The ocean is beautiful yet terrifying, and kayaker David Slavich experienced the latter when he was fishing in Half Moon Bay from his kayak on Sunday, October 25, and encountered a massive Great White shark.
Close Encounter With a Great White Shark
Slavich shared footage of himself relaxing in his kayak on the ocean when a gigantic Great White shark swam right past him. He described the close encounter and recalled hearing a distinct “whoosh” before looking over his shoulder and seeing the shark, KTRON 4 reports.
“I look over my shoulder, and I see this massive, massive silhouette and the distinctive fin. This is not a killer whale, this is not a dolphin — this is a great white,” Slavich said of his thoughts at the time. “Oh my god, oh my god, there’s a great white shark, oh my god.”
“There is this giant eyeball locking with my eyeballs, and it was one of the most surreal moments I’ve ever had in my life,” he added. “It’s fight-or-flight mode that you go into mostly. I was like, I got to get my rig off the water; I don’t want this thing pulling on my line. So I get my rig up super-fast; you see that in the video, and then I just kind of brace myself for impact. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”
Fortunately for Slavich, the shark did not interfere with his kayak, and he was unharmed, although his wife, Andrea Slavich, has made it clear that she does not want him going out on the water again in the kayak.
Slavich has a positive view of the encounter, saying, “I think my encounter really just proves that they are not interested in eating people. They are pretty curious … [that] didn’t mean my heart wasn’t beating through my chest, because they can explore my leg a bit and I won’t necessarily survive that exploration.”
Another Kayaker Was Not as Lucky
Slavich was understandably spooked by having the apex predator so close, but his story ended without incident. Unlike a man fishing in Leffingwell Landing in Cambria, California. Fox Weather reported the fisherman’s story: On Monday, October 26, the man had been fishing when a shark struck the underside of his kayak, capsizing it and throwing him into the water. He was able to swim to land after initially climbing back onto the kayak, which was damaged and taking on water.
The fisherman was not injured.
Dr. Chris Lowe of the California State University, Long Beach Shark Lab, examined photographs of the kayak but could not confirm it was struck by a shark, Fox Weather reports. However, this is not the first time a shark attack involving a kayak or canoe has been reported in California, with the outlet noting that, per the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, “there have been 233 shark encounters in California since 1950, including 36 involving kayaking or canoeing.”
Kayaker Looks Over & Sees a 12-Foot Great White Shark Inches From His Boat