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There’s a reason why the QS is often referred to as a “grind.”
But it’s not usually because of sharks. Rather, the World Surf League’s Qualifying Series – a stepping stone to the Challenger Series, then the big leagues, the Championship Tour – often involves heaps of travel, mental and physical strain, and battling for points in poor conditions and mediocre waves.
On Thursday, however, the shark factor also came into play during the Vans Jack’s Surfboards Pro, presented by 805 Beer, held in Huntington Beach. As captured by Surfline cameras, not one but two, juvenile great white sharks were seen breaching just outside the contest area while heats were running. Did the event organizers put the contest on hold? Nope. Check out the footage below.
QS grinder, currently ranked 63rd on the series, Nolan Rapoza, was on the scene with this report:
“This is the wildest morning so far here at the Jack’s Pro. We just witnessed two sharks jump out of the water. I think, at 8:50am on the Surfline rewind. Contest is still on, so there’s no hold today for the Jack’s Pro. No hold here, Mick Fanning style. Heats are on. Sharks are out there.”
Less than a month ago, in early March, city officials closed a mile-long stretch of beach in HB due to another shark breaching. According to witnesses, the shark was "jumping out of the water" and "thrashing about." Sounds pretty similar to what went down on Thursday on the southside of the pier. But no closure – they’ve got heats to run.
Recently, per a study from Cal State Long Beach’s “Shark Lab” in collaboration with the Los Angeles Times, they found that juvenile sharks are almost always lurking beneath unknowing swimmers and surfers in southern California – and specifically in Huntington Beach.
“Pretty much every day in Southern California,” says Times reporter Jack Dolan, “there are people unwittingly swimming and surfing in and amongst these juvenile great white sharks. In fact, beaches all up and down Southern California, and in LA County in particular, are essentially great white nurseries. They are just little sanctuaries where the sharks hang out, and grow into adult sharks.”
Continue reading...
But it’s not usually because of sharks. Rather, the World Surf League’s Qualifying Series – a stepping stone to the Challenger Series, then the big leagues, the Championship Tour – often involves heaps of travel, mental and physical strain, and battling for points in poor conditions and mediocre waves.
On Thursday, however, the shark factor also came into play during the Vans Jack’s Surfboards Pro, presented by 805 Beer, held in Huntington Beach. As captured by Surfline cameras, not one but two, juvenile great white sharks were seen breaching just outside the contest area while heats were running. Did the event organizers put the contest on hold? Nope. Check out the footage below.
QS grinder, currently ranked 63rd on the series, Nolan Rapoza, was on the scene with this report:
“This is the wildest morning so far here at the Jack’s Pro. We just witnessed two sharks jump out of the water. I think, at 8:50am on the Surfline rewind. Contest is still on, so there’s no hold today for the Jack’s Pro. No hold here, Mick Fanning style. Heats are on. Sharks are out there.”
Less than a month ago, in early March, city officials closed a mile-long stretch of beach in HB due to another shark breaching. According to witnesses, the shark was "jumping out of the water" and "thrashing about." Sounds pretty similar to what went down on Thursday on the southside of the pier. But no closure – they’ve got heats to run.
Recently, per a study from Cal State Long Beach’s “Shark Lab” in collaboration with the Los Angeles Times, they found that juvenile sharks are almost always lurking beneath unknowing swimmers and surfers in southern California – and specifically in Huntington Beach.
“Pretty much every day in Southern California,” says Times reporter Jack Dolan, “there are people unwittingly swimming and surfing in and amongst these juvenile great white sharks. In fact, beaches all up and down Southern California, and in LA County in particular, are essentially great white nurseries. They are just little sanctuaries where the sharks hang out, and grow into adult sharks.”
Continue reading...
