feet in length, 21 inches wide, red in color and made of fiberglass and plywood. He used a Greenland-style paddle with long narrow blades. Water depth at this location is 100 fathoms. There were about a dozen sea lions at the mooring buoy for oil rig Hondo, which was his last stop before heading back to the mainland. Strosaker reported:

“I left oil rig Hondo in my sea kayak at about noon to begin the 7 nautical mile crossing at a heading of 300 degrees to get back to Gaviota State Beach. My paddle speed was about 4 knots. Without warning at about 12:40 PM, when I was around 5 nautical miles from Gaviota State Beach, a Great White Shark, which I estimated to be at least 15 feet long, bit and held onto my kayak.

It attacked from my left side, with its head coming up from the water only a few feet from my kayak. It bit my kayak where my left foot was located inside the hull, and its mouth wrapped half way around the hull. There was not a hard impact. The shark held onto my kayak for 10–15 seconds, during which it seemed relaxed and was not moving. Its head was huge. I put the left tip of my paddle against the shark’s head, and I thought about hitting the shark, but I didn’t want to anger it or make it thrash. After the longest 10–15 seconds in my life, the shark gently let go of the kayak and slid back into the water. I wasn’t knocked off balance and did not have to brace. A few seconds later and about 15–20 feet in front of my kayak, I saw the tail fin of the shark break the surface and powerfully whip around, like the shark was coming back at me for a second strike, but it never happened. After waiting a few seconds I started paddling again. Frequently, I checked behind me to see if the shark was following, but I never saw it again. My kayak had teeth marks and punctures on the top and bottom, and water was leaking into it.”

This is the third unprovoked shark attack reported from the Pacific Coast this year. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Shark Sighting in Bolinas on Tuesday, May 25, 2010

matt — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:13:02 +0000

The following report of a Great White Shark sighting is courtesy of the Shark Research Committee.

On May 25, 2010 Mike Baehr was surfing 30–40 feet from shore in the channel at Bolinas Beach, which is located 10 miles west-southwest of San Rafael and 20 miles north of San Francisco. It was 11:30 AM and he had returned to the water, following a one hour session and a 20–30 minute rest period while waxing his board. The sky was overcast and there was a light rain. Baehr reported:
“I was surfing in front of the channel, along with two other surfers. One was on the East Channel side of the ‘groin’ (jetty) with the other surfer and I on the West side. The surfer on the channel side yelled ‘Shark!’ and we all paddled in. Right about at the outer bar and perhaps 50 feet east of the ‘groin,’ and 60 feet from shore, was what appeared to be a young seal struggling mightily. Both of the other surfers observed, more than once, a dorsal fin about 2 feet high. I did not see the shark and only witnessed the seal fighting for its life. It was thrashed around quite a bit and eventually disappeared. There was a flock of birds hovering closely over the battle scene the whole time. They left once it was over. We did not see the shark again after that, though another seal did find its way out of the channel and head west. I had been surfing that spot only about 30 minutes earlier and am feeling pretty lucky.”

Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Photo: Michael Heilemann

Shark Sighting at Ocean Beach (SF) on Sunday, May 9, 2010

matt — Sat, 15 May 2010 13:35:38 +0000

The following shark encounter report is courtesy of the Shark Research Committee.

On May 9, 2010, Brian Monroe was surfing Ocean Beach, San Francisco. It was about 5:00 PM under a breezy, partly cloudy sky. Air and water temperatures were estimated at 60 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. Monroe reported the following:

“I was surfing in about 1–3 surf in choppy conditions about 50–60 yards from shore. It was low tide. I saw this event start about 50–75 yards away laterally down the beach to the north of my location. I saw a large dark grey dorsal fin, 18–24 inches high, and splashing directly next to a Grey Whale ( Eschrichtius robustus) that had its back elevated out of the water. I quickly paddled to shore and observed what appeared to be two whales, one large and one small, being repeatedly pursued by a large dark grey dorsal fin traveling along the surface. The shark appeared to be acting in an aggressive manner. About 5–7 minutes after the initial sighting, I observed a pod of three Dolphins in the immediate area with smaller 6–10 inch dorsal fins. After about 10 minutes I no longer observed the large dorsal fin, but continued to see the whale(s) moving along the coast northern direction, blowing air out their blow holes. Whether this was an attack on the whale calf or there was a school of fish that they were all going after I don’t know, but this was witnessed by multiple people in the area.”

Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Photo: philstr

Shark Attack in Santa Cruz on Thursday, November 5, 2009

matt — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:17:11 +0000

SurfPulse just received a report from the Shark Research Committee of a shark attack in Santa Cruz on Thurs., Nov. 5:

On November 5, 2009 Eric Geiselman was surfing at Lagunas, just north of Santa Cruz. The following report was posted on the website Super Spectacular Adventures by Geiselman:

“I don’t even know how to describe it. Everything happened so quickly! I was surfing with my brother Evan and Taylor Brothers at this wave called Lagoonas. The waves were sh..ty and it was raining. I wasn’t even that motivated to go out. Evan and Taylor were in typical ‘grom’ mode and wanted to have a paddle. Jay Thompson and a couple other guys were out surfing too. Right before it was getting dark everyone went in except us. I was sitting out the back just waiting for a wave. I had my back towards the ocean looking straight towards the beach to line up when it happened. Out of nowhere I got attacked from underneath. My board broke instantly right underneath me from the crazy force and I pretty much fell through my board but somehow managed to keep the front end under me. I knew right away I was being attacked and sort of just went into panic mode. I actually kicked it to when I was scrambling to get away. I was screaming to my brother who was about 30 yards away from me. My leash was still attached to the back end of my board when I was scratching to get away but, I was too scared to even reach back and undo it! What was so crazy is we weren’t even that far off the beach. Luckily I made it in to the shore. My buddy Mike Lopez and Taylor’s brother Cavin filmed me scratching once they heard me screaming. All that you can see on footage. Somehow my board didn’t get a bite in it?? Luckily it hit me by my fins so I think that might have spooked it. It was definitely the scariest thing that has ever happen to me. It’s crazy because it felt like a really bad nightmare. So scary to know how helpless you are in the water when something like that goes down! Thank God that’s all that happened!”

Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.