“You are paddleboarding next to approximately 15 great white sharks,” is not something you want to hear when you’re enjoying a day at the beach.
But that’s exactly what beachgoers in the waters off Capistrano Beach in Orange County heard broadcast from a helicopter loudspeaker as they paddleboarded on Wednesday.
Lifeguards “are advising that you exit the water in a calm manner. The sharks are as close as the surfline,” Orange County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Brian Stockbridge is heard saying on a video shot from a helicopter overlooking the beach.
The school of sharks was spotted by Orange County sheriff’s Duke 1 helicopter around 1:30 p.m. Jason Young, Orange County’s lifeguards chief, said they received two reports of shark sightings in the Capistrano Beach area, the OC Register reported.
Later in the evening another group of 10 great white sharks were spotted more than 50 miles north of Orange County, off the coast of Long Beach. The Long Beach Fire Department issued a shark advisory, for the area warning all beach patrons to enter the beach “at their own risk.”
There have been several great white shark sightings in the area off the coast of Southern California since the beginning of the year. Just last month, a 33-year-old woman was attacked by a shark while swimming in the waters off San Onofre State Beach.