I’ve read about this incident on Facebook but saw no mention of it here. Sad and very scary!
I read about this on another forum, although no mention of her being a triathlete. Sad news indeed. I feel for her family.
Tragic.
She was a highly competitive triathlete and was the co-founder of an OWS swim club.
There are lots of seals (and therefore sharks) in the area, but we never considered it unsafe, though most of the swims I’ve done there are in the cove among the kelp (so probably not where the big fish want to be).
More details here: Swimmer in Suspected Shark Attack Was a Triathlete, Swam at Same Beach for 20 Years
Swam there for over 20 years? And, she was swimming with a group? And, they haven’t found her body? That is tragic, sad, and very scary. Of all the swim deaths that I’ve read about on this forum this is the first that I know of that is due to a shark attack! As a flatlander who has always been leery of swimming in the ocean this story reinforces my fear of ever doing open water training in the ocean. RIP.
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This is a truly fluke, one-off event. As you mentioned, this is the first shark-related death you’ve heard of; compare that to the number of car-related deaths that we all know about and yet still train on the roads.
It sounds like she was a bit away from the group and was probably mistaken for a seal. It’s extremely rare (being hit by lightening is a higher risk), but that is of course little solace to her family and friends. All of our thoughts are with them during this difficult time.
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There was a triathlete killed by sharks swimmimg off the hawaii coast years ago. Her partner heard her screams from the house and tried to paddle out to her but was too late. They found two big tigers swimmimg near by.
Edit to add that she was swimmimg early morning alone, just past the breakers, like she has for years. It was one on shark week and they mentioned she was training for the hawaii triathlon.
Yes this is truly tragic, but not unprecedented. Virtually the same exact thing happened here in Solana Beach years ago. A group of triathletes were doing their usual swim, and someone off the back was bitten in half by a shark. Guy in his mid 60’s who struggled but lost way too much blood and did not survive. It was a really big deal around here as shark deaths in so cal were super rare.
This mush have been a very big one too, no trace of her anywhere, and I presume she was wearing a wetsuit this time of year in this place. Quite chilling to even contemplate, which I have done 100’s of times in my many ocean swims and adventures…
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It’s a real sad one. Seems like this lady had a big group she got to know from swimming in the ocean as well. Put things in perspective. Any swim could be your last, any ride could be your last.
We had a shark attack here two or three summers back, a guy swimming solo who went off into some churned up water where some fisherman had been chucking some shit in the water. You talk to anyone they tell you that people don’t swim there where this guy was and you also wouldn’t be doing it by yourself. But this lady was with a group and in a fairly common swimming area.
Sharks are out there but only a fraction of a percentage actually curious to engage. This lady had been doing it for years by the sound of it., the man I’m talking of much more at the start of his journey with swimming in the blue
so sad
Lightening strikes may be more common on average, but as you pointed out, that area is known for sharks. Hell, it was infamous back when Alcatraz was actually functional.
You mention wearing a wetsuit. One of the things that has always baffled me is why so many wetsuits are plain black. I imagine this was a case of “mistaken identity” by the predator. That is no comfort for the loss but it seems like manufacturers could make super easy adjustments to at least reduce that risk. Why aren’t there more colors in wetsuits? Why not have colors to break up the silhouette? Of course, it wouldn’t be 100% but FFS, manufacturers should try something to help people out. Not even considering predators, how many of us go in the water with the intent of not being seen?
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This was in Monterey, not SF bay. And all those old Alcatraz shark stories were just that, made up by the guards to scare the prisoners for attempting a swimming escape. People are all over that bay swimming every single day, think I have done it at least a couple dozen times. A few all the way across too..
And most sharks are color blind, it is the splashing and shape of things they notice mostly..
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Monterey -SF bay, both are in the back yard for a shark. And I get sharks being color blind, a lot of animals are. Doesn’t mean that breaking up the silhouette wouldn’t help. Anything to help us not look like a seal.
I think there was another one around that time at La Jolla cove or one up at Seal Beach?
1000% there are white sharks in SF bay and those stories may be made up, but they are not wrong. There are vids on YT of them attacking seals next to alcatraz.
Masters degree in marine biology here. The reality is we’re both right - sharks are almost always around in all these Pacific habitats. Which should further solidify how rare attacks are. People are constantly swimming in these areas and attacks are still incredibly rare, statistically.
This is a tragic story and I was truly shocked to see it happen.
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Yes of course, but most of the sharks in the bay are juveniles, probably why people get left alone inside the bridge. Now go out a bit and head towards the Farallon Islands, that’s flipping a coin on getting attacked. I have a few friends who have tried to do that swim from the bay, one got within a mile and just froze up completely. Of course no wetsuits in those attempts..
Looks like we might get some closure on this story, 30 miles is a long way to drift, but not out of the realm: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/body-found-california-beach-woman-missing-21264793.php?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=69514ad64d046500019a8cd9&fbclid=IwY2xjawO-3YtleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFOSXNaZE9tbkIzQVZLck5Pc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHllpWeIJ2_FoVjBlaoxXNHPOHqgtwQ208irQ6wM8muShfTZny_8sW_2gMp13_aem_9sPK2hd7hRyfSn_WlnTBTA
That is quite a distance. Hopefully this will help her family and friends deal with this tragedy.
SO looks like this was indeed our earlier swimmer, articles say father identified her. No word on condition of body though, but lots of eye witness reports of shark when she went missing, some even say saw her in the mouth..
Indeed.
in no way arguing, just general sentiments - but sharks can evoke strange sentiments from the public/witnesses, and the press. generally, I give the press on this story a solid A so far for reasonable and non-sensationalist reporting. some stories, i think the reporter just watched jaws as their research and couldn’t tell a shark from a whale…but i digress. I consider people in this area of the country to be quite shark-aware and not mistake a shark for something else, or a body for something else…but sharks don’t generally carry their food about or “play” with it in their mouth, and ESPECIALLY not above the surface. if the attack was a breach due to fast attack from steep angle below, it was likely just that split-second surface interaction for above-the-water activity. reports of seeing the body in the animal’s mouth are a little odd to me. unless multiple witnesses saw the initial strike in those few milliseconds with perfect clarity/timing. and from there, since the body was at least identifiable 30 miles away and after many hours adrift, it aligns with typical shark attack patterns in which the shark makes no effort to consume, rather it immediately moves on after discovering the target was not intended prey (thus having no reason to hang on after initial strike). not saying its impossible, just my 0.02 as someone who knows sharks decently well and has paid attention to shark attack reporting for my adult life, witness statements of seeing it in the mouth don’t quite add up to me and seem possibly sensationalist/taken out of context. possibly.
will continue to follow this closely, so sad and tragic but ultimately bringing to light an aspect of our sport and of nature which is extremely important
I agree with all you wrote, seeing someone actually in the mouth of a shark means you were looking at the few seconds of the actual attack. Possible that the shark comes straight up from below and hits her at the surface, breaking it briefly before going back down. And yes, once the shark gets a bit of the wetsuit and tastes human blood, likely to just let go and move on. But of course having dozens of razor blades ravage your body often leads to an unfortunate death..
Thanks for the expert commentary on shark attacks, I too have studied and watched from up close and afar since my younger surfing days in the 1960’s…
The comment section of an article i read said she had a heartattack and drown. Not sure what people are making up at this point. I could definitely picture a person in a black wetsuit start struggling and somebody thinking they see a shark attacking them.
Edit to add that the husband identified her based off her watch her wetsuit and her shark repellent ankle bracelet. I’m sure if there were not pieces missing or massive bites he would have identified her by looking at her face?