The World Surf League (WSL) travelled to the well-known J-Bay in South Africa in July of last year to compete in the Corona Open J-Bay, a Championship Tour event. This drew the world’s top surfers who compete to Jeffreys Bay, or J-Bay, for the tournament. Nathan Florence, a surfer from Hawaii, wasn’t at J-Bay to compete at the time. Even yet, his brother John John Florence, who now holds the sixth position in the WSL Championship Tour standings, attended the tournament. Filipe Toledo of Brazil would go on to win the competition.
Drones were flying at the moment, with all of the famous surfers in the water. Additionally, a drone captured Nathan Florence confronting an inquisitive young great white shark. Nathan posted video from the drone showing the near miss with the great white shark, which happened a few feet away from him.
Shark sightings are by no means unusual at J-Bay. Only a few years prior, during a heated moment during the competition, Mick Fanning fought a shark, resulting in a video that quickly went viral worldwide:
All year long, white sharks make Jeffreys Bay in South Africa their home. However, winter has just arrived there. In actuality, J-Bay is currently at 59 degrees Fahrenheit. Although it is the air temperature, great white sharks are located in colder climates, so that’s definitely a factor.
In contrast, where the weather is a little bit warmer, California is currently experiencing its peak shark-spotting season. Last week, this footage from San Onofre State Beach, which is located south of San Clemente, went viral. Additionally, this drone film shows four or five great white sharks approaching the group of surfers in an unsettling manner. Furthermore, unlike in the aforementioned video, no one was in significant danger despite the close interactions.
A few years ago, while on a work trip with Big Wave surfer Greg Long, I had the good fortune to surf that stretch of shore. Being a Floridian who grew up solely surfing hurricane swells, he was born and raised in the area, so it was an interesting experience for him. However, we didn’t spot any sharks!
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