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Just last week, the Jack’s Surfboards Pro was put on hold and the beach was closed for 24 hours when a shark was “behaving aggressively” around the Huntington Beach Pier. A similar beach closure took place just a month earlier and only a short way down the road in Newport Beach, California, when a juvenile eight-foot great white shark was spotted circling a surfer. There was also a Saturday morning in Hermosa Beach in which a group of fishermen reportedly reeled in 20 sharks in the span of a few hours — not “aggressive behavior” but certainly another data point supporting experts’ forecasts of a sharky summer in California.
This particular video happened well outside of the surf zone and hours north of those Orange County beaches, but it’s fair to file this as another “aggressive” encounter in California over a short span of time. Two buddies were enjoying an afternoon downwind foil run between UC Santa Barbara and Carpinteria. The pair were casually cruising through their 20-mile run when one realized he was being tailed.
“This triggered an intense curiosity and the shark followed Ron closely for about three minutes,” the video says of the moment they passed over the shark and realized what was happening. “He turned left, it turned left. He sped up, it sped up. It was a full game of cat and mouse, but…with a 10-11-foot shark.”
“Don’t fall” is the only advice the cameraman has for his friend, Ron. It’s not clear what kind of shark was chasing him, but the high-speed encounter certainly looks aggressive. And you have to imagine Ron doesn’t want to find out if this was just a curious juvenile or a proper adult who didn’t appreciate being buzzed with the foil.
“After what felt like an eternity for Ron, it finally peeled away in search of something else to play with. We continued the run and made the next 10 miles without falling.”
