There’s been an unusual amount of shark sightings reported from San Onofre the past few weeks – and one encounter just a few days ago – down at San Onofre State Beach.

On the Shark Research Comittee Web site – which tracks sightings along the Pacific - stand-up paddleboarder Brian Hovnanian wrote that he actually had what sounded like a pretty scary encounter with a shark. Hovnanian and buddy Lance were at the reef south of Dog Patch at San Onofre State Beach about 8:30 a.m. about 50 yards from the shore in 6-foot deep water.

Here’s what he says happened:  “As I was paddling out, my friend was paddling about 30 feet behind me when all of a sudden it felt like something hit the back of my SUP, then slammed into the back of my left calf, forcing me to lose my balance and I feel backward. The shark was now on top of my SUP and I was lying backward on top of the shark, as it was on my board. The shark slithered off the board back into the water.

This all happened so fast, and I believe when I fell on the shark, it scared it and it tried to get away from the board and me. I still had my paddle in my hand, jumped to my feet on my board and looked at my leg, to notice nothing had happened to my body or board. By now my friend had paddled quickly to me and could not believe what he had just seen right in front of him. He made sure I was OK, luckily I was, then we paddled back out to the line-up and caught a wave from the next set and paddled in thinking how lucky I was.

I’m not sure what kind of shark it was, but it did have a gray back and white underside and was about 5 feet in length. It might have been a Mako or White Shark.”

The Shark Research Committee points out that an unprovoked shark attack is “any physical contact between a shark and human, or piece of equipment being utilized by a human, without any known provocative action by the subject which might cause the shark to strike out.”

To make things even spookier, there have been a ton of sightings of sharks in Orange County reported to this Web site the last few weeks. Here’s a few:

- July 9, San Onofre: Gregg McLaughlin was Stand Up Paddleboarding at DogPatch, San Onofre State Beach. “A White Shark, about 8 feet in length, swam directly underneath me. I was standing on my paddle board at the time. The shark was in no hurry, and I was able to get a good look. It was about 5 feet below the surface of the water. I didn’t do anything, just stayed where I was. I was in the water for another 15 – 20 minutes and I did not see it again.”

- July 9, Sunset Beach:  Michael Sanville was surfing in front of the stairs at Sunset Beach. “I was sitting on my board a little further out then normally because of where the waves were breaking. It was the ideal spot. I was scanning the horizon for lines when I saw something break the surface. Its mouth was open as it cleared the surface by at least 2 feet. It was a Great White Shark, 7 – 8 feet in length, a white belly and grey on top. Its dorsal fin was also clearly visible.  Then it crashed back into the water. It happened about 30 yards or so away from the pink buoy and approx 50 – 75 yards from me. There weren’t too many people in the water at the time. The man next to me saw the splash but NOT the shark.  I turned and paddle closer to shore. No one else did.”

June 7, San Onofre State Beach: Kevin Rust and several unidentified companions were surfing North of Old Man’s, San Onofre State Beach.“A few friends and I had been surfing for about 2.5 hours just a peak or so North of Old Man’s peak at the San Onofre State Beach, along with the 40 or so other people there at the time. We were sitting in the line up about 100 yards off shore around 7:30 when a 4 – 5 foot Great White Shark jumped out of the water. It was about 50 feet away, farther out. It leaped about 3 feet into the air, came completely out of the water with its belly facing us, and crashed down ungracefully on its side. The belly was white, vertical tail, and a v-ed nose. No one really panicked. It was more awe factor than anything. We just pulled our hands and feet out of the water, made a couple straggler jokes, and that was that. It never resurfaced or made another appearance. I read Redmond’s encounter for July 7, and it was the same circumstances, behavior etc., just 5.5 hours later. Same spot, I’ll bet even the same shark.”

June 7, San Onofre State Beach:   Rudy Fontes was surfing at ‘The Point ,’ San Onofre State Beach. “I had been surfing, but was now waiting in the line-up, maybe 100 yards off shore, between sets and looking out to the horizon. There were maybe a dozen others within 30 yards of me when an estimated 6 foot White Shark hit the surface of the water and became completely air borne above the water, maybe 5 feet above the surface. Its belly was facing all of us and you could see the shape of its mouth (jaw) very clearly. It was moving wildly as if it was attacking a fish or something from below the surface. an awesome site and we were all ‘buzzzzing’ for a while, never seen that before. I guess it swam off, that was the last of it.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

July 7, San Onofre State Beach: Parker Redmond was surfing ‘The Point’ at San Onofre. “ I was looking off towards Lowers and saw a 4 – 5 foot White Shark leap about 4 feet out of the water. Its tail was inverted just like the Discovery Channel sharks. I knew instantly what I had seen. It had a white underbelly and its back was grey. About 20 minutes after the shark breach 2 dolphins cruised through the line-up. That made my encounter seem even more absurd, but I promise you it was definitely a white shark.”

July 6, San Onofre State Beach:  “I was paddling out and notice up ahead a sand bar just past the reef. It looked pretty cool so I stopped paddling to admire, I noticed the shark come from underneath my board swimming very slowly at first. I was trying to figure out what type of fish it was then when I saw the whole thing I thought ‘Oh my God’ that is a shark. It startled the heck out of me for a few seconds. A little later 2 kids just South of me started saying there’s a shark. So we started to paddle in when we got to shore we started talking about it and they said that the shark they saw was a Great White that was circling them and then took off. They said that it was 6 – 8 feet in length. The two kids told there friend about it and he said that it probably was a sand shark and that it was no big deal.  I beg to differ I had an encounter with a sand shark when I was about 7 years old at T-Street in San Clemente. I never heard of a sand shark being that big but I am not a shark expert. The kid told the lifeguard about it and they said to keep it on the down low and did not seem to care about it. So I called my uncle and asked him about this area and the sharks that inhabit the area. He told me that every once in a while someone will see one and to just keep on paddling. So, after a couple hours I went back out and had a great time. I even saw a dolphin, which actually made me, feel safer.”

If you see a shark, make sure you report it to the Shark Research Commitee Web site.

PAST SHARK STORIES

Six-foot shark caught off the Huntington Beach Pier

Huntington woman knocked off kayak by shark

Surfer in HB says he was attacked by shark

POLL: Would you get back in the water after being attacked?

Expert says kayaker encounter with great white was “investigation attack”

Large great white shark follows Outriggers about a mile offshore in Laguna

Great white shark spotted by charter boat 2 miles off Doheny State Beach

Great whites off Newport Beach: photos from 2002

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.