This is a crazy report from on Pacific Coast Shark News by Bethany Edmund. It sounds like she got 3 bites from a small great white shark. Ouch.
Terramar Beach — On August 25, 2009 Bethany Edmund was swimming 250 – 300 feet from shore at Terramar Beach, Carlsbad. It was 4:30 PM and she had been in the water about 10 minutes. The sky was clear with estimated air and water temperatures of 80 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. The water was 8 – 10 feet deep with visibility of 5 – 10 feet and a rocky reef-like bottom. Edmund reported the following; “I was swimming in the surf line-up trying to take pictures with a new INTOVA 6.0 mega pixel underwater camera I purchased earlier in the day. I noticed a large, approximately 14 inches in length, Sea Bass jump in front of me. I tried to snap a picture with my camera. Two other swimmers were next to me and saw the same fish jump.
About a minute after the fish, I felt a sharp pain in my right foot. Thinking I might have kicked the reef, I shrugged it off and continued taking photographs. About 30 seconds later I felt the same sharp pain and, this time, I began to swim away from the area. I thought I was over a reef and was kicking a sharp portion of it. About a minute later while I was swimming from the area I was hit on the upper right thigh and propelled about 1 foot out of the water. This is when I realized what was happening and began to body surf toward shore. The first wave I caught I felt something in the area of my calf pulling me back and down under water. I thought it might be one of the two swimmers near me, however when I surfaced they were about 10 feet from my location. I ignored what had just occurred and caught another wave to the beach. This time I felt the same sharp pain in my left calf, but this time I was dragged under water and shaken for 4 – 5 seconds.
During this struggle I accidentally kicked the shark and it released me. The shark was about 6 feet in length with a dark blue/black top and a white belly. I then proceeded to stand up and run out of the water. When I exited the water there was no obvious blood, just swollen areas where I had been hit. The next day I notified James Bilz, Supervisor II Lifeguard, Carlsbad and Encinitas lifeguards Captain Larry Giles and Paul Chapman Lieutenant at Moonlight Headquarters .” ‘Interspace Measurements' and the configuration of the individual tooth punctures to the foot and calf is representative of a juvenile White Shark 5 – 6 feet in length.
Content courtesy of the Shark Research Committee. Please report any shark encounters using their reporting forms.
