- Will Rogers State Beach - On June 30, 2007 Katina
Zinner was swimming off Will Rogers State Beach about 20 yards from shore
directly in front of the Bel Air Bay Club, which is North of the Temescal/
Will Rogers State Beach and South of the surfing beach at Sunset Beach.
It was about 10 AM and she had been in the water 50 minutes. Zinner was
wearing a bikini with silver jewelry; including anklets, bracelets and
large silver rings. Water and air temperatures were estimated to be in
the mid-60s and 80's respectively with a clear sky. Three fishermen were
observed on the rocks in front of the Bel Air Bay Club. The ocean was flat
over a sandy, flat bottom, 20 30 feet deep. Zinner recounted; "While
swimming I felt an enormous clamp down bite sensation and very, very strong
tug. I was in a very meditative state as I usually am when I swim and this
just bolted me into panic. I yanked my left hand out of its mouth instinctively
and swam toward shore immediately hyperventilating for a few minutes, then
collecting myself and began swimming more slowly to the beach. I lost a
silver ring about an inch long. I have bite marks from the top of my ring
finger to the lower part of my palm. Once I reached the shore I immediately
went to the fishermen who were aware at that point something was wrong.
They had been fishing there and noticed I was wearing silver jewelry and
suggested this may have been an unintentional lure to the shark that bit
me. I reported the incident to the staff at the Bel Air Bay Club and then
proceeded to do the same with the lifeguard at Sunset Beach who bandaged
me. I never did see the shark." Sharks are known to frequent this
area during grunion spawns from March thru September.
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- Faria Beach - On July 17, 2007 Susan Levy was swimming
with her husband Eric off Faria Beach, Ventura, California. This location
is also referred to as Pitas Point. She was wearing a full black wetsuit
with exposed hands and feet. It was 11 AM and they had been in the water
25 minutes. The sky was clear with a 1 3 foot ocean swell. They were
about 1/3 of a mile from shore with water visibility 1 2 feet. Susan
recounted; "I was swimming with my husband when I felt a tug on my
left foot. At first I thought it might have been my husband grabbing my
foot, but then I saw he was about 10 feet away to my left. I looked around
but did not see any sharks or other marine animals. We examined my foot
and saw that I was bleeding but the wounds were not deep, so we swam into
shore. We went to the lifeguard station at Emma Wood State Beach; where
the lifeguard gave me antiseptic cleanser for my wounds. I have 4 scrapes
on the instep, ranging from 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches forming an arching shape.
The scrape on the back of my foot, by my heel is about 2 inches long with
scrapes going down." Caution should be exercised when utilizing this
location for your ocean water activities.
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- Bean Hollow Beach - On July 21, 2007 Joel
Lotilla reported that a White Shark struck the Kayak of friend, "Dan,"
while fishing off Bean Hollow Beach, which is just south of Pescadero and
about 17 miles south of Half Moon Bay, in San Mateo County. The victim
was riding a red 16 foot sit-on-top fishing Kayak and had been on the water
about 4 hours. About 18 kayakers had launched from the beach at about 7:30
AM with "Dan" paddling North to a location about one mile off
the beach. Water depth was about 50 feet with the ocean floor a mixture
of small reefs with intermittent sandy areas. Lotilla recalled; "Dan
was tying a fishing lure when he suddenly got ejected from his sit-on-top
kayak. As he was attempting to climb back on his kayak, he saw that a Great
White Shark had its mouth around the bow of his kayak. The shark then let
go and swam away. Dan got back on his kayak and noticed that he was taking
on water and paddled back to the beach. He was not injured. Tooth marks
to the bow of the Kayak were about 20 inches in diameter with several teeth
penetrating the heavy plastic hull causing the vessel to take on water."
This is the sixth confirmed attack by a White Shark on a kayak off the
Pacific Coast of North America.
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- Malibu Beach - On July 22, 2007 Vic Calandra accompanied
by 20 competitors was paddle boarding from Zuma Beach to Malibu in the
10-mile Tommy Zahn Paddleboard Race. They had all entered the water at
the Zuma Beach Lifeguard station at about 9:00 AM. There was a slight overcast
with no wind and a small swell. He was standing on his board using a single
paddle to propel himself and had passed Paradise Cove and Corral Beach
and had nearly reached the incline where Malibu Road starts. He was about
a mile and a quarter off shore with another competitor 300 yards farther
outside of his location. Calandra recounted the following to Journalist
Ben Marcus; "The ocean was calm when I heard the sound of something
cutting through the water. I stopped paddling and turned around and saw
something big in the water behind me. I thought it might be a dolphin,
but the fin kept coming out of the water until it was 18 24 inches
high. The fin was about 30 feet behind me and tracked in the wake of my
paddle board for another 50 100 yards, closing the distance slowly
until it was 10 feet away. That is when the melee began. The shark nudged
my board from behind and I slapped at the water with my paddle just as
it turned on its side. I got a full look at it as it past my board only
two feet below the surface. It was 12 feet long with an immense girth of
about 3.5 feet on either side of the dorsal fin. The shark swam laterally
three or four times under me as I continued slapping at it. The shark seemed
to be very aggressive and agitated. I continued to maneuver my board for
several minutes trying to avoid being struck by the shark. This allowed
three other paddlers to catch up to me. I managed to attract the attention
of one. It was Joey Everett an LA County Fireman and Lifeguard stationed
at Zuma Beach. When Everett was about 25 yards from me the shark rammed
the tail of my board. Everett yelled, 'Don't fall! He's on your tail. I'm
going to try and ram him!' Everett paddled up and over the shark with his
board and I started swinging with my paddle. I was screaming at the shark
and bumping it with my board and hitting it on the nose but I had no idea
if that was scaring the shark or making it more aggressive. The shark made
at least 6 aggressive strikes at my board during our mutual stand against
it. We saw a fishing boat about 150 200 yards away and headed for
it. When we finally reached the boat Everett went aboard and called Baywatch
for assistance as there were still more than a dozen paddlers on the water.
I continued on to warn other participants and finish the race." White
Sharks are known to frequent this location from March to September. Caution
should be exercised when utilizing this area for your ocean water activities.
Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research
Committee.
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- Imperial Beach - On July 28, 2007 Jordan Springer
and Chris Campbell were surfing near the pier at Imperial Beach, San Diego.
It was 11:00 PM and they had been on the water about 30 minutes. They were
about 50 yards from shore in water 6 8 feet deep. Water temperature
was in the low 70's with a cloudy sky and a full moon. Springer recounted;
"About 2 minutes prior to the attack my friend Chris told me to keep
my feet out of the water because he had seen some fish jumping around.
I was paddling out at the time of the attack with my left hand in the air
to do my next stroke. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and the
next thing I knew there was a shark on my surf board. It had a hold of
my surfboard so I just hit it as hard as I could. It let go and disappeared
beneath the water and I swam out of the water as quickly as possible. I
was not injured." Ocean water activities after sunset are not recommended
for any ocean user group. Some sharks migrate close inshore at sunset,
increasing the possibility of an encounter. Please report any shark sighting,
encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.
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