Shark attack at Bean Hollow - 7/21/07

Maybe it's time for me to try the lake and learn some self rescuing before heading out the big blue again. 
SAL (Steven A Lam)

MAYBE?!?!?
It floors me with all the talk about safety on this site how anyone can venture out into the ocean without having practiced self rescue REPEATEDLY!!!
It was a prerequisite to any kind of recreation when I got my first kayak and it was mandatory for my son before he ventured out into any kind of water with his kayak.
It is your choice to put yourself in harms way by not being prepared, but it should not be your choice to put others in harms way by not being prepared. And by not being prepared that is exactly what you are doing.
I am sure Dan's experience helped save his life. I cannot even imagine what may have happened if something like that happened to someone who has never fallen off their kayak before.

e.g. Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, This is Dan at 37 13 32.59/122 24 31.75.  I have just experienced a shark attack and need immediate assistance!

It would be great to be able to provide numbers like that but not very realistic in that situation.
Maybe once you are back on your boat it would be possible, but certainly not during the attack.
More realistic, in that situation, would be the general vicinity you are in. "Mayday Mayday Mayday..shark attack..bean hollow...red kayak...1 mile from shore" From there others who are in the vicinity with the luxury of glancing at their GPS can provide numbers.
Maybe Dan called in once he was back on his kayak, I do not know. This is also a perfect example of why your radio should be attached to you at all times.

frank, you are way too sensitive here. I know you are jealous of Dan. him catching that big fish and all.

it's so cool that he used a 16 foot lure and got a hit!

But this dude (SAL) stepped up and gave a super valuable first person account.

his post is the single best one so far.

So, chill. let people get the info out there.

J

Hypersensitive is more like it J, So I bow to your input and do profess to being sensitive. Again the point is learning self rescue and not depending or assuming that others will rescue you. Having said that  it is best to learn these lessons in a controlled environment and not in hindsight. I know that Sal didn't intend to point anyone out I think the message I heard from his post is how very important it is to get informed about our sport, my point is that veteran or not learn to be prepared and not assumptive.
 Now I'll go take a laxative and chill 

  The other veteran yakers were no where to be seen as they all headed south to try their new fishing spots. 
SAL (Steven A Lam)

Sal, I had been drifting with Dan just prior to this incident. Maybe only having a little over 1yr. of this activity still makes me a newbie but understand that no one was at fault or could have prevented this incident and I must say that you pointing out that no veterans could be seen around isn't the point. I was in visual range of Dan and had been for quit a while although I was without communication due to my VHF malfunctioning while out there and had let several people know that I was without a VHF.

The point is that Dan is safe and did the things that he needed to do to, save himself. If your going out thinking that a veteran is going to come in and save the day,"DON'T" because that my friend is a deadly assumption. Go get schooled by the pro's (certified) on self rescue,beach launch and landing or even first aid. I have and I know Dan has too as well as several others of us who have attended the classes togeather.
Nothing personal dude, but keep the finger pointing or suggestion thereof out of  it until you youself have had the time to learn the sport and all the fragility's involved.There are those of us who have taken the time/expense and made the effort for our own self recue including Dan which is up to the individual.
So welcome aboard and I hope that we can paddle togeather in the near future. Frankfishing

For what it is worth, I didn't see even a hint of finger pointing by SAL in this statement, just making the point that the attack happened with only a few people around.

River rafting, jumping out of planes, wanting to be a Indian Snake Charmer....

 A big part of this sport is the rush we get from challenging the elements....

 Things are going to go wrong, thats part of it, and seeing how we will adapt and overcome and eventually

become better @ what we do.....

  Well, that's the satisfaction for me,

people looking @ this have got to realize that this is not for everyone, and personal responsibility is @ a

 All time High, If you want to do this,  Think about what can go wrong, and prepare,

You can scale down as you get more time on the water...

Main deal is to keep your kool,

May it be a Treble hook buried in your hand and pliers dropped overboard,

Our a 18' GWS using your Yak for dental floss,

Just stay kool and stay with in your limits,

Winging it all the way..... .......Danglin

Damn!!!!!!  Glad to here everybody came out safe and sound...can't wait till the full report!

tight lines-
-beenfishin

Here is the other kayak fishing GWS attack that I know of, the one in New Zealand.

http://www.fishingkites.co.nz/newsletters/newsletter101.htm

There have, however been more plain ol' kayak GWS attacks.  I'm not sure why I treat the two separately in my mind other than it USED TO make me feel better.

Just a couple of comments re:  Sal's post.

1.  Unless you hired a guide or are fishing with a real good friend (not an acquaintance from the hookup section)  that will show you the ropes when kayak fishing, you should expect to be fishing by yourself.  It is easy to lose track of other yaks when hooked up, snagged on the bottom, re-rigging, ect... 

2.  The Bean is not for beginners.  The launch and landing is often a shore break with waves that must be timed to get out or when coming in.  It is a pretty exposed area and the drift can be fast making it hard to keep your jig down (and catch fish).  If the swell and wind pick up and you can't get back, there are not great choices to bail out.

Bottom line, when you go out, you need prepared to deal with the unexpected by yourself.  From everything I've heard about this event, it sounds like Dan was ready.

It appears our man of the hour is AWOL. Any of his friends "lurking " on here know how he is post GW. 

One of the many reasons I shot expanding foam(I put it in over a year ago and is still light as air and just as buoyant, still not up to USCG code, but works just fine) and pool noodles in both ends, if not, and you get hit from below, your stuck with him and you in the water, and you can count on him coming back, bad taste or not.
Wow thats one BIG bite mark in that yak, when you get it fixed, use a contrasting color fill, and please let me know if you want to sell it.
You're my hero!
 

Just reared some stuff and thought I'd add, if your a newbie, please dint get lured by ballsy posts about the bean. It makes it seem nice. Its not. I'm guilty for posting that lake-like launch from last sat., but Ill tell you that the Bean Hollow surf will break your neck on any average day if your not good at, and even if you are. There are a lot of big sharks. Not much for a rescue 'cept for us unless you have a radio, and even the it takes a LOOOONG time. Frank waited for 45 min. for his basket ride last year when his yak filled. Thats hairy in cold shark infested waters but I'm sure he didn't mind much.
So if your new, Id try my luck at Chabot or Del Valle or Mendo or even the bay on a good tide. Practise a self rescue and catch trout and still feel the madness!
BTW Dan, this has nothing to do with your actions, sounds like you did the right things, just my 2 cents on the awesome bean.

Around 7:30, I got to the Hollow only to see half a dozen guys just about ready to launch....I got out of my truck and walked up a small hill overlooking the cove and I jokingly yelled out "SHARK!! I SEE A GREAT BIG SHARK JUST OUTSIDE THE COVE   Everyone of course knew I was just trying to stall the first wave of kayakers from launching without me. So, I stood there and watched the rest make their way out to the big blue.....apparently, my so-called sighting was not credible enough  

About 15 minutes later, I launched with the second wave and we all decided to fish the South side since it seemed like the first wave was heading North  - which is the usual fishing grounds for those who have fished the Hollow before.

A few hours later, Gary / Sandman and I heard a "Help call" on VHF Channel 69. I heard "....need help..." and I assumed that one of the guys to the North had hooked on to a big fish and needed help with a gaff or a net. Gary and I immediately replied "Where are you?"......no reply after that. I assumed that maybe "that person" got the fish on board and no longer needed assistance or somebody else closer was able to help out. Minutes passed and we heard news via VHF of a kayaker getting hit by a shark....we thought it was a PB nearby that was playing some sick joke   I was with Sean / Piscean, Angel, Adam and a few others and I jokingly yelled out, "we kayakers eats sharks for breakfast!!!"......and that's when we heard from John / jdyak that Dan was hit by a Shark ... in shock and disbelief we all wondered if he was OK....jd followed up with a report saying Dan was OK and is on the beach with him. Then we heard "bite marks on the hull of the kayak"  

We grouped up and started passing on the news to those who did not have a VHF, and in about 20 minutes, we finally heard from Dan himself. And for someone who just met the land lord in person, he sounded cool, calm and collected  

Curious to see the carnage done on the yak, a few of us slowly paddled in....in tight fomation (by the way  ). And as soon as I beached my yak, I saw Dan's kayak and quickly checked out the bite marks   I was in total shock and disbelief....then I look up and see Dan walking towards me (with a beer in hand) and I quickly gave him a "man-hug" 

more pics to follow.....my cameras battery needs re-charging 

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

Whoa...ease up on the rookie bashing here, (SAL) is my friend Steve and he's trying to give an honest account of a traumatic situation that certainly shocked the senses of all of us that venture out in the salt.  We did get separated at the launch with me scouting out new spots to the south and him heading out to the northern reef where he caught fish last Sat.  With all the yaks around I suspect that most folks in that area knew that they had company.

Regarding his experience I took him out to the Alameda Rockwall on his maiden voyage, followed by surf entry/landing lessons at Linda Mar and last week he was part of the July 7th group that fished the Bean.  While I'm not a seasoned veteran or instructor I think I've been through enough to be able to get him going.  If the surf was too tough I would have made the decision to launch out of HMB.  

Frank, I hear what your saying and couldn't agree with you more that having a veteran around is false security and we need to learn how to be self-reliant.  Point well made and taken.

I hope we're not ignoring the fact as a newbie he paddled over to Dan to see if he needed help and didn't back down in the face of a shark attack.  Let's give him some credit for that.

While on shore afterwards ChuckE was asking everybody in the face of this shark attack would we continue fishing the Bean.  My answer was an immediate yes because I've had time to think about this since last year when Cafecraig got buzzed by the landlord.  As we've discussed before it was a matter of time even though we've all silently hoped that we wouldn't be the first.  Since its now a reality let's move forward and talk about what we should be doing to avoid any fatalities:

Learn self-rescue
Fish in pairs or groups
Carry a working VHF
Don't hang dead, bleeding fish over the side of your yak
Avoid sharky areas
Find out if there's been any local reports of shark sightings

What else?  Marine biologists please jump in anytime now.

Gary  

For those of you that were there and talked the event through with Dan on the beach, did he actually get knocked off the yak by the shark twice?  Sure sounds like it from the observers' points of view.  From what I've read, it's exceedingly rare for a shark to persist predation once they've had a mouthful of plastic/wetsuit, etc... (i.e., no positive reinforcement).

Since we're on the topic... a topical recent book about the GWS predation research program at the Farallons is called "The Devils Teeth", by Susan Casey... good stuff!

http://www.devilsteeth.net/aboutthebook.htm

Wow... I couldn't sleep last night after reading about happened yesterday.  Glad no one was hurt and that everyone made it back safely.  I guess the party is over now at Bean for while . 

It just all of sudden hit me that it might've been the same GWS or a different one that almost jolted me off the kayak two weeks ago on 7/12/07 when fishing at BH.  My dad and I were on just drifting along on the tandem kayak when all of sudden something hit the rear right side of the kayak follow by a splash.  The force almost threw me off the yak.  My dad quickly turned around to see if I had fallen in the water.  There behind the yak was this crazy baby seal jumping 4-5 times around the yak as if it's trying to jump on board.  I quickly grabbed the club just in case if it decides to come up.  The commotion quickly settled down.  I checked to make sure there's no leak inside and went back to fishing.  I did'nt think much of it other than a curious seal, probably high on sardine, got too much energy.  I just thought that it was kind of strange that a baby seal would hit with such a force since I had my back turned and never saw what hit me.  I just assume that it was that baby seal. 

Then as I went home to rinse off my kayak, I noticed these deep cuts and scratches on the right rear of the kayak.  They didn't look like your normal scratches.    These were vertical and deep.  I was more worried about how I am going to have to repair it than what might have caused these marks.  I started to wonder if seals have lacerated fins or sharp teeth. The word GWS never enter my mind until I read the post then things became more clear to me.  May be I am just reading into things.   All I know is I probably will not fish there anymore.  At least my wife will not let me.  I made the mistake of "Oh Honey, come check this out, you wouldn't believe what happened out there"

Eugene