Lots of sightings, and now this.
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/vi...-beach_147018/
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Lots of sightings, and now this.
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/vi...-beach_147018/
There are juveniles all up and down the coast now. They've actually had a real beneficial effect on the stingray population in some areas. Though I admit they are spooky to see.
This one looks to have been much larger, and the dead whale did have a roughly 16 footer feeding on it. I won't be out there for a few weeks, myself, due to personal schedule, so for me I won't have to worry about exactly when to go back in. There are periodic big fish there, with things like the Solana Beach attack being another example.
Sharks at San O, unheard of.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPOBeXD91fI
Yeah, they've been regularly seen there for a while, so I guess it was just a matter of time.
I will be curious to see how big this shark was. Everyone knows about the juveniles, but supposedly they go for smaller prey. But if a juvenile decided to go after someone they could do some damage.
My parents have a house between San Clemente and Dana Point. My dad has been surfing San O and Capo Beach for 50+ years without ever seeing a shark. We have now seen one 3 weekends in a row. Something is going on that is leading to way more of them than in the past. We all know that they have been out there, but the frequency of the sightings has risen dramatically.
I had never seen one till a week ago and was chased in 2x on Saturday. First my dad points to a fin 20' away which he is 100% was a shark. Then a few hours later I see another fin a bit further away. Neither was acting aggressively and I think they are just cruising. That 2nd time there was also a heli doing circles over the water from Dana Pt. to San Clemente. Then yesterday there were 4 sharks circling the break in front of the house. A chopper was flying circles over the water and everyone was told to get out. We have drone pictures of the 4 sharks. Pretty spooky.
Then this woman gets munched at Church's. I don't think this is just a case of more people in the water. Who knows, but really putting a damper on all the great waves / conditions lately.
Joyce Hoffman, part of the Hoffman surfing family and ex-world champ bopped one on the nose that was coming a bit too close to her SUP a week ago.
http://www.kolotv.com/content/news/O...420882374.html
It's the End of Dayz!
Boy that video from San O gave me the heebies. I knew it was going to show up but still, the anticipation, eek. I would seriously had been thinking to myself, so, this is how it ends. Well wishes for the bite victim.
Stay safe.
I would have to agree. Something is different. You can chalk part of it up to more people in the water and part of it up to the ease of reporting encounters, but something really seems different in Southern California. I will never forget when the swimmer got killed in Solana Beach in 2008. I saw it on the news when I arrived at my ski lease for the weekend and assumed it was up north. When they said Solana Beach it gave me the chills. It seems like since then the number of sightings has just exploded. There just seem to be lots more of them in the water now. Something about the ecosystem has changed. I don't surf all that much in the winter, I'm at Mammoth a lot and I get out of the habit of going. But It is definitely in the back of my mind as Trestles season starts. I have thought about it more during the last couple of years as sightings have gotten more frequent. I like to surf the area between Uppers and Cottons, partly because it is a bit less crowded. Last summer and fall I liked to have at least a few people around. At least Newport peaks tend to be right off shore. I miss the time when one really didn't have to think about sharks down here.
Solana Beach was another large shark, but the juveniles are just a sign of a healthy ecosystem, including hopefully recovering GWS numbers off the US coast. If you get out a lot and look for them on flat days, you'll see them. But they have been there before too.
Now, if you see a wigged out sea lion, caution makes sense.
I was surfing uppers in 1998 and was sitting way outside. Me and Herbie Fletcher. Somebody started yelling "Shark" , and you could see the fin.
But, the waves were freaking awesome . I decided it was more important to stay outside because now Uppers had no crowd.
The whole Tresltes area has been pumping the last couple of days.
Lowers was going off this morning... https://instagram.com/p/BTpFeG3gcga/
Has anyone checked with the charters at Dana Harbor to see what they are pulling in...sashimi baby seal lunch special on the deck at Jon's?
Here's an interesting article examining what is going on:
http://www.surfer.com/features/are-y...GHmmpbzPFKD.97
Great Whites and Seals/Sea Lions... reminds me of Avila Beach. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/S...ck-2560673.php
If the ocean is too healthy as stated in the article, it might be time for CA to approve a few more commercial fishing permits.
Either way, fuck swimming with seals!
As I'm posting there is a new attack on the news in Santa Monica. She lived but looks like a lot of stitches and she is pretty freaked out obviously
Interesting articles above, thanks for posting. I was living in Solana Beach when that went down and I usually surfed within a few hundred yards of the attack spot. I pulled up for a surf check and found ambulances and news crews, there was a definite chill in the local community following the attack. Cape Cod has seen and obvious increase in seal population and also great whites as a result
so was the woman who was killed intentionally swimming with seals?
The Santa Monica event may not be a shark attack. It was also said it looks more like a fin( surfboard) cut by some local shark expert according to CBS news 8 san diego
A fin was also busted off of her board...http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/ha...by-fin_147200/
So, understandable that she may be processing it by now as a shark bite, but that's likely not it.
Yeah the Santa Monica one is looking more like someone going for their 15 minutes of fame
swim to the shore just as fast as you are able, swim like a motherfucker
https://youtu.be/3FbLOsyN4t8?list=PLgmNKBE_yTeli7oo59SzDeKfYWg7Qjpc A