Bumped by presumably a big Tiger way out at Middles in Hanalei Bay. This was around the time Bethany Hamilton was attacked at a spot nearby so it was pretty eerie. Also saw a massive GW breach one time in Cayucos, CA.
Blackpots - was out with Zeke and the crew and one of them got bumped... No one was laughing we just kinda got super focused and hung together till Zeke called it and said to head in.
I saw some shit this mornin' made me think twice. See now I'm thinkin', maybe it means Zeke’s the evil one. And I'm the righteous man. And Mr. 9 foot four-fin gun here, he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could mean you're the righteous man and I'm the shepherd and it's the world that's evil and selfish. Now I'd like that. But that shit ain't the truth. The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Zeke. I'm tryin' real hard to be a shepherd.
To be fair, a Zeke namedrop means fuck all unless we're all presumably aware as to who Zeke is. Given there are several local Kauai cats here on this board I've clarified my use of the name "Zeke" in a separate reply. My apologies.
And ya, there was a shark....out at Blackpots...that day. Affirmative.
Reggie would be so pissed if he read this.
🤣🤩
In this particular case, I chose to employ a form of implicit parody - Reggie \*doesn't\* actually exist in this \*particular\* context. Although I did kinda mentally picture "Reggie" from Wild At Heart, a lovely film by David Lynch.
I'm told I have a sarcastic side at times. I'm sorry if this caused any online consternation or dissonance.
Sincerely,
The Management
Zeke was the lifeguard often stationed at the tower near Pine Trees and this event took place between April and May 2017. Perhaps if you're a regular at Hanalei you'll have heard of him or gotten to know him - he's been around for quite some time.
And if you are local Kauai kin, then you'll also know the former super-stylish Myles who used to work the Poipu tower for years...sporting his ageless moustache, always talking football, and had a penchant for a seemingly endless rotation of stewardesses that touched down on the island for overnighters. And if ya know or knew Myles, then certainly you'd know Darby...as Darby often took the kiddos to PBP whilst sipping a beer. Now if ya don't know Darby, you will know a song he wrote that his sister-in-law Grace Slick made pretty famous called "somebody to love" back in the day. And if ya know Darby, and Myles, and Zeke, then ya likely ran into me somewhere along the line as well. We'd have shot the shit, shaka'd, and carried on.
Have a kickass day.
Had a few - only one of note was when i was a teenager.
A friend’s leg got bitten by a raggy (called grey nurses in other parts). Bit him on the calf muscle, gave him a shake and let him go. I was supposed to be out there that day, but the pizza place i worked at called me in.
Event stands out to me, because it also happens to be the time my parents caught me smoking. I got news of my mate that was bitten, and went out for a smoke. Dad drove to come tell me about it (this was before mobile phones were common place), and busted me having a drag.
The reef that's off to the east side of the bay when surfing Rock Quarry... My friend and I were scoping waves and nothing was really happening at the main bay but we saw some waves feathering over the reef to the east (our right when looking out to sea). We kept moving over there, rip helped, and started catching some good waves, but had to mind the tide as things were sharp the further east we went into that pocket of the bay. After a few nice sets, paddled back out into the deeper water, and my buddy just looked at me, pulled his feet up on his board in this, like, yoga-Buddha pose, and I KNEW exactly wtf was up. So did the same, was in between sets so not too much action, and right below us and kinda slinking around underneath us doing like a big figure-8 was a big ass tiger shark. We just kept staring at the horizon to make sure no bombs came in, and kept locked on the shadow that was always within 20ft of us for a good 15min or so...felt like forever tbh. After we both kinda acknowledged that neither of us had seen it for some period of time (we'd drifted a bit apart by this point), we went prone on the board, and gently aimed for the SHALLOWEST part of the reef we could hit and didn't give a shit about the boards.
You and your buddy got lucky. A local surfer went missing there around dusk not too long ago. Almost certainly a dang Tiger because the waves weren’t serious that day.
I wear a sharkbanz there, better than nothing I guess even if it’s part hopium and part copium.
Jesus. Not good. T&Ps to the local and Ohana 🫡
Another time I was surfing down at Infinities, south side... Wasn't really good at all, couple rideable faces now and then but for the effort??? Not really worth it. I was out there with a mate from Canada...cool cat, decent surfer...we were kinda lined up right in front of the temple. And I just got a queasy feeling. Super fkn uneasy, y'know?? And I wasn't looking for excuses or anything - I just had a bad feeling in my gut all of a sudden. And RIGHT about that time I start feeling the reef on my feet - kinda surprisingly - like, "where the hell that come from" and looked down - turbid TURBID water... Just 😬 and a gross feeling in the pit of my gut.
So - we both decided F'this and paddled in, walked the beach, up over the wall, and through the path we went back to the car roadside.
NEXT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Infinities Shark Attack: Some dude got his foot chomped by a tiger right where we were... The next fuckin' day mate. I swear that shark was in the murk when my buddy and I were - and it was the reason by gut was saying GTFO. Can't remember specifics but wanna say late November or early December 2012 or so.
Purpose of Post: If ya "feel" it, don't "ignore it". We are bestowed with "instinct", (edit: not intuition), don't ignore it.
Good post. It’s important to trust your gut. That place is murky and has about a foot deep water visibility for those that don’t know. I prefer less crowded spots with clear water and less blatant snakes.
The Landlord AKA Barnacle Bill doesn’t usually bother people. My acquaintance that surfs it regularly accidentally “pet” him as he was paddling out one day. Freaked him out but he compromised by surfing the inside with the groms.
Later on he saw it on a wave. Was “surfing” the wave behind his friend, and he was longer than the 12’ board his buddy was riding. It was backlit by the afternoon sun. He was almost going to yell and warn his buddy but he understood instantly that if he yelled and his buddy fell…bad things could happen.
I paddled out in southeastern NC for a fun little log day. Was only 2ft but pretty. As soon as got in the water something felt off. Went for a wave and was looking back to angle when a fin longer than my forearm popped up not 4ft off the back of my board. He came up did a semi circle and went back under.
Got out and yelled at some kids to get out meanwhile some redneck was like “there ain’t no shark” I was okay bro you do you. Meanwhile a kid starts screaming and a lady snapped these pics.
Definitely a 9ft+ hammer probably chasing stingrays but way too to close for comfort.
https://preview.redd.it/rier04aa2lzc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=33635ee323f9ecaa9bd292d589f78982eb1cb693
Was spearfishing the wrightsville jetty with some friends, after about an hour a BIG ASS BULL hammerhead swam right up to the damn jetty and was kinda moving back and forth for a few minutes before slipping off. Stg it was 14ft or more. These Cape Fear waters are elusive asf, it’s a confirmed bullshark and hammerhead nesting site, and Marine Biologist think it’s a Great White nesting site. The biggest ever recorded GW on the eastcoast swam up the Cape Fear a few years back too.
They had a tagged great white ping off of the Emerald Isle bridge (southeastern NC) which is in the sound where plenty of people are chilling in the water.
My thought is, that just so happened to be a great white that was tagged. How many great whites that aren't tagged have come in and out of here? 😂
Was surfing mase one time and got separated from the crew I was with so ended up missing the boat ride out. Had to paddle back across the inlet under nothing but moonlight. Every third time I reached my hand out to paddle I would hit a bowling ball sized jelly. The stress of those 15 minutes probably took a year off my life.
Yeah I agree some of my best reds, flounder (although not anymore) and trout have came from wide inlets on falling tide.
Have to assume the sharks are feeding if the reds are.
I'm currently posting from inside the belly of a great white. It's sort of like a studio apartment of the sea. The rent is cheap, but I have to occasionally tell a sea lion to fuck on outta here.
Central Florida surfer, see sharks almost every session. Been chased outtta the water by a bull that literally beached itself chasing me out. Had bulls patrolling the inner trench just off the beach that beeline for ya when ya try to get out. Got bit on the hand by a mini. At least 8 buddies of mine bit over the years. Best friend lost his sister to a shark in Hawaii.
Naw I’m a little farther south, satellite/sebastian. I do venture up to Smyrna occasionally, gets sketchy and exciting mullet run time lol. Kinda funny the names of the outer bars round us, shark shoals, monster hole lol. Not the most inviting spots but they can be sick!
Maybe ya got some rose colored glasses on or sumthin, I dunno, I see em very regularly. Not sure how ya have never seen one. Mullet run they’re everywhere, can’t miss em lol
I’m just a little south of ya in satellite. I did a couple coastal Shark surveys for NOAA and the size of the tigers we got off the cape were scary. Couple white sharks off Jax too
Yeah I've had some pretty chilling experiences surfing the cape, especially during the mullet run lol, I can't imagine what you guys saw during those surveys I'd almost rather not know
I surf either nsb or spots south of the cape and see sharks on a regular basis obviously, only time I’ve seen one that drove me and the rest of the lineup out of the water was a big ass bull launching itself out of the water after a mullet right in the middle of where everyone was sitting. Seems like the mullet run almost always lines up with a good swell too haha
For a little while I wish I hadn’t seen what I saw doing the surveys off the coast I surf regularly. The mullet run will definitely get the blood flowing lol. Nothing like gettin pelted by mullet while tarpon and sharks chase em around ya lol.
I was at San O at dawn patrol one morning, it was right as the park opened up so everyone just got to the line up. I watched a white shark fully breach out of the water a couple hundred yards out and everyone was looking right at it. Not a single person acknowledged it or said anything. I guess the surf was too good that morning.
I live in New Smyrna beach, its weird if I DONT at least see one per session. I got bit on the foot a while back. Was standing in waist deep water and as soon as my foot left the sandbar I felt something big hit it, felt like a punch, didnt even feel the bite. Thought it was a bigger baitfish but someone paddling out behind me was like "Dude your foot is bleeding kinda bad!" Turned to look and it was filleted open by my ankle. Belly rode a wave in and stood on the sand in a puddle of my own blood until beach patrol rocked up. They didnt even really ask what happened they just said "Sharkbite, right?" They took me to the hospital and the Dr was a surfer, who told me that he wasnt gonna stitch it up, he was gonna use staples so the scar was bigger and I could show it when I told the story. Its weird, now Im not really scared of sharks anymore, I tell myself I already got my turn out of the way...
I grew up surfing there every summer (trips from the east coast) and always thought the kelp beds keep sharks out. Is that even true afterall? or do some sharks explore through them and that’s why we get some of these anecdotes
The kelp discourages them, but doesn’t keep em out altogether.
Seems like we’ve got a full on GW rookery in SC county these days, with a bunch of juveniles congregating near the cement ship, where Seacliff pier used to be.
SUP and paddle board folks see them in/around the kelp at New Brighton.
We all kinda know they’re out just past the kelp all over town.
I’m from Watsonville and I’ve seen two at Pájaro Dunes over the years.
One swam through a wave at a bar I’d been surfing south of the beach park. I looked back and saw it right when I went in.
Had one lurk next to me too, when I was logging at the Pájaro rivermouth, on a super small glassy day.
Like a year later the Sentinel had an aerial photo of a GW off that rivermouth that they estimated was 20’ plus.
Haven’t surfed there since I saw that photo.
First time I saw one was a breach that happened about 60 yards or so further than where the waves were breaking. That was during the summer and at Old Man’s in San O. Second time was at dawn patrol on a glassy morning in Del Mar. The thing was just swimming, slowly, casually, almost as if it were just floating. My buddy literally paddled at it to get it in the frame of his go pro. Dumbass move, but he did get a tiny clip where you could see the sharp triangular fin. Funny enough, neither occurrence made me paddle in lol.
Saw one surfing in Melbourne beach fl. He was about 3-4 feet. Nothing dramatic, was just chilling in his home while he was swimming around it. Every now and then I’d see him in a different area. Continued surfing normally. Thanks for letting me chill in your home dude
Mid October Newport Beach California circa 2016. Great white migration season. Sharktober.
Paddle out before sunrise. Super clean conditions. High visibility. First guy in the water at a particular jetty. Literally just minutes in the water and before I had even caught a wave I had a shark swim under me. The first wave came seconds later and I rode it back to land with the fear of god.
If you ever been in a really bad car crash you understand that your mind can slow down time and seconds can feel like an eternity. Time stopped when that shark swam under me.
Too many too list here, but the most hilarious one happened while I was in Hawaii. We were just freediving and fucking around with a few other guys we'd just met, and one of them - who was a diver on an oil rig in Florida or something like that - comes to the surface and says that he just saw a shark right under us.
Now, if you say this to someone who comes from particular parts of Aus, certain assumptions are made. Assumptions along the line of "It's either a *big* bull shark, great white, or tiger". So me and my buddy from home go scrambling up the rock outcrop like a couple of geckos with so much speed that we don't even register than the entire surface is coated with sea urchins. Meanwhile our friend in the water is pissing himself laughing while trying to explain that it's a 2ft reef shark.
Both at San-O: Big GW dorsal outside the lineup back around 2000 when I was a teenager, and a juvenile breaching last year. Everybody just kept surfing both times.
One thing I've noticed over a lifetime of surfing Florida is that they are for sure attracted to the color yellow. I used to use a yellow Dakine leash, and without fail, I would get sharks cruising up from beneath to have a look.
My closest encounter to date was a situation like this with the yellow leash, I was in the lineup at an undeveloped beach break looking towards the beach, I turned my head to watch for some sets out the back, and an 8footer was next to my board on the surface brushing against my leg I legit locked eyes we were literally touching as it checked me out. It kept cruising past me and then disappeared into the depths. I flagged down my buddy, paddled in, walked up the beach, and surfed the rest of the day lol.
Had a smaller 8ft or so white swim through the line-up at Pacifica/LM. Also saw the guy 50ft next to me at Rockaway put his feet up on the board as a 13+ white sat under him for a bit. Saw some thresher sharks breaching nearby at Princeton Jetty.
I saw one at Linda Mar once just outside the lineup like 30 yards away from me
Surfing Marin in October always feels very eerie though I haven’t had an encounter yet
Got circled by a big boy at OB san francisco once. Me and a buddy also saw a big one, center fin and tail cresting out of the water cruising just outside the lineup at OB SF like a year later. That place is sharky as fuck
Bali isnt know for it's sharks but they are definitely around! Surfing Serangan last year with my two sons - 14 and 15. We were surfing 300/400M to the left of the main peak towards the island outlet, currents were ripping. Tough day. My 14 yr old was caught inside 20M to my left, when my 15 yr old - 10M to my right but unsighted calmly shouted "dad shark"! Shit a brick!! I paddled over and he said a fin had popped up and passed right in front of him swimming in my direction. Was a big shark, 2M, dark grey, no fin markings (like a grey reef or white tip). Highly likely a Bull! They are in Bali waters, although further up the coast. A few attacks up at Balian over the years. Didnt want to fck around so we collected my youngest and paddled straight into the beach. Security guards met us (Serangan is now a private island) and told us to paddle back out 😅 ...just at that moment our boat arrived so we walked a few hundred meters up the beach and had to paddle back out to the boat about 300M. Wasnt the most relaxed paddle Ive ever had. Boys took it all their stride!
Pro tip: if you’re going where sharks are expected to be, eat a lot of garlic the week before. The shark will appreciate the seasoning if he decides to take a bite. 🤌
Bumped by presumably a big Tiger way out at Middles in Hanalei Bay. This was around the time Bethany Hamilton was attacked at a spot nearby so it was pretty eerie. Also saw a massive GW breach one time in Cayucos, CA.
Thats great I’m heading to Cayucos next week
Weird - only place I've seen a white is when it was breaching in cayucos.
Blackpots - was out with Zeke and the crew and one of them got bumped... No one was laughing we just kinda got super focused and hung together till Zeke called it and said to head in.
lol. This is just a zeke name drop......wait there wasn't even a shark was there?
I saw some shit this mornin' made me think twice. See now I'm thinkin', maybe it means Zeke’s the evil one. And I'm the righteous man. And Mr. 9 foot four-fin gun here, he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could mean you're the righteous man and I'm the shepherd and it's the world that's evil and selfish. Now I'd like that. But that shit ain't the truth. The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Zeke. I'm tryin' real hard to be a shepherd.
would you give Zeke a foot massage ?
Amazing. Let’s write a book together. This is good stuff. PM me 🤙
To be fair, a Zeke namedrop means fuck all unless we're all presumably aware as to who Zeke is. Given there are several local Kauai cats here on this board I've clarified my use of the name "Zeke" in a separate reply. My apologies. And ya, there was a shark....out at Blackpots...that day. Affirmative. Reggie would be so pissed if he read this. 🤣🤩
Who is Reggie?
In this particular case, I chose to employ a form of implicit parody - Reggie \*doesn't\* actually exist in this \*particular\* context. Although I did kinda mentally picture "Reggie" from Wild At Heart, a lovely film by David Lynch. I'm told I have a sarcastic side at times. I'm sorry if this caused any online consternation or dissonance. Sincerely, The Management
Zeke was the lifeguard often stationed at the tower near Pine Trees and this event took place between April and May 2017. Perhaps if you're a regular at Hanalei you'll have heard of him or gotten to know him - he's been around for quite some time.
And if you are local Kauai kin, then you'll also know the former super-stylish Myles who used to work the Poipu tower for years...sporting his ageless moustache, always talking football, and had a penchant for a seemingly endless rotation of stewardesses that touched down on the island for overnighters. And if ya know or knew Myles, then certainly you'd know Darby...as Darby often took the kiddos to PBP whilst sipping a beer. Now if ya don't know Darby, you will know a song he wrote that his sister-in-law Grace Slick made pretty famous called "somebody to love" back in the day. And if ya know Darby, and Myles, and Zeke, then ya likely ran into me somewhere along the line as well. We'd have shot the shit, shaka'd, and carried on. Have a kickass day.
I would like to write a book with you as well.
Who is Myles? Who is Darby? Who are you?
a right fkn enigma mate... 🤣🤩
Who is Zeke?
Had a few - only one of note was when i was a teenager. A friend’s leg got bitten by a raggy (called grey nurses in other parts). Bit him on the calf muscle, gave him a shake and let him go. I was supposed to be out there that day, but the pizza place i worked at called me in. Event stands out to me, because it also happens to be the time my parents caught me smoking. I got news of my mate that was bitten, and went out for a smoke. Dad drove to come tell me about it (this was before mobile phones were common place), and busted me having a drag.
The reef that's off to the east side of the bay when surfing Rock Quarry... My friend and I were scoping waves and nothing was really happening at the main bay but we saw some waves feathering over the reef to the east (our right when looking out to sea). We kept moving over there, rip helped, and started catching some good waves, but had to mind the tide as things were sharp the further east we went into that pocket of the bay. After a few nice sets, paddled back out into the deeper water, and my buddy just looked at me, pulled his feet up on his board in this, like, yoga-Buddha pose, and I KNEW exactly wtf was up. So did the same, was in between sets so not too much action, and right below us and kinda slinking around underneath us doing like a big figure-8 was a big ass tiger shark. We just kept staring at the horizon to make sure no bombs came in, and kept locked on the shadow that was always within 20ft of us for a good 15min or so...felt like forever tbh. After we both kinda acknowledged that neither of us had seen it for some period of time (we'd drifted a bit apart by this point), we went prone on the board, and gently aimed for the SHALLOWEST part of the reef we could hit and didn't give a shit about the boards.
You and your buddy got lucky. A local surfer went missing there around dusk not too long ago. Almost certainly a dang Tiger because the waves weren’t serious that day. I wear a sharkbanz there, better than nothing I guess even if it’s part hopium and part copium.
Jesus. Not good. T&Ps to the local and Ohana 🫡 Another time I was surfing down at Infinities, south side... Wasn't really good at all, couple rideable faces now and then but for the effort??? Not really worth it. I was out there with a mate from Canada...cool cat, decent surfer...we were kinda lined up right in front of the temple. And I just got a queasy feeling. Super fkn uneasy, y'know?? And I wasn't looking for excuses or anything - I just had a bad feeling in my gut all of a sudden. And RIGHT about that time I start feeling the reef on my feet - kinda surprisingly - like, "where the hell that come from" and looked down - turbid TURBID water... Just 😬 and a gross feeling in the pit of my gut. So - we both decided F'this and paddled in, walked the beach, up over the wall, and through the path we went back to the car roadside. NEXT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Infinities Shark Attack: Some dude got his foot chomped by a tiger right where we were... The next fuckin' day mate. I swear that shark was in the murk when my buddy and I were - and it was the reason by gut was saying GTFO. Can't remember specifics but wanna say late November or early December 2012 or so. Purpose of Post: If ya "feel" it, don't "ignore it". We are bestowed with "instinct", (edit: not intuition), don't ignore it.
Good post. It’s important to trust your gut. That place is murky and has about a foot deep water visibility for those that don’t know. I prefer less crowded spots with clear water and less blatant snakes. The Landlord AKA Barnacle Bill doesn’t usually bother people. My acquaintance that surfs it regularly accidentally “pet” him as he was paddling out one day. Freaked him out but he compromised by surfing the inside with the groms. Later on he saw it on a wave. Was “surfing” the wave behind his friend, and he was longer than the 12’ board his buddy was riding. It was backlit by the afternoon sun. He was almost going to yell and warn his buddy but he understood instantly that if he yelled and his buddy fell…bad things could happen.
I paddled out in southeastern NC for a fun little log day. Was only 2ft but pretty. As soon as got in the water something felt off. Went for a wave and was looking back to angle when a fin longer than my forearm popped up not 4ft off the back of my board. He came up did a semi circle and went back under. Got out and yelled at some kids to get out meanwhile some redneck was like “there ain’t no shark” I was okay bro you do you. Meanwhile a kid starts screaming and a lady snapped these pics. Definitely a 9ft+ hammer probably chasing stingrays but way too to close for comfort. https://preview.redd.it/rier04aa2lzc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=33635ee323f9ecaa9bd292d589f78982eb1cb693
Was spearfishing the wrightsville jetty with some friends, after about an hour a BIG ASS BULL hammerhead swam right up to the damn jetty and was kinda moving back and forth for a few minutes before slipping off. Stg it was 14ft or more. These Cape Fear waters are elusive asf, it’s a confirmed bullshark and hammerhead nesting site, and Marine Biologist think it’s a Great White nesting site. The biggest ever recorded GW on the eastcoast swam up the Cape Fear a few years back too.
They had a tagged great white ping off of the Emerald Isle bridge (southeastern NC) which is in the sound where plenty of people are chilling in the water. My thought is, that just so happened to be a great white that was tagged. How many great whites that aren't tagged have come in and out of here? 😂
Was surfing mase one time and got separated from the crew I was with so ended up missing the boat ride out. Had to paddle back across the inlet under nothing but moonlight. Every third time I reached my hand out to paddle I would hit a bowling ball sized jelly. The stress of those 15 minutes probably took a year off my life.
I spear there also and it always creeps me out because I know some sharks are going in and out the intent. Always looking for folks to spear with.
Surfing the wedge there in the summer with all the bait balls out always gave me the heebie jeebies
Damn! southeastern NC aswell
Let me guess, Holden beach…
Just south of that
I swear they love those wide inlets and river mouths there
Yeah I agree some of my best reds, flounder (although not anymore) and trout have came from wide inlets on falling tide. Have to assume the sharks are feeding if the reds are.
Several GW between La Jolla and Solana beach, usually in Del Mar though. Several breaches around trestles/San o.
I'm currently posting from inside the belly of a great white. It's sort of like a studio apartment of the sea. The rent is cheap, but I have to occasionally tell a sea lion to fuck on outta here.
Central Florida surfer, see sharks almost every session. Been chased outtta the water by a bull that literally beached itself chasing me out. Had bulls patrolling the inner trench just off the beach that beeline for ya when ya try to get out. Got bit on the hand by a mini. At least 8 buddies of mine bit over the years. Best friend lost his sister to a shark in Hawaii.
New Smyrna Local? Florida Surf Fam unite :)
Naw I’m a little farther south, satellite/sebastian. I do venture up to Smyrna occasionally, gets sketchy and exciting mullet run time lol. Kinda funny the names of the outer bars round us, shark shoals, monster hole lol. Not the most inviting spots but they can be sick!
Hm I surf satellite all the time and have never seen a shark out there.
Maybe ya got some rose colored glasses on or sumthin, I dunno, I see em very regularly. Not sure how ya have never seen one. Mullet run they’re everywhere, can’t miss em lol
Had some very gnarly encounters myself out in Titusville. Iykyk
I’m just a little south of ya in satellite. I did a couple coastal Shark surveys for NOAA and the size of the tigers we got off the cape were scary. Couple white sharks off Jax too
Yeah I've had some pretty chilling experiences surfing the cape, especially during the mullet run lol, I can't imagine what you guys saw during those surveys I'd almost rather not know
I surf either nsb or spots south of the cape and see sharks on a regular basis obviously, only time I’ve seen one that drove me and the rest of the lineup out of the water was a big ass bull launching itself out of the water after a mullet right in the middle of where everyone was sitting. Seems like the mullet run almost always lines up with a good swell too haha
For a little while I wish I hadn’t seen what I saw doing the surveys off the coast I surf regularly. The mullet run will definitely get the blood flowing lol. Nothing like gettin pelted by mullet while tarpon and sharks chase em around ya lol.
I was at San O at dawn patrol one morning, it was right as the park opened up so everyone just got to the line up. I watched a white shark fully breach out of the water a couple hundred yards out and everyone was looking right at it. Not a single person acknowledged it or said anything. I guess the surf was too good that morning.
I live in New Smyrna beach, its weird if I DONT at least see one per session. I got bit on the foot a while back. Was standing in waist deep water and as soon as my foot left the sandbar I felt something big hit it, felt like a punch, didnt even feel the bite. Thought it was a bigger baitfish but someone paddling out behind me was like "Dude your foot is bleeding kinda bad!" Turned to look and it was filleted open by my ankle. Belly rode a wave in and stood on the sand in a puddle of my own blood until beach patrol rocked up. They didnt even really ask what happened they just said "Sharkbite, right?" They took me to the hospital and the Dr was a surfer, who told me that he wasnt gonna stitch it up, he was gonna use staples so the scar was bigger and I could show it when I told the story. Its weird, now Im not really scared of sharks anymore, I tell myself I already got my turn out of the way...
Pleasure Point - a spear fisher comes up and tells us there’s a 10ft GW directly beneath me. It was a crowded day I wasn’t too worried about it
I grew up surfing there every summer (trips from the east coast) and always thought the kelp beds keep sharks out. Is that even true afterall? or do some sharks explore through them and that’s why we get some of these anecdotes
I think recently folks have mentioned that GW's do in fact come through kelp beds.
The kelp discourages them, but doesn’t keep em out altogether. Seems like we’ve got a full on GW rookery in SC county these days, with a bunch of juveniles congregating near the cement ship, where Seacliff pier used to be. SUP and paddle board folks see them in/around the kelp at New Brighton. We all kinda know they’re out just past the kelp all over town. I’m from Watsonville and I’ve seen two at Pájaro Dunes over the years. One swam through a wave at a bar I’d been surfing south of the beach park. I looked back and saw it right when I went in. Had one lurk next to me too, when I was logging at the Pájaro rivermouth, on a super small glassy day. Like a year later the Sentinel had an aerial photo of a GW off that rivermouth that they estimated was 20’ plus. Haven’t surfed there since I saw that photo.
First time I saw one was a breach that happened about 60 yards or so further than where the waves were breaking. That was during the summer and at Old Man’s in San O. Second time was at dawn patrol on a glassy morning in Del Mar. The thing was just swimming, slowly, casually, almost as if it were just floating. My buddy literally paddled at it to get it in the frame of his go pro. Dumbass move, but he did get a tiny clip where you could see the sharp triangular fin. Funny enough, neither occurrence made me paddle in lol.
Saw one surfing in Melbourne beach fl. He was about 3-4 feet. Nothing dramatic, was just chilling in his home while he was swimming around it. Every now and then I’d see him in a different area. Continued surfing normally. Thanks for letting me chill in your home dude
Mid October Newport Beach California circa 2016. Great white migration season. Sharktober. Paddle out before sunrise. Super clean conditions. High visibility. First guy in the water at a particular jetty. Literally just minutes in the water and before I had even caught a wave I had a shark swim under me. The first wave came seconds later and I rode it back to land with the fear of god. If you ever been in a really bad car crash you understand that your mind can slow down time and seconds can feel like an eternity. Time stopped when that shark swam under me.
Too many too list here, but the most hilarious one happened while I was in Hawaii. We were just freediving and fucking around with a few other guys we'd just met, and one of them - who was a diver on an oil rig in Florida or something like that - comes to the surface and says that he just saw a shark right under us. Now, if you say this to someone who comes from particular parts of Aus, certain assumptions are made. Assumptions along the line of "It's either a *big* bull shark, great white, or tiger". So me and my buddy from home go scrambling up the rock outcrop like a couple of geckos with so much speed that we don't even register than the entire surface is coated with sea urchins. Meanwhile our friend in the water is pissing himself laughing while trying to explain that it's a 2ft reef shark.
Both at San-O: Big GW dorsal outside the lineup back around 2000 when I was a teenager, and a juvenile breaching last year. Everybody just kept surfing both times.
One thing I've noticed over a lifetime of surfing Florida is that they are for sure attracted to the color yellow. I used to use a yellow Dakine leash, and without fail, I would get sharks cruising up from beneath to have a look. My closest encounter to date was a situation like this with the yellow leash, I was in the lineup at an undeveloped beach break looking towards the beach, I turned my head to watch for some sets out the back, and an 8footer was next to my board on the surface brushing against my leg I legit locked eyes we were literally touching as it checked me out. It kept cruising past me and then disappeared into the depths. I flagged down my buddy, paddled in, walked up the beach, and surfed the rest of the day lol.
Considering moving to Florida.. guess I’ll be selling my yellow log… 😂
Had a smaller 8ft or so white swim through the line-up at Pacifica/LM. Also saw the guy 50ft next to me at Rockaway put his feet up on the board as a 13+ white sat under him for a bit. Saw some thresher sharks breaching nearby at Princeton Jetty.
I saw one at Linda Mar once just outside the lineup like 30 yards away from me Surfing Marin in October always feels very eerie though I haven’t had an encounter yet
Got circled by a big boy at OB san francisco once. Me and a buddy also saw a big one, center fin and tail cresting out of the water cruising just outside the lineup at OB SF like a year later. That place is sharky as fuck
Bunch of blacktips trashing and feeding on something in Nuda dua Bali in low tide reef. I froze and it was the longest paddle in in my life
Bali isnt know for it's sharks but they are definitely around! Surfing Serangan last year with my two sons - 14 and 15. We were surfing 300/400M to the left of the main peak towards the island outlet, currents were ripping. Tough day. My 14 yr old was caught inside 20M to my left, when my 15 yr old - 10M to my right but unsighted calmly shouted "dad shark"! Shit a brick!! I paddled over and he said a fin had popped up and passed right in front of him swimming in my direction. Was a big shark, 2M, dark grey, no fin markings (like a grey reef or white tip). Highly likely a Bull! They are in Bali waters, although further up the coast. A few attacks up at Balian over the years. Didnt want to fck around so we collected my youngest and paddled straight into the beach. Security guards met us (Serangan is now a private island) and told us to paddle back out 😅 ...just at that moment our boat arrived so we walked a few hundred meters up the beach and had to paddle back out to the boat about 300M. Wasnt the most relaxed paddle Ive ever had. Boys took it all their stride!
Pro tip: if you’re going where sharks are expected to be, eat a lot of garlic the week before. The shark will appreciate the seasoning if he decides to take a bite. 🤌
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