Most people would likely scurry away at the sight of a shark fin sticking out of the water, but a trio of paddlers on a recent day instead got an up-close, hour-long encounter with a curious blue shark off Laguna Beach.
The paddlers on Friday, Jan. 28, noticed a bait ball where birds were feeding in the distance, watching dolphins frolic in the same area near Seal Rock.
Anne Girtz, of Laguna Beach, was the first to see the fin as they approached. The dolphins and birds had left, but this one sea creature remained.
“It was quite small, but on the surface,” Girtz said. “I paddled over as quickly as I could. I saw the dorsal and then the back tail fin doing this very rhythmic wave motion of a shark.
“As I got close to it, it couldn’t have been mistaken for anything else.”
When she realized what it was, there was excitement – mixed with an admitted tinge of nervousness – at the thought of seeing a shark up close in the ocean, Girtz said.
“I don’t think most people have that experience, completely in the wild, to be able to observe something like that,” she said. “It was very cool.”
Their guide was Rich German, an avid ocean adventurer who recently shot footage of a massive sunfish that went viral. German, who has encountered countless sea creatures out in the water, estimated the shark to be 4- to 5-feet long.
He’s seen thresher sharks offshore, but didn’t know the species of this particular shark, he said. He knew it wasn’t a great white, though that species has been seen in big numbers off the coast in recent years as their population rebounds following restrictions on fishing and other protective measures.
Friend Ryan Lawler, owner of Newport Coastal Adventure and an avid fisherman, later identified it for German as likely a blue shark, which has a slender body and long, rounded snout.
The trio expected to spend only a few minutes with the shark. But it just kept hanging around.
“He would not leave us alone. He kept coming right up to the board … and wouldn’t go away, like he was looking for company,” German said.
While people’s initial instincts with sharks are to be fearful, this one was harmless, even “cute and friendly,” he said.
“I wanted to bring him home,” German said jokingly. “He was incredibly curious.”
German said he never felt fearful, noting he’s more scared of driving on the freeway than mingling with wildlife in the ocean.
Related links
Sharks have spots they like and are closer than you think, Shark Lab study shows
Shark expert discusses how to co-exist with growing number of great whites
Video shows hydrofoilers surfing next to great white sharks off Capo Beach — but did the riders realize what was happening?
Sharks season is back — should you panic if you see a great white near shore?
Orange County shark attack victim reflects on near-deadly encounter one year ago
With more videos and photos capturing images of sharks, especially drones shooting from above, researchers are seeing now how often sharks mingle, many times unknowingly, near humans in the water.
For German, who has published a book, “Blue Laguna,” of his sea life images, the kind of footage he captures help show people that marine life – even sharks – is part of nature’s beautiful and mysterious ocean habitat.
“If we can help people to not fear sharks so much – not that sharks should not be respected and can potentially be dangerous – but this guy was incredibly harmless,” he said.
Girtz, who works with the nonprofit Laguna Bluebelt and sits on the city’s Environmental Sustainability Committee, said seeing a shark in the wild was “super cool.”
“To be close to something like that and see the health and variety of our ecosystem is such a treat,” she said. “He was in no rush, he seemed to be totally OK and really kind of enjoying the company on his journey.”
And not many people get to say they swam with sharks.
Girtz’ friend, Shannon Shaughnessy, vacationing from Minnesota, had a few things on her must-do list while in Laguna Beach – visit her best friend, peruse art galleries and eat lots of seafood.
Never did she think to put “swimming with a shark in the open ocean” on her bucket list. But then her kayak accidentally tipped over.
“The shark was in the middle of us, I flipped and went completely in the water,” she said. “So yeah, I was in the ocean with the shark. It’s quite a story to be able to share.”