Author Topic: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?  (Read 4005 times)

The Kernel

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Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« on: August 31, 2014, 10:08:59 PM »
So those of us who SUS SoCal in the Dogpatch/Trails area have long known about the "locals" that hang out there.  StandinDan referenced a recent siting in his post about unexpectedly losing his board surfing at Nukes.

Continuing with that, my neighbor who is a local SUP pro had been telling me of recent sightings, with one of his buddies declining to surf Trails after watching a nice big shadow while looking down from the cliff. 

So the most recent update is that another of his buddies was reportedly prone surfing trails about a week ago and had what he claimed was an 18' great white hit a seal about 25 meters away from him; story was that the seal went airborne and the shark scarfed him down like a cocktail weenie before it ever hit water again.

The prone surfer made the comment we would all expect:  "I've never paddled faster in my life to get in...."

I'd rate the source as reliable.  If they were trying to discourage surfing there, it would probably discourage more proners than SUPers.  At least with a SUP you're not laying right there on the sandwich and there's a lot more foam to taste to help a shark understand that he made the wrong meal selection.

Any thoughts, comments, or criticism of the report, feel free to have at it....
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SUPcheat

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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #1 on: August 31, 2014, 10:45:38 PM »
It seems more likely that a Killer Whale would snarf down a seal like a cocktail weenie than a Great White.

The Great White's method is supposedly to take a big bite that causes bleeding and weakness then to circle back around and tear the crippled prey apart in chunks with the usual thrashing and blood pool. 

So that part sounds a bit like hyperbole.

I would certainly not hang around if I knew one was in the water, but, really, given the few and far between incidents of shark bites and fatalities, there are bigger things to worry about on the water, like, driving to the water.
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PonoBill

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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2014, 11:03:26 PM »
I've seen tigers take snack size turtles in a single bite. True blonde joke--a turtle suddenly exploded out of the water at Thousand Peaks, shooting at least twenty feet in the air. When it hit the water there was a little frantic splash, and nothing. A blonde girl on a SUP turned to me and said "I didn't know they could do that!"
\
Don't know about great whites but I suspect it depends on the size and nature of their prey. Like most animals, they don't really come with a rulebook.
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The Kernel

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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #3 on: August 31, 2014, 11:25:42 PM »
"...there are bigger things to worry about on the water, like, driving to the water."

SUPcheat:  I fully concur; my wife would tell you that I usually use that same example.  Over 40k people killed in the U.S. in auto accidents every year and yet many people harbor irrational fears about flying or catching Ebola...or catching Ebola WHILE flying.  It's no wonder they get picked off by banks with great high interest loans...   Hey people!  Work on your numeracy!

I posted that report out of a sense of responsibility in passing on what seemed to be a follow on to recent sightings and discussion. 

I'm definitely not as concerned as our attorney friend SupSurfIsSurf, though.  He's always on hyper alert at Trails and gets a little squirrelly when I tell him that he would never be attacked just for reason of professional courtesy.
Kernel:  Cutting through the bull**it.
"This is the kernel of the argument."

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Califoilia

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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #4 on: September 01, 2014, 12:01:51 AM »
About a month ago, I was out with another buddy down there, and while padding out, commented that I was glad to see the flock of gulls sitting on the water about 1000' out in front of us....as they probably wouldn't be sitting there if we had "company" in the water with us.

Now this is not something I would normally even notice, much less comment on....but a couple weeks earlier while out at the same trail with him, and one other SUSer, an 8' or so juvey was out sharing the water with us.....

Anyway, after about 15 minutes or so, I hear my buddy yell, "Oh cr@p....did you see that!?"  I hadn't, and inquired what the hell he was so all worked up about, and he said that a white breached, and took out one of the gulls!!!

I guess it wasn't a full body clearing the water thing or anything, but it was enough for him to see that it was one probably about the size of the one we had seen a couple weeks earlier.....and being that it was a gull, I figured that was probably the case.

Or at least that keep us in the water for the remaining 90 minutes or so, and we had a great time and didn't spot "anyone" else out there with us in that time.

But now add another 10' to our little "buddy", and I'm thinking twice about hanging out and sharing waves with him. 

So while I'm sure it's all possible, I'm hoping your "reliable" friend....just wasn't as reliable as he usually is on that one....just saying.   Dayum, 18'???
« Last Edit: September 01, 2014, 12:05:05 AM by SanoSup »
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Wetstuff

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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #5 on: September 01, 2014, 06:10:29 AM »
..."when I tell him that he would never be attacked just for reason of professional courtesy."    ;D
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PonoBill

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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #6 on: September 01, 2014, 06:30:21 AM »
If you're looking for them, you're going to see them. Most people don't, and more importantly, don't know what to look for or even where to look. Whenever I'd point out a tiger or a grey to our esteemed friend Headmount he'd look out to sea like captain Ahab while the fish went under his board.

Trust me, fluffy has plenty of company. Two years ago at Dogpatch I saw that scruffy little fella almost every day. He got right in a wave with me on one occasion. It's like mice in a barn--if you see one you've got fifty, he was simply more gregarious and less stealthy. Even a four foot white could leave a considerable mark, and the most docile black tip could take your arm off. Spend a little time in a plane at 300 feet flying along the coastline with the sun just right and you'll see long grey shapes everywhere. Might be dolphins. Might not.

Nothing to fear, but plenty to respect.
« Last Edit: September 01, 2014, 06:38:49 AM by PonoBill »
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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #7 on: September 01, 2014, 06:32:33 AM »
I've been surfing Trails for 25 years and I've yet to see a shark of any consequence. I know they're out there but you can't let it intimidate you. I laugh when there's a sighting and everyone stays away for a week or so and they're thinking that if you don't see 'em they aren't there. They're always there.......

I'll take my chances. I drive on the freeway and do other very dangerous things. You can't live in a closet and be afraid of life.
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SUPcheat

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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #8 on: September 01, 2014, 10:44:35 AM »
"Anyway, after about 15 minutes or so, I hear my buddy yell, "Oh cr@p....did you see that!?"  I hadn't, and inquired what the hell he was so all worked up about, and he said that a white breached, and took out one of the gulls!!!"

I have often wondered about that.  Those birds on the water look like sitting ducks, pardon the pun, and I always thought they would be shark bon bons.  I guess they must have an evolved sense about when to split the scene and when it is OK to lounge.
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Califoilia

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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #9 on: September 01, 2014, 11:26:51 AM »
Trust me, fluffy has plenty of company. Two years ago at Dogpatch I saw that scruffy little fella almost every day. He got right in a wave with me on one occasion.
And so you were probably the last guy to see him, as what were often frequent sightings of the guy....have turned into no one has seen even once in the past two-three years. 

Once they turned off the pumps, his easy smorgasbord closed, and he had to actually go looking for something to eat, and not just picking at whatever was on the "buffet" screen.  ;) ;D

Quote
It's like mice in a barn--if you see one you've got fifty, he was simply more gregarious and less stealthy.
Yes, and like the mice, the "little" ones are not going to try to eat something their size or larger....

So on my seven and half boards, and larger....I'm feeling pretty comfy around them boys we're seeing in the 8-12' range.....but when someone starts taking 18', I'm starting to feel more like an appetizer than I am Rodney and his Jumbo Jack.
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Nothing to fear, but plenty to respect.
Most definitely. 
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PonoBill

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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #10 on: September 01, 2014, 11:40:47 AM »
Hell, it might have been five years ago--my mind is a sieve.

Rodney Allen Rippey--Loved that kid. My friends and I called them Jumble Jacks for years.
« Last Edit: September 01, 2014, 11:42:22 AM by PonoBill »
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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #11 on: September 01, 2014, 11:47:51 AM »
No, your timing sounds about right....when you had the little BOP, "zoner" git-together at Chris' place over-looking Strands.

That seemed like two or three years ago....but hell, mine's as "colanderish" as yours.  LOL!
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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #12 on: September 01, 2014, 11:54:57 AM »
so is it a myth or the truth that if you see dolphins in the water  the whites  probably aren't around? as far as shark attack vs accidents  compare percentages  #of attacks/ # of surfers  ( say west coast)   vs 3 of drivers/vs # of accidents     what are those results?
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PonoBill

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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #13 on: September 01, 2014, 01:22:05 PM »
No, your timing sounds about right....when you had the little BOP, "zoner" git-together at Chris' place over-looking Strands.

That seemed like two or three years ago....but hell, mine's as "colanderish" as yours.  LOL!

I just recovered from the hangover from that party, so it couldn't have been too long ago.

Outside: the thing about sharks is that they pretty much do what they want. It's the fundamental silliness behind closing beaches because a shark has been sighted. Everything about how they behave that's couched as something you can rely on is at least partly mythical in that it's unreliable.

I don't know of any statistics that isolate the risk for people who spend time in the water vs. general population. What I DO know is that there were about 200 shark attacks worldwide in 2013, of which about 25 were fatal. In the same time period there were 1.25 million vehicle deaths worldwide. Of course you pretty much have to go in the water to get sharkbit, and you can get killed by a drunk driver anywhere--including sleeping in your bed. But your chances of a shark doing anything but scaring the crap out of you are very small--even in high concentrations areas.
« Last Edit: September 01, 2014, 01:34:20 PM by PonoBill »
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JayInSoCal

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Re: Great white breaches at Trails in SoCal?
« Reply #14 on: September 02, 2014, 01:28:27 PM »
If you're worried about white sharks, SanO to trails is not a good place to be.  Although 18' sounds a bit hyperbolic.  To my knowledge most of what is seen there are juvies, still eating fish.  If you think about it there are not enough seals I that area to attract the larger ones. I've seen them breach and seen them swim real close under me.  It's not as scary as you would think and actually kinda amazing.  Like most point out, you should be more concerned about your drive to the beach....or stingrays...ugh I'm dreading that first stingray hit.


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