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The incident happened off Coast Guard Beach in Eastham on Saturday, Nov. 4, according to Ray Trautz, one of the surfers. He wrote about the scary meeting on Facebook.
Pete was sitting on his board and I was standing on mine when I looked over my shoulder and a 10’ Great white Shark was on track right at Pete’s legs. The shark even turned on its side as if to take a leg , in that moment I yelled SHAARRRRK as Pete was still unaware. As I yelled I stabbed my paddle into the water at the back of the shark and it violently turned at me, tail and head thrashing back and forth erupting the water. The sharks massive tail section almost hit Pete in the face. I was yelling for Pete to go and get to shore as the shark circled behind me very aggressive and agitated. As the shark circled I circled and kept him from being behind me. In that moment a small wave came across the bar and in two quick strokes I was flying towards the beach.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy told surfers and swimmers to be aware of their surroundings while in the water and to report any shark sightings on the non-profit's Sharktivity app.
“2 surfers had a close call with a white shark off Coast Guard Beach,” the conservancy wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Thankfully, they weren’t physically harmed, but this is an important reminder to stay vigilant!”
In 2022, there were 66,097 detections of tagged sharks in August, with 47,177 in September and 32,409 in October, according to the conservancy’s logbook.
“It is still white shark season, and some will remain into the winter months,” the conservancy warned.
While white sharks hunt and eat seals in shallow water close to shore, and bites on humans are rare, the conservancy noted that they have occurred off Cape Cod, according to a public safety post.
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