iStockphoto / USO / Leonel Campos
image of a large great white shark breaching at a California surfing beach in Marina
A woman in California captured the image of a lifetime at Marina State Beach over the weekend. She was posing for a photo with a group of girls she had just met when a large great white shark breached right behind them in the water, launching itself over 80% of out the water.
There are many suspected reasons for why great white sharks may breach. The prevailing theory is breaching is part of a hunting strategy as great white sharks target seals and sea lions, which are common along this portion of the California coastline.
Getting a 10+ foot shark weighing 1,500 to 4,000 pounds nearly full out of the water requires a lot of force! They are often swimming at speeds of up to 40 MPH when breaching occurs. Other theories for breaching behavior include sharks attempting to rid themselves of external debris of parasites.
Woman Captures Moment That Large Great White Shark Breaches Right Off Marina State Beach
Erin King spoke with KSBW Action News 8 in the segment below, saying she is a ‘Beach Girl’ and grew up in the region where this occurred. She said there were a group of girls trying to take a selfie and she offered to help them.
Afterward, they offered to take a picture of her and that is when the great white shark breached from the water just off the shoreline from where they were standing. All of it was captured on video and the footage is so miraculous a videographer/photographer could spend their entire lives filming and never capture a perfect moment such as this.
King told KSBW “It happened so fast. I mean, it was just an instant. So, it just so happened that we got to see that, and I don’t think anybody else really did.”
The moment was also captured by a Surfline camera which monitors surfing conditions. An official from California State Parks checked the Surfline footage time stamp against Erin King’s own video to confirm it was legitimate.
Chief Ranger for California State Parks Mike Dippel said “Given where she was standing, and the timestamp on her video, which matched up perfectly with the timestamp on the surf line video, it’s very likely to be the same shark.” He added “It is that time of the year. October, the fall months tend to be when white sharks do come back and migrate to the Central Coast. So just make sure you’re aware of that and using caution when surfing or swimming, recreating in the water around the Central Coast this time of year.”
It’s as simple as that, when in nature, use caution. The state of California only sees between 3-4 shark attacks per year with millions of people swimming in the ocean. Vigilance is key, caution is always recommended.