Has anybody here seen a great white locally?

[shoupart]

I can't think of any anecdotes I've heard lately about anybody crossing paths with one in SoCal waters( besides on an intentional shark dive).

Have you guys had any encounters, underwater or top side?

I head a white was seen in December 2004 killing a seal or sea lion at Point Dume, but that's about it.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I've seen video and pictures of them next to the Pt. Fermin buoy, off the West end of Catalina, between Bird Rock and Blue Caverns, off Malibu, San Onofre, San Luis Obisbo and two years ago one killed a Harbor seal pup near shore at La Jolla.

 

[JodiBB]

I've never seen one, but I thought about it when we were diving with all the sealions at Santa Barbara Island at the Rookery last weekend....

 

[Ken Kurtis]

Two of our divers (one was Pete Pehl - at the time DSO at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach) had a White breeze on by them at about 60' off of LCI at San Clemente (in NW Harbor) about eight years ago. We've also seen them eating a large sea lion a few miles north of Santa Barbara (we thought it was a fish boil, went to investiagte, and saw the White, who stayed in the area for about an hour).

There's one thought to live around the West End of Catalina. He's been spotted occassionally over the years and it seems to me that a local instructor saw him within the last year around Johnson's Rock.

So yes, they're out there.

 

[drbill]

There was a sighting of the resident white at the West End about 6-8 weeks ago based on reports I heard. One killed and ate a sea lion on the beach at the Empire Landing ("West End") Quarry housing last summer (one of our DM's saw it). I've seen them on the backside, but only from boats. There's on seen occasionally off the quarry there, and I've heard a number of reports of them off the East End Quarry and Seal Rock.

Have dived Catalina off-and-on for 38 years and I've never seen one underwater. However, I'm willing to bet they've seen me (and skeedaddled quickly)!

 

[Codyjp]

I saw a hugooo shark of some sort at at angels gate once from my plane. I don't know what kind it was but it could have ate a small boston whaler...

 

[prthd9]

I think it was last year that someone reported seeing in La Jolla. S/he reported it to Scripps and described shark and Scripps said it was most likely a white.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Long before any of you thought about or were involved in the noble sport ...Bob Pamperin was attacked an killed by a GWS in busy crowed La Jolla cove on a week end after noon in 1959. Diving was set back several notches by that event.

It was concurrent with the Krohler (S) death up north.

These events had eye witnesses and have been documented

Both were free diving

Al Tompson (Founder of professional scuba repair) was buzzed by a GWS while on air..

And of course there was the Sneppersnoff/Ingram/Bauman events--need I say more?
Other that they are there...

sdm

 

[drbill]

Long before any of you thought about or were involved in the noble sport ...
sdm

Heck, I was thinking about "the noble sport" before 1959 but didn't do my first dive until 1961. And I also thought about great whites back then even though I was diving freshwater in the Midwest. I REALLY started to think about them when I started diving SoCal waters in 1969.

 

[orangelion03]

On Sunfish, on the way to Santa Cruz last year, saw dorsal and caudal fins that were distinctly those of a small GW. Distance between fins was about 5 feet.

Cody...yours could have been a Basking Shark, they are big and I was surprised to find out last year, not uncommon in these parts.