PACIFIC PALISADES – Will Rogers State Beach was open today, a day after several sharks – some as long as eight feet – were seen swimming as close as 100 yards from shore.
"There have been no sightings today," said county lifeguards Capt. Garth Canning. "We advised swimmers to stay out of the water yesterday, but we did not order them to stay out, and some went in the water anyway.
"Going out in the water is always dangerous," Canning said. "On Sunday, we made over 380 rescues in the county area. Sharks are just another danger, and we're on the lookout for all dangers."
Authorities have not determined the species of shark sighted off the coast yesterday, but there were concerns that the animals could have been potentially dangerous mako or great white sharks.
Dave McNair, a San Diego-area diver who viewed television news footage at 10 p.m. Monday on KUSI-TV, said the sharks appeared to him to be white sharks.
The footage was an aerial view of the sharks in the surf zone.
McNair, who shared his views via e-mail with fellow divers, emphasized he was not a marine biologist, but merely a "shark fan."
"They had the classic great white shark shape," he noted "(The) nose was triangular – not pointy, pectoral fins were broad and triangular/crescent shaped – not long and slender, broad girth of the tail just before the fin, body overall stocky – not slim and long, and a brief angular glimpse of the dorsal fin sure looked broad like the pectorals.
"Even their movement was reminiscent of video I've seen of (white sharks)."
To McNair, the only odd item appeared to be the sharks' coloring, which he noted was very dark."
The mako shark is the only other shark with similar characteristics, McNair observed. "These sharks were moving fairly slowly, slower than what I thought Makos moved like."
******** ********* *******
Maybe we should we send kneelorider* to check it out? j/k ....
