On Saturday morning, July 21, 2007, One of NCKA's members, Dan "dans964", was attacked by a Great White Shark while fishing off  California's San Mateo Coast near Pigeon Point.  Dan was very fortunately not hurt in the incident, but his kayak wasn't so lucky.




  About a dozen other members were also fishing the area.   Here are some witness accounts:

"I was there, Dan was knocked out of his kayak by a great white in full attack mode. When he climbed back in the shark was still gnawing on his kayak. He is okay, his kayak limped in, he was taking water on but it held together. I did not see the attack, only him coming in real fast. I helped him try to settle his nerves on the water and we paddled/peddled in together. Some of the Kayakers actually saw the splash after the shark attacked."

John "jdyak"

"An eyewitness account? I was one of the newbie yakers about 50m away from Dan when a call for help was faintly heard in the distance, followed by a big splash in the water next to Dan’s yak. There were probably 6 to 8 kayakers all scattered about in the usual fishing spot, a mile out northwest of the beach. The other veteran yakers were no where to be seen as they all headed south to try their new fishing spots. I looked around to see if other yakers heard and saw the same thing, not thinking more than maybe a big fish was caught and maybe Dan needed assistance with the netting. I started to paddle in the direction but gave up shortly as I noticed the action stopped and Dan wasn’t holding any fishing pole; fish got away.
Within seconds later, I heard Andy (another newbie with his first time out ever on his new yellow P15, hope I got your name correct) asked whether Dan was ok and if he needed help. I looked over again and saw beyond the swells a yak drifting without anyone on it. Andy quickly paddled over and I followed. Not much time passed that I saw Dan got back in the yak. At that moment, I was impressed at how much experience Dan must have had with self-rescuing and I thought to myself that I needed to learn this skill if the needs arrive.
I eased up on the paddling as I saw Andy was close to Dan and everything seemed to be fine. Then I saw Dan was in the water again and Andy was trying to help him get back on. Again at the moment, I thought to myself one also needs to know how to provide assistance to others in rescuing from a kayak. When I got there, Dan was already back on his kayak. A big shark bite mark could be seen on the upper part of the bow, probably 20” in diameter and big enough to swallow a watermelon. Some of the teeth mark actually punctured through the plastic. Luckily those bite marks were located in the upper part of the kayak, otherwise Dan’s yak would be taking in a lot more water. It goes without saying that Dan did an excellent job in self rescuing and for staying focus and composed throughout the ordeal. Obviously, I also called it the day right then and there and followed Dan back in, as did Andy.
Maybe it's time for me to try the lake and learn some self rescuing before heading out the big blue again. "

Steven A Lam "SAL"



"I’m the newbie who got to Dan after seeing the big splash that SAL mentioned. SAL’s account is spot on.

I saw the huge splash too and heard a yell for help, so I thought someone hooked a monster fish and wanted help with a net or gaff. But the swells were pretty big, with the tops of the swells blocking the horizon, so I didn’t get a visual on the splash area for a good 15 secs. Then I saw a red kayak about 50 yards from me but no kayaker. Not a good situation obviously, so I paddled furiously toward the kayak but lost visual for another 15 secs because of the swells. Then I saw the kayak, this time with a person on it. So I thought everything was fine. But after losing visual again, I saw the kayak, again without a person on it. By the time I got within 5 feet, Dan was hoisting himself back on his yak. We made eye contact after he caught his breath and from the look in his eyes, I knew something horrific just happened. Dan pointed to the gashes front of his kayak and exclaimed that a shark attacked him. I took a look at the bite marks and just about s@%t! Holy &$^$! That to me was a divine sign to get the hell out of the water. I got on VHF to tell everyone what just happened but got no response. Got worried that his kayak was filling with water, so while Dan hung onto my kayak with his left hand, we hightailed it back to the beach. When we got to 50 feet of so from the cove entrance, Dan let go and accelerated away - had no idea Hobies were so quick.

What an introduction to the sport. First time ever kayak fishing and a fellow kayaker gets slammed by a shark. Caught a small olive and a brown though – first fish caught from a kayak. Small consolation prize I guess, for the rather short day. Thanks for taking the pics SAL. I took some pics of Dan’s gashed yak too, but won’t show those to the wife. Nice meeting y'all Sat.

Andy "gearjunkie"


For more, here's the forum link:    http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=9174.0

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