(UK) Just last July (2008), a Great White shark was allegedly spotted off the coast of Cornwall but turned out to be a hoax. In 2005 there were even sightings of a Mako shark near Cornwall; the Mako or Maori is known to be a man-eater.
This year a 34 year old experienced surfer named Don Harding snapped a picture at Praa Sands of what appears to be a shark swimming very close to a surfer, but many are speculating that the dark shape in the water here is just a dolphin.
Who knows. Dolphin sightings this early in the year are said to be a sign of a good summer. I hope they have a blast.
Update!
While exchanging website links with another surfer/blogger, I found myself talking to a guy named Andrew (check out his surf art blog) who actually was at Praa Sands the day this picture was taken and actually saw this happen. Read what he has to say about this sea creature:
Oddly enough, your latest blog post about a shark sighting in Cornwall… I was actually there at Praa Sands that day! And I know the surfer in the picture! His name is Spencer, and I can tell you as a fact that it was not a shark, it was actually a pod of dolphins. Spence had seen them going for the wave so he paddled for the same wave, he said there were 3 or 4 of them, and they ended up passing under him on the wave, he could see them clearly… Although he was so busy watching them that he wiped out pretty horrendously moments after that photo was taken!
Cornwall has had a few ’shark sightings’ over the years, but they’ve all been hoax. One fisherman made up seeing a great white and ended up damaging tourism in the area as tourists were afraid to swim… he was not popular! haha. I’m no expert, but Cornwall’s waters are perhaps the safest in the world, we have Basking Sharks… that are terrifyingly large, but harmless, and they are sighted quited regularly, but most shark sightings are taken with a pinch of salt by surfers over here… The water is just too cold for them.
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