By Pete Thomas
A surfer paddling for a wave Tuesday off San Francisco was surprised to see a large fin slicing the water just a few feet away. “I thought I got this peak for myself, until [this] old mate came from the bottom,” Ignacio Salazar wrote on Facebook and Instagram.
The likely shark encounter occurred off Ocean Beach as a north swell delivered waves in excess of 15 feet. (Viewers can see the fin – and hear the sound it generates – within the first 10 seconds.)
Salazar told me he was using a mouth-mount for the camera, and that he somehow remained calm despite the presence of what friends later told him was a great white shark.
“My reaction for some reason was to observe and be calm,” Salazar said. “I guess I learned that skill from big-wave surfing. So at the same time, I thought there was no reason to panic or scream, as there was no one around.”
It’s difficult to identify the species based on such a quick glimpse of the fin, but white sharks feed in Bay Area waters during late fall and winter.
Drew Scerbo, a marine biologist and scientific adviser for White Shark Interest and Advocacy Facebook pages, told me he could not even verify that the critter was a shark.
However, Keith Poe, a prominent California shark tagger, said it looks like the fin of a white shark.
Said Salazar: “I’m not sure about it. People say it’s [a white shark], but as I said I’m very amateur with knowledge of shark fins.”
The surfer added that the fin was in the back of his mind as he jockeyed for the incoming set. “As I was observing to see any other signs of shark fins, I could not see any more,” Salazar said.
You survived Agenda 2030' mate well done.
Posted by: glen folkard | Dec 16, 2017 at 09:02 AM