Hit and run, OC 09.27.15

On Saturday in the area a few of us were fishing I saw no Sea Lions, heard no whales, and had one whirlpool/ swirl about 10-15' behind me. It looked like when you have a fish on and it makes a sudden turn under water and disturbs the surface. It was not bubbles coming from a whale either. I am fairly sure the encounters at OC were sharks. It sounds like when Gary was hit it was a super hard blow, just like all the other White Shark attacks we have heard about. Only difference is the shark had bad timing and forgot to open its mouth to expose it's teeth. I think the swirls we saw were test runs by an unsure attacker. Remember this too, we were all paddling on Sat and no one got hit. The sudden change and addition of a Mirage Drive on the kayak may have been the trigger. We all know that Whites frequent the area we were fishing.

I was about 150 yards off of the first campground bluff in about 55- 70 fow.
I had heard something behind me exhale didn't sound like a seal much deeper of a exhale.[something bigger] and when I looked back I seen a little bit of a swirl movement  going on. Thought it would be a seal but didn't see anything on the surface. may have went under already ?  This happened twice on Saturday.
I seen a few harbour seal in close to the cove Sunday morning when we went out ???

I was out there also and heard a couple exhales. I looked around but I didn't see anything.

I did see a swirl on the surface, about 4 -5 feet in diameter. 

Here's a video with the "swirl" from a whale, from a kayak point of view (about 0:50 to about 1:25). It's more like 25' in diameter than 5'.



Just my $0.02, of course, but it seems to me that all signs point to a GWS. Mammals are smart and fish are stupid. Whales and sea lions (smart) would have every incentive to avoid an interaction like that, while a shark (dumb) would have an incentive to attack. If it was a shark, maybe it aborted at the last instant or was not very experienced or whatever. I don't think the lack of teeth marks means much compared to the other evidence.

That's exactly like the swirl that was behind me at OC earlier this year. Oh and Ben if you don't think a pissed off 800 lb bull sea lion could ruin your day you don't have a clue.

On Saturday in the area a few of us were fishing I saw no Sea Lions, heard no whales, and had one whirlpool/ swirl about 10-15' behind me. It looked like when you have a fish on and it makes a sudden turn under water and disturbs the surface. It was not bubbles coming from a whale either. I am fairly sure the encounters at OC were sharks. It sounds like when Gary was hit it was a super hard blow, just like all the other White Shark attacks we have heard about. Only difference is the shark had bad timing and forgot to open its mouth to expose it's teeth. I think the swirls we saw were test runs by an unsure attacker. Remember this too, we were all paddling on Sat and no one got hit. The sudden change and addition of a Mirage Drive on the kayak may have been the trigger. We all know that Whites frequent the area we were fishing.

I was about 150 yards off of the first campground bluff in about 55- 70 fow.
I had heard something behind me exhale didn't sound like a seal much deeper of a exhale.[something bigger] and when I looked back I seen a little bit of a swirl movement  going on. Thought it would be a seal but didn't see anything on the surface. may have went under already ?  This happened twice on Saturday.
I seen a few harbour seal in close to the cove Sunday morning when we went out ???

I was out there also and heard a couple exhales. I looked around but I didn't see anything.

Safety Meeting

From http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/unprovoked_kayaker.htm

Matt Hinton's kayak was attacked by a White Shark, 150 meters off Trinidad Head and Beach, Humboldt County, California

Within moments of changing course, the kayak was violently struck from below and behind the rider's cockpit. The kayak was lifted almost a meter out of the water before tipping over to starboard.

Matt said "Following the attack I spent about ten minutes looking over the boat from stem to stern, hoping to find a tooth or two embedded in the hull. There were no teeth to be found; in fact, I couldn't even tell if there were any new scratches or gouges among all the old ones already present."



I can't find a single recorded event of "Bull sea lion knocks 13.5ft kayak out of the water"
But I'm sure one could do it.................. if it wanted to. 

Gary - Contact Ralph S. Collier with Shark Research Committee.  He answered a lot my questions after my GWS encounter back in July 2012.  See our email exchange. 
[email protected]

Mel,
 
It is good to hear from you. I hope you are well. I would be very interested in speaking with your friend that was struck 27 Sep 2015. If the assailant was a marine mammal, specifically a whale, its breathing spouts would have been noticeable in the area. To eject the kayak and its occupant in the manor described would take an animal much large than a pinniped or a dolphin. The large swirl of water described is more likely the result of a large fish maneuvering at the surface. Can you provide a location with a north and south landmark for Ocean Cove? Is it possible for you to locate the subject of this encounter and ask them to contact me or to provide you with their contact information and I will get in touch with them. There is strong circumstantial evidence to suggest a large white shark was responsible for this incident.
 
I'm glad to hear you are back on the water enjoying the ocean as you should. Stay well and thank you for bringing this to my attention.
 
Kind regards,
 
Ralph
 
Ralph S. Collier
Shark Research Committee
www.sharkresearchcommittee.com
 
 
In a message dated 10/1/2015 6:19:20 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time

Hi Ralph,

I hope you remember me.  I was kayaking in Capitola CA and my kayak got bit by a GWS.  A fellow kayaker was thrown off his kayak by an unknown animal at Ocean Cove in Sonoma County last Sunday.  There are speculations its a GWS, seal lion or a whale.  Based on your expertise what do you think?  Link below.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=68296.0

Thanks,

Mel

What a frightening incident!   Thankful there were no serious injuries.   

Very curious about all the recent and mysterious encounters. 

Perhaps Nature is attempting to communicate something to us. 

What a frightening incident!   Thankful there were no serious injuries.   

Very curious about all the recent and mysterious encounters. 

Perhaps Nature is attempting to communicate something to us.

Maybe, but more likely the results of successful conservation efforts.  Increases in populations of food sources increases the populations of predators all the way up the chain.  Contacts will grow more common as the populations continue to recover and more people gain access to the oceans.

Are there any stats showing frequency  of contacts has increased?

What a frightening incident!   Thankful there were no serious injuries.   

Very curious about all the recent and mysterious encounters. 

Perhaps Nature is attempting to communicate something to us.

Maybe, but more likely the results of successful conservation efforts.  Increases in populations of food sources increases the populations of predators all the way up the chain.  Contacts will grow more common as the populations continue to recover and more people gain access to the oceans.

Yeah,  it's nature's way of saying "keep up the good work".