A Jaws-some experience.
A great white shark startled two Massachusetts paddleboarders as it swam merely feet from them, while they were enjoying their Fourth of July evening on the water.
College students Margaret Bowles and Maddie Cronin were paddling near Woods Hole on Cape Cod’s southwestern tip when they observed what was believed to be the shark’s 8-inch fin.
Cronin, a University of Toronto student, was capturing video of Bowles playing around when the dorsal fin of the shark appeared, scaring both friends.
“Oh,” Bowles said as she jumped up on her board, according to a video obtained by WHDH.
Bowles and Cronin didn’t believe what they saw and had to look back at Cronin’s photos and to confirm their suspicions.
The photo captured Bowles’ terrified expression as the underwater predator’s dorsal fin breached the water’s surface, just feet away from Cronin’s board.
“I see this big fin pop up next to her, it’s like eight inches out of the water sort of fleshy, gray and I’m like ‘Oh my goodness that’s a shark, we got to go,’” Bowles, who attends Harvard University, told the outlet.
“Once we were back to shore, I was kind of like no way, they aren’t here,” Bowles added. “It took a second to register that was what happened but it was a complete surprise. I’ve spent time teaching marine biology here and swimming in the ocean. I certainly never expected for a great white shark to wander my way.
“I always operated under the assumption that there were no sharks in Woods Hole. I would have friends down and they’d ask, ‘Are there sharks here?’ And I’d be like, ‘No, no way.’”
The photo was sent to experts, and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries confirmed the friends had encountered a great white shark in Buzzards Bay.
Knowing they were on top of their boards, the friends kept their “cool” and paddled back to shore without incident.
After returning to the safety of land, the friends joked that the shark got lost in the waters and was stopping for directions.
The “lost” creature was named “Steve” and didn’t scare the friends away from the beach.
“I’ve already gone swimming since then. I love the ocean. What happened was incredibly unlikely,” Bowles said.
Bowles did, however, say she was temporarily putting a pause to swimming in her wetsuit in the waters.
“That seems unadvisable at the time,” she said. “Hopefully ‘Steve’ moves on and I’ll get right back to it.”
“Steve’s” sighting off the shore of Stoney Beach was the first in the area in over two decades.
The last confirmed sighting of a great white in Buzzards Bay was in 2004, according to Cape and Islands.
“The general perception that white sharks are predominantly along the Outer Cape is actually quite true based on the data we’ve collected,” shark biologist for the Division of Marine Fisheries Greg Skomal told the outlet. “But that’s not to say that sharks don’t move to other parts of Massachusetts, and we’ve been able to demonstrate that occasionally they do enter Buzzards Bay.”
“The best approach is that if you see a shark, don’t panic. The probability of being bitten is very, very low,” he said. “Nonetheless, if you’re concerned about your safety, just move away calmly and avoid interacting with the shark in any way.”
