Not all shark encounters are deadly. As one San Luis Obispo Surfer found out, sometimes they amount to more of a splash fight.
On the morning of Wednesday, October 28, a group of surfers were casually enjoying a clear day and calm surf in Oceano, California. As it turned out, so was an absolutely massive great white shark. In footage captured by local drone pilot David Steiner, an approximately 15-foot-long behemoth cruised through the crystal clear water just below them.
Then, in a moment straight out of pretty much every surfer’s nightmares, the shark appeared to take interest in one of the riders – local surfer Joel Hendrix. The creature inched forward, took a look… and then just sort of splashed some water on his face. “The shark just baptized me with a little splash,” Hendrix told the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
Though the interaction was more fun than deadly, it was still enough to immediately clear out the lineup. “I didn’t really have time to panic or be afraid,” Hendrix added. “It was like, OK, this is just not where I want to be anymore.”
