BajaNomad - Shark snaps at surfer in Scorpion Bay?

Shark snaps at surfer in Scorpion Bay?

joel - 8-26-2009 at 08:10 AM

San Juanico is buzzing about a shark that went after a surfer in the line up at 2nd Point yesterday. I'll say right off I didn't see the shark and I didn't believe the story at first until I saw the looks on people's faces later in the day who were in the water at the time.

The swell has been disappointing and crowded, as usual, here in SJ. Yesterday around 2 PM I went down to 2nd Point to surf. I got to the beach as a good set came through with no one on it. I was stoked. There were two guys on the inside paddling out through the middle section. I'd heard a bunch of people were leaving town, so I thought that I was just getting lucky with my timing and was going to get a very uncrowded session. Still, it was a little weird since there were a fair number of surfers parked on the beach, but I just figured they were waiting for the tide to drop.

I paddled out and caught a wave and then a few other people came out. Within about 15 or 20 minutes there were 20 people out and it was too crowded for the number of waves coming through.

A guy I know, Mike paddled out. I paddled for a wave and ended up sitting near him. I made some small talk with him and he immediately asked what I thought about the shark.

What shark?

He said a 10 foot Bull shark had snapped at a surfer earlier and missed him. That was why the line-up was so empty.

I didn't really believe him. How could a shark snap at someone and miss? I surfed for a little while longer and then between the crowd and the nagging fear the shark story was real, I got out.

I talked to some people on the beach and they told more or less this story: About 45 minutes before I got there people on the beach at the time saw all of a sudden everyone in the line-up panic paddled to shore. Some even clamored up on to the rocks.

When people came into the beach they told more or less this story:

There was about 10 or so guy out at the peak, which because of the highish tide was out towards the middle of the bay. Several people saw a dorsel fin of a decent sized shark a little further out. A few moments later it made a wide circle near them and then as a few people got freaked out and started paddling in the shark "snapped" at one of them. I found this hard to believe, but it missed the guy. The explanation was that he had just shifted his board to paddle when it snapped at him. Apparently Matteo was close enough to see this happen. That's when everyone got out of the water. No one was hurt.

I didn't see the shark, which is described as a Bull shark about 10 feet long, but a lot of people believe this really happened. I'm always skeptical of these things, but the people I talked to who were in the water are pretty convincing.

Anyone have any idea how often this happens in southern/central Baja?

woody with a view - 8-26-2009 at 10:17 AM

seems like a fish story, until it happens to you!!!! scary stuff, but just think, surfing with 20 guys all sitting on a patch of ocean the size of a small SUV and the odds are pretty good it won't be you 20-1 right.....

now, some other spots we won't mention and you might get eaten.

shari - 8-26-2009 at 11:13 AM

hmmmm...could be true...a hammerhead was spotted here last year...ya never know...but what...no surf?? It is absolutely pumping here today...looks about 9-10 feet easy...all the pangas are beached and juan couldnt get out to fish today...bummer...but the surfers are stoked...lovely long swell and some monster sets.

joel - 8-26-2009 at 11:30 AM

The inconsistent surf was yesterday -- the Southern Hemi. Today we're getting junky (at least so far) but good sized waves from the TS.

Someone mentioned that sometimes sharks will "feel" something with their mouth before deciding if it's worth eating. Perhaps this would explain the miss?

BajaGringo - 8-26-2009 at 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by joel
Someone mentioned that sometimes sharks will "feel" something with their mouth before deciding if it's worth eating.

There's a bad joke just waiting for someone to tell based on that analogy. I pass...

:lol:

SiReNiTa - 8-26-2009 at 12:08 PM

i wanna be in the water waaaa isntead i have to do pier readings just a few feet above the beach looking at all the people in the water omg...so tempting lol...yikes...sharks lol i work with them every day and they will snap at hands in the water sometimes but when they figure out it isnt what they want the just swim by missing by inches...definantly a breath catch!

gnukid - 8-26-2009 at 12:44 PM

There is no evidence of any threat based on the observation of a ten foot shark swimming or threshing about at SJ. As most surfers are aware, the water is not cold enough to fuel larger sharks in the region of SJ and there is not any reason to fear sharks at SJ. Even in regions or northern California where Great Whites reach 22 feet or bigger, shark attacks are extremely rare.

However, it is conjectured that The Giant Squid may be responsible for the most deaths of people in sea in the region. Giant squid are rapidly increasing and an increasing threat to divers and surfers with their highly aggressive opportunistic and carnivorous behavior. The Giant Squid is known as the jet fighter of the sea and now they are rapidly expanding populations.

Definitely watch out for the Giant Squids of San Juanico.

Cypress - 8-26-2009 at 01:06 PM

Sharks would rather eat anything other than people. But, if they are starving, people will be OK.

gnukid - 8-26-2009 at 01:10 PM

I also heard a recent account of opportunistic drunks in SJ eating other people's pizza and stealing their girlfriends... very dangerous in SJ.

joel - 8-26-2009 at 01:12 PM

I'd rather eat just about anything other than mayo. Occasionally, by accident I eat mayo.

[Edited on 8-26-2009 by joel]

mtgoat666 - 8-26-2009 at 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gnukid
There is no evidence of any threat based on the observation of a ten foot shark swimming or threshing about at SJ. As most surfers are aware, the water is not cold enough to fuel larger sharks in the region of SJ and there is not any reason to fear sharks at SJ. Even in regions or northern California where Great Whites reach 22 feet or bigger, shark attacks are extremely rare.

However, it is conjectured that The Giant Squid may be responsible for the most deaths of people in sea in the region. Giant squid are rapidly increasing and an increasing threat to divers and surfers with their highly aggressive opportunistic and carnivorous behavior. The Giant Squid is known as the jet fighter of the sea and now they are rapidly expanding populations.

Definitely watch out for the Giant Squids of San Juanico.

newkid, what is probability of shark attack vs giant squid attack on baja sur pacific coast?????????

when i surf or swim, the imaginary sea beast i envision in the murky depths is always the shark. should i put those fears to rest, and now imagine the squid? or should i imagine both? my insecurities need an answer!!!!!!!!

gnukid - 8-26-2009 at 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666

Quote:

This is purely anecdotal:

Well the problem is when people go missing or are found dead it's hard to know what was the initial cause of bleeding leading to death or Shark attack. Marine Biologists at UABCS theorize that it is likely that more attacks on people at sea are initiated by Giant Squid. Night divers are the primary people at risk.

While people do go missing, shark attack on surfers in Baja is extremely rare. At beaches in North California in the Red Triangle between Santa Cruz, the Farallones Islands and Stinson Beach and in particularly off of Ano Nuevo there are higher concentrations of Great White sharks in excess of 20 feet among surfers, death by shark attack is very rare.

This year on the West Coast there is a huge surge of Sea Life and therefore more food and more sightings of Sea life and therefore presumably reduced risk of Shark attack on humans. Its been an amazing Summer.

An increase in Killer Whales has been reported up and down the coast. Here's one report from an afternoon of boating in California. "Six orcas, two humpback whales, one gray whale, 500 Northern right whale dolphins, 100 Risso's dolphins, 50 Pacific White-sided dolphins, 50 harbor porpoises, along with California sea lions and Northern fur seal and many birds sightings: 15 albatross, a rare Xantus' murrelet, along with murres, guillemots, fulmars, shearwaters, puffins, oystercatchers, grebes, gulls, terns, auklets, cormorants and pelicans.

West Coast increase in sea Life
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/30/...

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_11909163

http://www.ktvu.com/news/18927216/detail.html

http://www.sfbaywhalewatching.com/killer_whales_orcas_farall...

East Coast Gulf of Mexico too
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6339954.html

pop up tracking

airmech - 8-26-2009 at 11:12 PM

I dont know if this link will work in this post but here is the Pop up satellite tracking of juvy white sharks. You can look up other tracking also.

http://las.pfeg.noaa.gov/TOPP/popups.html

JESSE - 8-26-2009 at 11:16 PM

Just the "locals" reclaiming their spot.

woody with a view - 8-27-2009 at 09:07 AM

Jesse is onto something!

gnukid - 8-27-2009 at 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by airmech
I dont know if this link will work in this post but here is the Pop up satellite tracking of juvy white sharks. You can look up other tracking also.

http://las.pfeg.noaa.gov/TOPP/popups.html

This is quite interesting. Thanks!

http://sharkdivers.blogspot.com/2008/10/giant-squids-sea-of-...

http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?issueID=72&a...