8/14 another NCKA'er get's hit by a white shark at Bean Hollow.....

He confirmed that it was a 17-18ft. /4,ooolb.+ Great White. He said there were a few marks that might push it to 18-19, but not enough to solidify it.

 http://www.sharkresearchworldwide.org/dist.htm


and yes!!  i am accepting all and every hugg that comes my way....andDONTfreekOUTwhenIdontLETgo!

That picture made my legs go watery...

Adam, I got a hug coming your way, brother.

Adam:  I'm sure your reactions are quite normal.  I had heard that getting attacked by an apex predator produces a a very severe form of shock that can be more life-threatening than the actual bite.  This was third hand from my bro, a Henry One pilot who transported two different attack victims (Russian Gulch and Tomales) to hospitol  in the 90's.  The docs told him that there is an enhanced life-threatening form of psychological shock that comes from being on the wrong end of the food chain.

I think it's great you are being so open about your reaction to this event.  My guess is you survived because the shark was interested in your kayak which may have looked like an injured elephant seal or small whale.  She continued to chomp at the boat to try and break through the skin to get to the blubber center.  It may be that the plastic kayaks toughness produces a longer bite as they try to penetrate the outer skin.  The recent Gaviota attack was not a vertical strike, just a quick investigation bite.  Since the boat was fiberglass, it was punctured easily and was spit out immediately.  In looking at the video of GWS vertical hits on towed luers, they seem to spit out the bait in mid-flight as soon as they can tell this is a low-fat meal. 

In any event, you should come down to fish in the Bay around Santa Cruz... less sharky and the fishing ain't bad. 

If you do come down, you can get a big bear hug from me.

That picture made my legs go watery...

That pic made my shorts get watery.  that's a big ass fish. 

Hang in there Adam.  Break on out to this side of the bay for our Weds group therapy sessions at RWS Lagoon after work.  Only thing doing any biting will be us on some post-paddle grub. 

Ok, from the article Adam posted

The adult male White Shark was 15 feet 4 inches in total length. Upon dissection of the shark's stomach about 100 opaque circular objects were discovered, each about 0.25 inches in diameter. John E. Fitch, Research Director, California Department of Fish & Game, Long Beach, subsequently identified them as lenses from fish eyes, most probably salmonids. The number of lenses present in the shark's stomach suggests that fish might provide a larger percentage of adult White Shark nutritional requirements than previously thought. Although White Sharks appear to prefer pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) as their main staple after attaining maturity, they still consume fish. This fact has been overtly omitted, or frequently understated, over the last two or three decades by some White Shark researchers. The irrefutable evidence from this stranding tells us that adult White Sharks are apparently opportunistic predators and will readily take any prey species that is available.

This is something Ive always suspected, but with all the buzz about the big ones feedin on mammals i havent voiced.
And this summs it up

The variety and number of marine mammals, fishes and crustaceans reported from these specimens suggests that the only preference adult White Sharks might have when actively hunting is the availability of the prey, rather than its species.

Food for thought.....

Hang in there bro, and yes, you will get not only a tom hug from next time we see ya, but a very nice squishy one from Shannon.
Did she give you one when we saw you at HMB kayak the day of the event?  If not, then you get two, count em two nice squishy hugs.     

She continued to chomp at the boat to try and break through the skin to get to the blubber center.

According to the expert...  It knew as soon as teeth touched plastic that it wasn't a whale, (or anything else it had ever encountered before), and I believe it.

The 4 bites after the initial hit must have been anger/frustration/tenacity,(it knew something was moving around in there).

She continued to chomp at the boat to try and break through the skin to get to the blubber center.

According to the expert...  It knew as soon as teeth touched plastic that it wasn't a whale, (or anything else it had ever encountered before), and I believe it.

The 4 bites after the initial hit must have been anger/frustration/tenacity,(it knew something was moving around in there).

That is worrisome.  An 18' white shark with anger issues hanging out at the bean. Did the shark expert say how long they hang around in an area before moving on?

She continued to chomp at the boat to try and break through the skin to get to the blubber center.

According to the expert...  It knew as soon as teeth touched plastic that it wasn't a whale, (or anything else it had ever encountered before), and I believe it.

The 4 bites after the initial hit must have been anger/frustration/tenacity,(it knew something was moving around in there).

You are probably right, Eric... but for my own piece of mind I prefer the idea that fish was after the boat and was trying to bust thru the hard skin.  Who knows what was on the mind of the fish?

pic1~ is the first hit, side-sliced with 4 teeth. The long cut is all the way through. I imagine it hit it w/an open mouth, headed towards the bow& closed it or missed with the bottom teeth= missed. Then in one action/motion, came back and hit it even harder, possibly getting one of its teeth caught. There was ONE HOLE that looked like a double-edge dagger had pierced it.(2 inches wide and seeing daylight through it) right on the hull. From my recollections, that is when the kayak was stuck sideways, imeadiatley after I felt the surge/push of water. So i guess it hit with teeth out, flipping me when the yak went sideways, then the direction & velocity of it, kept me(chest) locked in the seat area. = WOW!

pic2~ shows a top shot of the holes and directions of puctures.

pic3~ Eric B. helping w/the tooth measurements= 1.9"

He also said it never had a good bite on it. There where never more than 6 teeth gripping it and it was more like bobbing for apples= couldnt get a good enough grip to crush it, then became frustrated and left.

Adam,

That is one big scary fish! I can’t even imagine what that must have been like and I don’t ever want to find out. Most of us don’t truly know what you are going through at the moment but I want to thank you for sharing. This is an eye opener and I believe some valuable information has come out of this discussion. We all know the dangers but I am sure most of us think this will never happen to us.

I remember my brother and me standing on the beach at the Bean last year during the red tide and hailed you on the radio. You had indicated that Guitarzan had just seen a white shark. I have been wanting to fish this area and even told my brother after hearing that statement, that I am a bit scared but won’t let a sighting keep me away. We planned to fish there the following weekend but the weather prohibited us from doing so. I am now reevaluating that remark; I think I am going to let your experience keep me from fishing this area.

It pains me to know this happened to you because I can read the emotion in each of your prior reports of how you truly love this area of the coast. You are a class act and I wish you the best and hope each day gets better for you.

Take Care,
Ray

Did the shark expert say how long they hang around in an area before moving on?

My guess is, as long as they want to.

From what I've read about the studies done at the Farallones, they follow a schedule...  when they feel like it. 

It was amazing to read your story Adam, but today's post got to me. Hearing from the expert and then seeing a picture of a 17-footer next to people gave me the willies for you!

She continued to chomp at the boat to try and break through the skin to get to the blubber center.

According to the expert...  It knew as soon as teeth touched plastic that it wasn't a whale, (or anything else it had ever encountered before), and I believe it.

The 4 bites after the initial hit must have been anger/frustration/tenacity,(it knew something was moving around in there).

When you think about it, continuing to bite even when it knew there was something amiss isn't all that weird. Even for people: When we bite into something that doesn't taste like you expect, or feel like you expect, you tend to chew it a bit or at least move it around in your mouth before spitting it out (unless it immediately tastes nasty!). As far as the shark was concerned, there was still something thrashing, and it really was expecting a meal, so it might have been continuing to "test" the boat with the only feelers it has: teeth!

  Ever notice how many GWS have rake marks  on their sides from attacks by other sharks in the same general forward area  as the attacks on kayaks.  Maybe these attacks on kayaks  are territorial aggression. The shark has some of the best senses in animal kingdom. It may know a kayak isn't prey.  This attack obviously wasn't curiosity. It may have been a  "get the hell out of my area what ever the hell you are attack". If a fishfinder was turned on then that may have been messing with it's senses and angered  it. Fishfinders  are  using some of the same frequencies as dolphins.
    

  Pepper spray would be a  defense, the shark being so sensitive around the mouth,  eyes, and gills. The attack  might  be over by the time you could react effectively tho.
  Coat your kayak so it tastes real bad, but then it gets all over everything.

   Some sort of skunk like defense. Change the meaning of getting skunked.

   My kayak smells like fish attractant,  bait, and caught fish. I worry about that.

 This attack obviously wasn't curiosity. It may have been a  "get the hell out of my area what ever the hell you are"

This is highly possible.

The attack  might  be over by the time you could react effectively tho.

That's an understatement.