That’s right. A great white shark has been spotted near the placid shores of Orange County, California. Two great whites, actually!

great-white-shark-dana-point-5.jpgSurfers near San Onofre had spotted what seemed to be two great white sharks in the waters near where they were surfing. The sightings were confirmed by Chuck Patterson, who filmed the large fish from his paddleboard. You can see the video here. (Photo: a clip from Patterson’s video.)

According to the story in the Orange County Register, Patterson went out on his paddleboard, taking a video camera, in hopes of filming the great whites. Within five minutes he was “pleasantly surprised to see a pretty big, 9-foot great white.”

But then “I startled it; it startled me. It slammed its tail fin on my board and took off. I had a little moment of clarity – if it was a good idea to be out there.” Ah, such moments of clarity are generally worth our attention. Patterson, however, continued to film, and was able to video another great white.

For the record, Patterson was standing on his paddleboard, not dangling his feet in the water. Still, I don’t think I’d be pleasantly surprised if I saw a great white shark while on a 12-foot board, standing, sitting, or clinging on for dear life. Hasn’t Patterson ever seen Jaws? Yikes!

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