Whenever I meet someone new and we are having the swapping-of-interests conversation, it is pretty much inevitable that surfing will come up due to its high rank on my list of favorite things to do in this world. Often times this conversation is with someone who knows very little about surfing and causes the triggering of the stock surfing questions – “So, what’s the biggest wave you’ve ever surfed? Have you ever been to Hawaii?” And nine times out of ten, “Have you ever seen a shark?” Recently, this conversation concerning sharks has come up a lot between myself and friends, family, and new acquaintances, and it got me thinking about the encounters I’ve had with sharks in my life. So over the next couple of days, I figured I would share my top shark encounters just as a formal answer to this question of “have you ever seen a shark” – which unfortunately is YES.
Encounter #1 – Fingal Head, Australia
I would say that this was my first real shark scare as far as I can remember. This wave is right across the Tweed River from the infamous D’bah beach break in Coolangatta, Australia. Although, it’s super close to the hustle and bustle of Coolangatta, it seems a lot more remote as the 25 minute drive around the river to get there discourages most traveling surfers in the area who lack transportation. Anyway, I was surfing there one late morning with good friend Zander Morton as some really fun and rippable 6 foot wedges were sloshing around. It was just he and I along with one other bodyboarder, which isn’t an uncommon crowd to find at this beach.
Now, this is a spot that I would say characterizes a perfect “shark attack beach”. First, it has a huge jetty at one end of the beach. Second, it has a river flowing just on the other side of the jetty. Third, their is a pier at the opposite corner of the beach. Fourth, there are usually one a few people surfing at any give time. And finally, it’s in Australia. So, stone structure no good; flowing food source nearby no good; man made structure no good; manageable number of large prey no good; and being in the country with the most fatal shark attacks in the world definitely no good.
About an hour into the session I spot something dark next to one of the pier pilings. With all the waves bumping around I only got the slightest glance and didn’t think too much of it but figured I would keep my eye on it and try to get a second look to see exactly what it was. About 5 seconds later I pop over the top of another wave and to get my second look at the object. It’s closer this time. And there is definitely a fin attached to this object. At this point it’s either shark or Dolphin. Then I see the second fin – the one on the tail. Dolphins’ tails are flat and horizontal, sharks’ tails are vertical. It’s a shark. It’s huge and it’s less than 15 feet away. I look at Zander and then at the bodyboarder and it was as if we all saw the same thing at the exact same moment. Boom! Bee line straight to the beach. Up to this point in my life, I’ve never paddled so hard in my life. We all got out of there with nothing more than an overdose of adrenaline pumping through our veins, but we nearly crapped our pants in the process. Shark encounter number one.
D'Bah beach break in the foreground. Fingal head on the other side of the river in the background. A photo like this can make you remember how small you actually are in the ocean. Now add an abundance of sharks to the mix and you realize your place in the food chain in the ocean how quickly you can become a meal for the gray man in the suit.
