San Onofre State Beach near San Clemente is a known breeding ground for great white sharks, but only rarely are they captured on camera.
Even rarer: images of a great white breaching in California.
Veteran surf photographer Jordan Anast managed to be in the right place at the right time this past Saturday while snapping photos of a surfer riding the waves during the San Onofre Surf Club’s annual contest.
“Over the decades I have captured some memorable moments for others, but this is one was for me,” Anast posted on Instagram.
The series of photos shows a great white rocketing out of the water, then splashing down, with the unsuspecting surfer at a safe distance in the foreground.
Anast said the moment reminded him of “Sharknado” – a reference to the sci-fi comedy horror films.
“My passion has always been to stop time for 1 second, capture a memory for someone or something that will last forever and show the world my pics through my lens. These shots will always be a part of San Onofre history and that is pretty cool,” Anast said.
Great great white shark jumping out of the water at San Onofre State Beach in California. Oct. 22, 2022 (Jordan Anast) 
A great white shark jumps out of the water at San Onofre State Beach in California. Oct. 22, 2022 (Jordan Anast) 
A great white shark jumps out of the water at San Onofre State Beach in California. Oct. 22, 2022 (Jordan Anast)
This was not the first documented shark breach during a surf contest in the area.
According to the Orange County Register, a shark jumped out of the water during the USA Surf Contest at Lower Trestles, just north of San Onofre beach, in 2019.
