Candyce and I just got back from a quick weekend trip to San Diego. On Friday morning before we left, I got a call from John saying that a group of triathletes were swimming 150 yards off shore when a shark attacked and killed one of them. But it didn’t hit me until I got into California where everyone was talking about it. I was told that on Friday afternoon, planes and helicopter flew up and down the cost looking for the big shark.

I walked across the street on Saturday morning to see if there were any surfers in the water a day after the death. The water was empty. I snapped this photo of a sign pinned to the top of the staircase to the beach.

 

I’ve learned that shark attacks are rare in the San Diego area. The last shark attack in the area was in the summer of 1959 when a diver was killed. That was almost 50 years ago.

I am aware of the dangers of the ocean. Some people are afraid just because they are afraid of everything…or they’ve watched Jaws one too many times. But my fear comes from a run in with some giant Devil Rays while snorkeling in in Cabo San Lucas. I later found out that the Devil Ray won’t harm you, but running into a massive creature like that is hard to forget. Now every time I look at the serene ocean, all I can think of are the monsters beneath the surface. There is nothing more frightening to me than the thought of being lost at sea.

This recent news reminded me of a weird event last summer. We were having lunch at Ruby’s Diner at the end of the pier in Oceanside…

 

As you can see from the photos above and below, the pier is really long–almost 2000 feet. As we were walking out of the restaurant on our way to shoreline, I looked right and saw a skilled swimmer turn around at the base of the pier, and then swim south as if he were doing laps.

I marked the point with a orange arrow below…

I was mortified. An awful feeling crawled all over my body. Is this guy crazy? He’s taking a leisurely swim in the middle of the ocean. It was as bizarre as a man taking a nap on rail road tracks. I was confused and scared for him. I asked my friend Dr. Philips standing next to me, a triathlete, if he ever swam that far off the shore. He looked down at the man with disbelief. “No. I would never swim that far off shore.”

Everyone in our group stood in silence, completely unnerved. We were afraid to watch the guy because if there was a shark attack, what could we do? A jump off the pier could’ve easily hurt someone, making the problem even worse. It was such a bizarre moment on an otherwise perfect afternoon in San Diego. It was better to just assume he knew what he was doing and move on with our day.

I’ve told that story to a couple of people over the past year, hoping that someone who knew more than me could explain why someone would swim 1900 feet from the shore. They both told me that there’s nothing to fear…that shark attacks are rare…that it’s no big deal. But the past few days have told us that that sharks do attack people.

Bad things happen. Just because it hasn’t happened in a long time does not mean it won’t happen again.