Rockaway Beach = Shark sighting!!!!

Rockaway Beach  —   On April 26 2005, Patty Kaz was surfing at Rockaway Beach, Pacifica. It was 8:15 AM and she had been in the water about 2 hours. The sky was overcast with an air temperature of about 60 degrees and the sea was glassy with 2-3 foot waves and visibility of only a few feet. Patty recounted: “I was surfing small waves for about 5 minutes before I sighted the shark. I was just sitting on my board as the waves came to a lull. I wasn't moving at all for these 5 minutes. I had my feet dangling in water. Suddenly I got a real "BAD" feeling and looked up to see a shark dorsal fin about 40 feet away. The fin was about 2 feet high and the shark was moving back and forth near some rocks. I lay down on my board, taking my legs out of the water. My heart was pounding and I knew I dared not make a move or splash. I waited for a few minutes till a decent set wave took me in to the beach. When I reached the shore I looked back and the shark was close to where I had been just moments earlier. A guy in the parking lot went up high on the rocks and looked down with binoculars and sure enough the shark was visible. The shark was about 12 ft long. The dorsal and tail fins were visible as well as the outline of shark’s body.“ 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.

Here's some more.......

Montara State Beach  —  The following report is a compilation of information provided by Lucas Berla, Jeff Hiebert, and Mike Lee. On Saturday, January 22, 2005, at 2:30 PM, about ten surfers, including the above, were at the North end of Montara State Beach. It was a sunny, warm winter day. The winds were light and onshore with an air temperature of about 55 degrees. Water depth was approximately 2 fathoms with a temperature of 53 degrees. The set waves were 5 to 6 feet. The surfers were about 75 yards from shore. A Grey Whale surfaced 10 to 15 yards from the group. About 30 seconds later a dorsal fin, about 2 feet high, was seen cruising near the whale. All present were quick to agree that this was the dorsal fin of a shark. They all quickly swam to shore. The whale continued to swim near the surface, but the shark submerged and was not observed again. White Sharks are known to frequent this area. Caution should be exercised when utilizing this location for your ocean water activities. Please report any sightings or encounters to the Shark Research Committee.

Linda Mar Beach  —   On Monday, 26 July 2004, J.J. Powell was about 75 yards from shore at the north end of Linda Mar Beach. It was 12:05 PM and he had been in the water about an hour. There were 9 or 10 other surfers in this area with four surfers just south of his location. It was sunny with a brisk wind and the water was “very murky, almost a reddish color.” Three Harbor Seals were observed inside of the surfers in the white water. JJ recounted, “I saw a dorsal fin, 12 to 18 inches in height, about 125 yards from the beach or 50 yards further out from where I was in the lineup. The shark’s dorsal fin seemed to be shifting back and forth as if the shark were twisting in the water. The shark rolled slightly to one side and its tail, which was very large, came out of the water as it moved from side to side. I thought I saw a ‘hump’ in the water near the shark. It appeared to me as though the shark might have been feeding on something. One of the other surfers thought he saw something spotted floating in the water near his location. We decided to alert the other surfers in the area and began yelling to get their attention. After we exited the water we saw the shark a second time, about 20 yards north of its original location, moving slowly across the surface.” Although a positive identification of the shark is not possible, White Sharks are known to frequent the area around Linda Mar Beach. It is suggested that caution be exercised while using this area for your ocean activity. Please report any shark encounters or sightings to the Shark Research Committee.

Capitola  —  On May 17, 2004 surfers and swimmers were warned of the possible presence of Great White Sharks due to a juvenile Gray Whale carcass that had become tangled in a kelp bed about 100 yards from the beach. Boaters witnessed several Orcas kill the young whale last week about four miles off of Moss Landing. Capitola lifeguards were concerned that Great White Sharks might be attracted to the area. Lifeguard Eric Mitchell said they were hoping the dead whale would drift out to sea. In the meantime all who use this area for sport should exercise caution and be alert to the potential danger. Please report any shark encounters or sightings to the Shark Research Committee.

thanks for the heads up Joel!!!  

maybe that's why all the salmon are no where to be found

pierre

yeah - no kidding! Or maybe it was because of those damn Humbolt Squid  

If anything, the salmon will attract the sharks.  You'd be kidding yourself if you thought the anchovie carnage that's going on under us out there didn't bring in the big boys.