Oceanside Shark

[AfterDarkMark]

Yet another uncommon element to the session at Oceanside last Sunday 6-7-15, in addition to wondering about Neal's disappearance, was sighting a great white shark about 40 yards beyond the impact zone. Maybe I noticed because I was scanning around even more than usual, keeping an eye out for Neal, or because I often use fishermen's buoys as reference points and keep track of them. In fact, I thought I was coming up to some kind of buoy, and was taking note of it in the distance, and was thinking how unusual it was to have a buoy in a dark color, versus the usual bright orange, etc. Then for a second I thought, "no, maybe debris of some type." Obviously shark was the last thing on my mind until I was about 20 yards away and the object turned broadside to me and morphed into the classic dorsal fin shape. I was a bit in disbelief and awe, and as I passed by I saw some dramatic movement as if the shark were lunging at a fish, and saw the fin twist around a bit, then glide back down into the water. I was craning my head around looking behind me at it as a kiter skimmed right over where the shark was! I wonder if he saw it? For a second, I thought about signaling, but figured he would not have known what I was waving about. Probably would think I was just sharing the stoke, as I often do.
Anyway, the image of that fin was burned in my mind, and I sure kept a keen lookout the rest of the day. And my waterstarts were quite a bit more efficient I must say! I'm guessing it was a juvenile by its size. I looked up info on how researchers keep track of sharks by making fin ID pics and found a great pic of the exact fin type I saw. Great White. Wow. So the Landlord was in the house!! I'm glad no one was late on the rent... [ A couple of other sailors told me they saw a sea creature as well on Sunday. But they thought it was an orca sticking his head up to look around, because it was black and white! But they saw no typical tall orca dorsal fin. Hmmm. Do orcas hang out around here?? We now have a mystery beastie at Oceanside, or a shark with white spots.]
So this is the second shark I have seen while sailing on the coast. The first sighting was dramatic. I thought it was a big driftwood log out at sea off Road's End; had a similar brown color. Until I got close and saw the graceful, subtle swishing of the big tail fin and outline of the shark in that beautiful green water. I just cruised right on by with saucer eyes, muttering something like "don't fall, don't fall". On my floaty board, I might have slowed down to check it out, since I love sharks and all animals, but on my sinker board I thought twice about it! It's hard to suppress that primordial fear I guess. When I got home that day I looked at lots of shark info trying to ID the species, but didn't see anything that was a clear fit. Just another aspect of this amazing sport, in the awesome coastal spots we sail in here in OR. It's like coming across a grizzly bear on a hike - it's all part of the scene, and a great memory as long as no fearsome attack happens. On that note, happy sailing to all and take care. -Mark usKME-1

[brettn]

Mark you have no idea how lucky you were nothing happened. A buddy of mine learned the hard way that distinctive fin twist is a mating ritual. Best he can figure, a massive male white mistook him for a sexy female great white. The rest of the story is a little graphic for this channel. You can YouTube if you must but some things you can't unsee.

[uwindsurf]

[skyhigh]

Thanks for this post & story!! You ROCK!!! My 32nd season sailing the Gorge, woo-hoo! Learning how to windsurf is one of the best things ever....!! It's peaceful, fun, relaxing,exciting, & dangerous~It's got it all!!Thanks for the STOKE!!!!

[Waterlou]

Years ago I saw a program about Great White shark research being done in the Point Lobos area. One of the most interesting things they discovered was (at least for me), as the researchers were trying to get the sharks to come for bait, that the very best lure turned out to be a surf board traveling at high speed on the surface. It worked even better than dragging a seal or a dummy in a wetsuit.

The researchers would take the board out in a dinghy, leave it in the water, and then winch it in from shore as fast as the winch would drag it. The sharks would come up from deep water to grab it, just like a summer steelhead on The Deschutes River grabbing a fly early in the morning.

I'm guessing the surfboard looked a lot like a windsurfing board from below, but maybe sharks don't know the difference.
I wonder how fast they can swim after a lure?