SHARK!

[powder11]

Shark kills Calif. surfer off Santa Barbara

A shark attacked and killed a 20-year-old California student who was body surfing this morning off a beach at Vandenberg Air Force Base, according to news reports.

The University of California-Santa Barbara student bled to death after the shark bit off one of his legs, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told the Santa Maria Times. The surfer was from Orange County. His identity has not been released.

He and a friend, who was on a board, were in the water at Surf Beach between 9 and 9:30 a.m. when the shark attacked.

[USTFUP2!]

That IS A Tragic Bummer,...

AnD, Everything has got to EAT!

If you don't want to be Lunch, stay out of the Jungle!

[My Pet Powder Goat]

Fuck that sucks. I would never body surf out there.

...after seeing Pattersons shark POV I think a SUP is the only way I would go.

[el hefe]

ahhh shit, leaving to maui in 48 hours..... shouldn't have clicked.

[supermodel159]

I was planning on heading just south of there on Sunday.

My plans have changed.

[USTFUP2!]

That's Sealsville! Where else are sharks gonna go for takeout?

SURFS UP!!!

[Long duc dong]

I was planning on heading just south of there on Sunday.

My plans have changed.

Jalama perhaps? I would probably go somewhere else too.

[Hugh Conway]

landlord doesn't like spongers.

[mnskier]

Vibes to the family of the kid. My friend's dad was body boarding just a few minutes from where the guy got attacked.

[sqikunst]

Jalama and surf beach are two of the most consistant breaks in SB country. I have not lived there for a couple of years but there are never crowds and they are way out in the boons... just driving to jalama is the bomb.... surf, get a j burger and hope u dont get the shits on the drive home.... loved it out there....

Surf beach on the other hand never had anyone out..... and it was always on and off with the nesting grounds for some kind of bird (plover or some thing like that)..... not gonna profess I was out at surf beach at every opportunity but was there probably 2 or 3 dozen times..... if it was a little bit bigger the paddle was kind of far and there was gap between the first and second shelfs.... i never looked into if they were actually reefs but cause of the way the waves constanty changed i always assumed it was sand bar..... used to be an older guy out there with a beard and like a neoprene skull cap i used to see on a regular basis.... but besides that half the time i was all alone... and its cold and foggy in the morning.... staying out there for longer periods of time is a real mind trip.... like BC by yourself u know if you fuck up no one is comming to save your ass.... but 99% of the time the place delivered... if everywhere was flat there would at least a little up at surf.... of all the places i miss in california now living in a land locked place like austria it has to be driving over the train tracks at jalama and craning my head in every which direction trying to see what the swell was doing and then pulling over at trans at 6 in the moring and running to the cliff to see if it was pumping (debating to ask one of your friends to take the car the rest of the way and as u fumble down the cliff with everyones shit) .... surf beach still holds my top spot for most epic day of surfing i didnt get to be part of..... january 2003 had a soccer tourny in Lompoc and between matches went to go see what was going on at surf beach.... pulled up looked out and BOOOOM!!!! way out there the farthest i had ever seen the wave break... 2 dudes all alone getting solid 5 to 7 second double over head barrels... was soo clean and glassy and HUGE..... and they just kept comming must have been there for 30 minutes and say each dude get 4 hits... knew that even if i bailed on the second game drove home to SY valley and got my shit would still be way to late and probs not have the balls to go out.... tht day still itches....

Sad to hear about the body boarder.... used to get the creeps every time something touched me underwater.... most of the time kelp but looking at that board.... id like to hear how big it actually was by scale of jaw.... very sad to hear

[Steven S. Dallas]

id like to hear how big it actually was by scale of jaw.... very sad to hear

There was a NYT article about this attack- it was big. 18'-20', allegedly.

[sqikunst]

shit.... 18' thats huge!!!!!! thats putting three full grown dudes on top of eachother.....

Nothing against the New York Times but i think the allegedly is a good point to stick to.... cause even if it was a GW that is on the upper limits....

[Steven S. Dallas]

Yeah. That was the estimate of the guy's buddy who was next to him in the water; on one hand, he would know, on the other hand, his brain is probably pretty scrambled right now.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/us/24shark.html

[slave2gravity]

The bite was 13" across, which according to a marine biologist interviewed for a local news story, would suggest a shark in the 14' - 19' range, and likely a great white. I feel for the family and the friend who was out there. I can't imagine having to witness such a grisly scene.