Aptos Shark FYI

This just sent to me...

Great white shark circles surfers at Aptos beach
Story posted 2012.07.19 at 02:16 PM PDT

A 20-foot great white shark was swimming close to several surfers at Seascape Beach in Aptos on Thursday.

At 12:45 p.m., helicopter pilot Chris Gulatrte was flying over the ocean when he spotted a massive great white through the clear blue water.

Numerous surfers were catching waves at the time, but they were oblivious that a great white was hanging out right next to them.

Luckily, the shark did not show any aggressive behavior and minded its own business as it cruised along the Santa Cruz's coast.

Because the shark was swimming unusually close to shore, the public is advised to stay out of the ocean at Seascape Beach, Rio Del Mar Beach, and Seacliff Beach on Thursday, officials said.

Gulatrte is a pilot with a Watsonville-based company called Specialized Helicopters.


Story posted 2012.07.19 at 02:16 PM PDT

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20ft. is the biggest confirmed size on record. YIKES!!  there have been stories of larger, but none confirmed (that means dead&measured)
thanks for the chilling news...i hope it gets a seal soon. 

Hope it stays in SC thru the weekend and doesn't catch wind of  the forthcoming NCKA gathering in Monterey.

Sharkfest dude! Stay close guys.

http://www.ksbw.com/news/central-california/santa-cruz/Great-white-shark-circles-surfers-at-Aptos-beach/-/5738976/15610196/-/11uegd9z/-/index.html

Great picture!  We needed something for a frame of reference though. 

The shark shield is seeming more and more like my next purchase 

Such an incredible animal..
Too bad it would try and eat me if i hugged it 
Hope it finds a nice whale 

with the size estimate at first I thought "basking shark", but the fish in the photo certainly looks to be a GWS.
20 feet is pretty huge though. Realistically I would guess more like 16ft, but either way they are trouble.

some folks maintain that the largest sharks (I think there's at least 1 20footer @ the Farallones) are less likely to attack/investigate, having learned earlier that what they want to eat has a very specific smell/sound. Just a theory, but it makes me feel better

Seems like the younger ones are the ones to make the stupid mistake of surfers and kayaks for seal prey.

How'd they measure it?

Water magnification factor or ? . 20 ft is a little hard to believe.

When I got it hit on 7/7 the Santa Cruz Harbor Master sent patrol boat out with a loud speaker to tell the swimmers, surfers and similar types to get out of the water.
The Junior Lifeguards (6+ years) were not to allowed enter the water for 2 days.
The authorities down there take this stuff seriously.

16,18,20, 18.7 feet it really doesn't matter, I fit in his belly quite nicely! It is huge in my book, and as the guy in Jaws said "We need a bigger boat!"