Staff report Santa Maria Times
Posted: Friday, October 22, 2010 11:15 am
One person is dead after being bitten by a shark while body boarding off Surf Beach at Vandenberg Air Force Base this morning.
The victim is not affiliated with the military and is a Santa Barbara City College student, according to sources.
A Santa Barbara County coroner's official is at the scene.
Surf, Wall and Minuteman beaches have been closed for a minimum of 72 hours, according to Lt. Ann Blodzinski, the public affairs officer for the base.
Surf Beach, which is west of Lompoc on Vandenberg Air Force Base property, is the closest publicly accessible beach for Lompoc Valley residents. It is
also easily accessed from a nearby Amtrak station that serves the area.
In September 2008, a shark bit a surfer’s board at Surf Beach and base officials issued a 48-hour warning to beach users.
Base officials said at the time that they believed it was the first shark incident off Vandenberg and sought recommendations from other coastal parks
about their policies for beach closures.
Jalama Beach, a county site just south of the base, has no restrictions beyond the normal signs warning of hazardous surf and dangerous conditions,
officials said this morning.
“Jalama Beach rarely ever has shark sightings,” said Clay Garland, head ranger.
In 12 years he recalled two reports of shark sightings at Jalama, while Surf Beach is known as a shark area, he said.Ken Bondy - 10-22-2010 at 12:54 PM
Thanks Sculpin!! I'll try to not look like a sea lion. This morning the Coast Guard boats zoomed out of the Morro Bay harbor heading south to try
and help. Unfortunately too late. Very sad, que lastima. ++Ken++woody with a view - 10-22-2010 at 03:36 PM
got good friends in Lompoc. none in college, tho! too bad, not a good way to go.....Bajahowodd - 10-22-2010 at 05:18 PM
Very rare. But, those critters are in their own environment. They did the right thing by closing that beach and a couple of others nearby for a few
days. But, as I mentioned, it's so very rare.
Given sharks and jellyfish and other dangerous creatures of the sea, it's a wonder that so many folks still go in. Ah, but that's what we love.mtgoat666 - 10-22-2010 at 05:27 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Very rare. But, those critters are in their own environment. They did the right thing by closing that beach and a couple of others nearby for a few
days.
i never understand why they close the beach after a shark attack. sharks are there every day. and how do they know the individual rogue shark has
left after a few days? bureaucrats are stupid,...
...however, roy sheider appeared to be one knowledgable public servant who knew what he was doing when he was sherriff of amity back in the 1970s
gots to give this thread a baja connection: when/where were the last few shark attacks in baja?????? did they close the beaches??????Bajahowodd - 10-22-2010 at 05:31 PM
Sharks are migratory. That's why. Maybe not so much goats.woody with a view - 10-22-2010 at 06:02 PM
"gots to give this thread a baja connection: when/where were the last few shark attacks in baja?????? did they close the beaches?????? "
i gotta pro fisherman buddy who swears that every river mouth on the left coast of baja are "verified shark zones". the funny thing is, is, most
rivers in baja that flow to the sea are dry..... still, he insists. in my time i've never seen a fin, i've felt the hairs stand up on my head, but
never seem the culprit.....The Sculpin - 10-22-2010 at 10:37 PM
Hey Woody - the ones you see are not the ones you worry about.......I was surfing a dream session at Salsipuedes in the 70's (yeah - I'm not a spring
chicken) when all of a sudden the lineup went empty. I'm thinking................... great!!! Surfed the place to myself for over an hour - about 5
good waves - a real treat. That night around the many campfires, I was offered many beers and shots, but I couldn't tell if the crowd was BS'n me or
not, but they all swore they saw a big fin outside. I never saw it. Was I lucky? You bet! The barrels were to die for!!!!!
Too bad about his guy, though. Too young. As far as a way to go - I dunno. Not many of us do things in our life that are worthy of the history books,
but getting narfed by a white? You'll be in the books for an eternity.......maybe when I'm 90 I'll go looking for senor tiburon....woody with a view - 10-23-2010 at 07:18 AM
one time at calafia/mushrooms in the mid eighties my buddy had just caught one and went in. i was alone sitting on my board watching the horizon
waiting for my ride in when i had "that" feeling. i knew someone was watching me. i looked around and my buddy was paddling thru the inside, there was
no one on the beach or the cliffs. right about then all hands and feet came out of the water and i was laying on my board, i was on critter alert.
nothing ever happened but there was something near me.
sometimes you gotta listen to the voices.......RIP!durrelllrobert - 10-23-2010 at 10:05 AM
here's another baja connection. this happened in 2008 in the channel between Punta Banda and Todos Santos island where the Big Wave surfing
championsip is held every year:
From El Vigia, May 8 2008
Sharks in Punda Banda
Ensenada, BC Two gigantic white sharks wees seen and videotaped by
a fishing boat in the zone of Punta Banda. They measured more than
5 meters in length (about 15 feet).
This past Tuesday, May 6, the crew of the commercial fishing
boat `Lunker' were fishing for a species of fish called `rockot' in
the triangle formed by Punta Banda, Todos Santos Island, and La
Bufadora.
Under the command of Captain Edmundo Jiménez Mendez, the fishermen
spotted the two enormous sea predators a few kilometers from the
coast, almost in front of La Bufadora
According to Jiménez Mendez, in his 30 years of fishing, this is the
first time he has observed this species of shark so close to the
Ensenada coastline.
This was such an unusual event that they decided to videotape the
sharks presence. The sharks cooperated by getting even closer to
the boat, offering quite a spectacle around it.
At the time of the videotaping the sharks were two kilometers from
the coast. Their size was calculated by comparing them to the
dimensions of the Lunker which is 31 feet long. When one of the
sharks aligned itself alongside they noted that it surpassed, by
quite a bit, half of the boat.
Captain Jiménez Mendez did not try to capture the sharks, seeing as
they were in there natural habitat. Nevertheless, he said, it is
important the people know that these sharks are near the coast and
could present a danger to swimmers and surfers. They ought to be
very careful.
"They ought not forget that the sharks are in there territory and
that it is man who is the invader," he commented.
