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Subscribe to RSSA shark off the coast of Massachusetts came within feet from kayaker Walter Szulc Jr., of Manchester, N.H. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
A first-time kayaker had a close encounter with a great white shark off the coast of Massachusetts over the weekend.
Sunbathers first spotted the shark following two kayakers on Saturday afternoon off Nauset Beach, the Cape Cod Times reported, and yelled to the men offshore.
One of the kayakers saw the shark and quickly paddled in, while it took the other one, Walter Szulc Jr., of Manchester, N.H., a little while longer to notice the dorsal fin just feet away from him.
“There were hundreds of people on the beach, and they were all at the edge, yelling paddle paddle, paddle!” Dave Alexander told the NBC News affiliate in Boston, WHDH.com.
Szulc said when he looked behind him, the shark "was pretty much right there."
"It was good-sized, it had a fin sticking out, so I just turned and paddled," he told WHDH.com. It was the first time Szulc had kayaked.
Since June 30, three sharks have been seen plying the waters off Cape Cod for food, the Cape Cod Times reported. The large number of seals in the area is believed to be drawing the sharks.
Orleans Harbormaster Dawson Farber said he and his team went out in a boat to confirm the sighting – he noted the shark was an estimated 12 to 14 feet long -- and they had all bathers get out of the water. The beach was also closed.
An increased number of great white sharks in are being reported in Cape Cod. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
“Everyone was very relaxed and the shark put on quite a show moving back and forth out in front of the beach, but it was done in a very orderly fashion,” Farber told ABC News.
Witness Debbie Sutton said Szulc “started booking it.”
“You could see the darkness of it,” she told WHDH.com. “It was longer than the kayak … it was crazy big.”
Not all beachgoers were scared by the great white. Some even got into the water at the beach later in the day.
"Everyone wanted to see it," Karen O'Connell of Medfield told the Cape Cod Times. "There were people running toward it."
The last shark attack on a human in the area was in 1936, when a man was killed swimming near Mattapoisett, the newspaper reported.
In central California on Saturday, a shark lifted up a man's kayak, throwing him into the water. The man was rescued by a boater, but the shark bit the kayak, damaging it, according to NBCBayArea.com. In May, two kayakers escaped a great white in California, though the shark gouged one of the kayaks, leaving a 20-inch long and 22-inch wide hole, local media reported.
A kayaker was fishing off the waters of Capitola Beach, Calif., when his boat was overturned by what some witnesses say was a great white shark. KSBW's Margot Dunphy reports.
In 2011, there were 75 unprovoked shark attacks on humans, with 35 percent of those happening in U.S. waters, according to the International Shark Attack File. That number was down from 81 in 2010.
The total number of unprovoked global shark attacks has grown since 1900, the group said, noting that did not necessarily mean there was an increase in the rate of attacks, but that people were spending more time in the water, increasing the chances for interactions between the two.
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He can't go down with three barrels...not with three barrels on he can't.
I once knew a girl that could go-down with three barrels on.... ;)
ok, seriously, all predator/prey interactions are unprovoked. In my opinion however, anytime a human being is in the territory of predatory animals, they are provoking an attack. For Christ's sake, some of these morons were trying to chase the damn thing down. How arrogant humans are, we always have been and it will lead to our demise. So much for being the smartest species!!!
Not much different than chasing down a lion...the dry land version of the Great White! How moronic can these people be?
We need to dump more garbage in the oceans to kill the sharks off.. Joking of course..
Think both of those guys 'pooped' their pants? I'm guessing yes.
That was one big shark...look at the wake. It's bigger than the canoe or the board.
sharks do have a sense of humor, bet that shark was goign yeah,, scare that human lol and was giggling, hahahaa i love to go boating, but i will not go near the ocean any longer, too many big things out there that think you are a freelunch, no thanks, iw ills tay onteh rivers in calif, too too too many thing int hat ocean to eat you,
As the oceans become warmer, these sightings will become much more commonplace. It will not be long before they are spotted off the Labrador coast.
Not really. The seals tend to like cooler waters. If the seals move so will the sharks.
Shark is thinking...."Surf & Turf Baby!"
Just more dare devils, doing things in areas that could cost them their life. That's because they have a brain smaller than their prey, like standing on a rail track and seeing the train coming, then saying, no problem I've got it covered.........you know what happens next, right. Here's you a list of those small brained people, hikers in bear country, surfers in shark infested water, bungee jumpers, mountain climbers, python owners, and too many to mention. A death defying experience,......... yea right...... the undertaker needs you kind of people to pay his bills.
Paddle Forrest Paddle
The life value index, it's the number 1-10, that puts a person on a scale as to how much they value their life. The greater the risk they choose to take, the lower the number. Mine is 10. These kind of people have a number 2, meaning, some but very little life value.
I take it you don't drive, have supervision while eating, showering, etc if your score is a 10?
I said the lower the number, the less value for life, re-read.
Despite him getting the numbers mixed up, did you not get the gyst of his question?
Did anyone actually verify the type of shark? Or is it always a great white shark.
I am no expert at identifying sharks, but each species probably has a unique looking dorsal fin. Maybe they could tell by looking at the fin?
This article incorrectly uses its source material. 35% of attacks did NOT occur in American waters. That figure, as provided by the cited source, was for NORTH AMERICAN waters. 52% of attacks occurred in U.S. waters, including Hawaii.
Kinji, go surfing, bungee jumping, or buy a python.......you seem intelligent enough!!!
Does a kayak have a toilet? (I know it doesn't) I think I might have needed one if I had been in that situation.
No just poop and roll!
At the rate that humans kill sharks for shark fin soup or accidental drownings caught in fishing nets..I say the attacks were very provoked.
First and last time!
LOL! That dude in the Kayak resembles a top-water Rapala fishing lure! Wonder if he had a big treble hook on the back?
How exactly, would one "provoke" a shark attack??
Just go in the water where they're present and thrash around a bit. Better yet, wear a black bodysuit and thrash around. You're get their attention!
First thing I thought when I saw the picture was one of our best pranks!
'Fisrt time kayaker'....HAHA. What a way to get ordained in the sport. I wonder if it was also his last time? Even though a smart person knows sharks don't typically "go for human", it would still make your heart stop for a second turning around and seeing that....Bet he had to change his shorts on the beach.
When you enter the water, you enter the food chain.
Look what followed me home Ma! Can I keep it??
If I ever kayak, am going to put side view mirrors on it. Same goes for pulling security at an Afghan police station, side view mirror for the Army gun.
I'll bet that guy could hear a cello playing - DA-DA, DA-DA, DA-DA, DADADADADADADADADADADA....
The shark was like yum. I thinks I see a giant ham.
The sharks are just getting even.......humans are a shark's aphrodisiac!