Linda Mar- Double GWS Encounter

This morning I was paddling out hoping to fish the Pedro Rock for some rockfish, and right as I got near the first rocky point before the hidden beach I saw a dark shadow in the water. There were some scattered clouds so I hoped it might just be a cloud shadow or some seaweed... but then I saw the fin. It wasn't huge, probably was about the same size as my kayak or a bit smaller, so a 10-13 ft juvenile great white (tax child?). It was about 30ft in front of me and sort of turned around a bit, and that's when I basically shat myself and turned back the other way and paddled with the current back into the cove. It likely saw me and was sniffing me out, but I didn't see it follow after that initial encounter.

I figured it was hanging around that point on the left side of the cove, so I decided to paddle to the other point off Rockaway to try for some rockfish. When I got there, I saw ANOTHER great white of a similar size, this time really close to me. It could have been the same one, but there's no way to be sure. Anyways, I packed my rods and headed in after that.

I always knew they were lurking out there, especially at Pedro Point, but honestly to have my first and second GWS encounter on the same day really shook me. Careful in that area 

Thanks for sharing, and I’m glad you’re ok. LM is my home beach, and I’ve kayaked it so many times to the spots you mentioned, but never saw a thing. Apparently, in 2013 a shark attacked a kayak. Same style as other kayak-shark encounters; they seem to be biting on the bow. Thankfully I’m on a Revo 16 so if that happens to me I’d be some 7ft away…

There’s a big resident gws that lives out there as well.

No thank you.  Hopefully your lifetime quota is met.  I'd prefer 0 meetings.  Glad you're well and I hope you get out soon.   

They are definitely out there. Last summer we were fishing right in front of rockaway cove and all of a sudden we hear a loud whoosh and splash behind us. When we looked back there was nothing in sight. 5 mins later I hear Kurt yelling omg great white! He said it was right under him and about the same length as his yak. I was about 20 yards away but still almost shat my pants 

2 in one day... i think you beat the "more likely to be killed by lightning" odds.  Time to buy a lottery ticket! 

Glad it ended with the only injury to whomever has to wash your laundry. 

Sand

Two in a day is good shit, bro.   

Having seen them a couple of times myself, it's very nice to be one of the "not-touched'.

I see it like this - if it touches you or your yak, you're going to be way more affected than if it doesn't.  That's all there is to it.

I often tell my guests and others who ask, "I know about 10 or 12 guys who have had a GWS bite their kayak".  I go on to explain that the usual scenario is that they do the crunch-crunch and then leave.  I am also sure to include the statistic that out of all of those who I know who have had the shark hit their yak, only one received a small injury that bled. 

Odds are good.  Let's fish.   

For a reminder: 

2 in one day... i think you beat the "more likely to be killed by lightning" odds.  Time to buy a lottery ticket! 

Glad it ended with the only injury to whomever has to wash your laundry. 

Sand

It must have something to do with their migratory patterns and seasonal congregations. There's a video on YT that shows dosens of GWS hanging around Rockaway.. so apparently Pacifica is a congregation point for them.

Well folks sounds like we have found the cure to constipation...lol    I recall more than a few stories in and around Linda Mar of GWS.

Thanks for the very large fish report. Yeah Pedro Point is a known hangout for sure, but for the most part i've heard of juvenile encounters, which in my very limited understanding suggests it's less likely to result in an attack.

That one guy in 2013 definitely seems like the resident adult landlord though, I remember very clearly when that happened as i was just starting to surf that spot. So essentially you never know if you're gonna get the kid or the dad 

2 in one day... i think you beat the "more likely to be killed by lightning" odds.  Time to buy a lottery ticket! 

Glad it ended with the only injury to whomever has to wash your laundry. 

Sand

It must have something to do with their migratory patterns and seasonal congregations. There's a video on YT that shows dosens of GWS hanging around Rockaway.. so apparently Pacifica is a congregation point for them.

Migratory like an African swallow?

2 in one day... i think you beat the "more likely to be killed by lightning" odds.  Time to buy a lottery ticket! 

Glad it ended with the only injury to whomever has to wash your laundry. 

Sand

It must have something to do with their migratory patterns and seasonal congregations. There's a video on YT that shows dosens of GWS hanging around Rockaway.. so apparently Pacifica is a congregation point for them.

Migratory like an African swallow?

or perhaps it was a European Swallow....

King Arthur: The swallow may fly south with the sun or the house martin or the plover may seek warmer climes in winter, yet these are not strangers to our land?
Guard: Are you suggesting that coconuts migrate?
King Arthur: Not at all. They could be carried.
Guard: What? A swallow carrying a coconut?
King Arthur: It could grip it by the husk!
Guard: It's not a question of where he grips it! It's a simple question of weight ratios! A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut.
King Arthur: Well, it doesn't matter. Will you go and tell your master that Arthur from the Court of Camelot is here?
Guard: Listen. In order to maintain air-speed velocity, a swallow needs to beat its wings forty-three times every second, right?
King Arthur: Please!
Guard: Am I right?
King Arthur: I'm not interested!
[A second guard approaches the parapet]
Guard 2: It could be carried by an African swallow!
Guard 1: Oh yeah. An African swallow, maybe -- but not a European swallow, that's my point.
Guard 2: Oh yeah, I agree with that.
King Arthur: [exasperated] Will you ask your master if he wants to join my court at Camelot?!
Guard 1: But, of course, African swallows are non-migratory.
Guard 2: Oh, yeah.
[Arthur begins to depart]
Guard 1: ...So they couldn't bring a coconut back anyway.

shark vids and Monty Python.
Never gets old.

Isn't it a requirement that all shark sighting posts have to include whether or not a shark shield was in use?

and the color of the kayak, but typically only in cases where there is a bite....yum yum