Great white shark chews on kayak but leaves boater unharmed off Northern Calif. coast
By APTuesday, August 17, 2010
Great white shark chews on kayak off Calif. coast
PESCADERO, Calif. — A man says he survived an uncomfortably close encounter with a great white shark off the Northern California coast that left 18-inch bite marks on his kayak.
Adam Coca says he was fishing in his 13-foot kayak near Pigeon Point, about 45 miles south of San Francisco, on Saturday when something bumped his boat and flipped him over.
The 45-year-old says he was halfway in the water when he saw a great white shark chewing on the kayak. He climbed atop the overturned boat and held on as the shark continued biting the nose.
Coca says the shark then got tangled in the paddle leash and bit through it before swimming away.
Nearby kayakers helped Coca, who was unhurt, paddle to shore. Photos of the kayak show it covered in bite marks, with some tooth holes in the bow.
Information from: Santa Cruz Sentinel, www.santacruzsentinel.com