See great white shark swim between surfers at Pismo Beach pier. ‘It’s insane’
A pair of surfers were in for a surprise on Wednesday when a great white shark stalked within a couple feet of them in Pismo Beach.
“It’s insane,” said David Steiner, a local surfer who caught the moment on camera.
Steiner — who routinely posts these interactions on his popular social media accounts — embarked on a shark search with his drone on Wednesday morning. Within 10 seconds of flying over the water near Grand Avenue, he spotted a great white swimming north.
He followed the shark as it meandered through sandy water, passing a school of fish. As the shark approached Pismo Pier, the water got clearer — improving the quality of the video, Steiner said.
Then, the shark swam straight into a group of surfers about 300 feet south of the pier at 10:25 a.m. Steiner felt a surge of adrenaline as he watched, concerned for the safety of the surfers.
“I was just trembling,” he said.
The shark swam about 8 feet away from a man and a woman on their surf boards. At first, the man only saw the drone. He smiled, laughed and pointed at the camera.
Then, a swell passed by and lifted the shark — revealing a large shadow to the surfer as it swam away from him.
Another video from the morning showed the shark approaching another man, who practically surfed over the shark without noticing it.
With a bird’s eye view, Steiner can see everything from his drone. But surfers can’t see much in the water, he said.
“It’s so interesting just to see how long it takes people to even see one,” Steiner said.
Finally, the shark swam to the other side of the pier. When Steiner lifted his drone 200 feet into the air, he saw a second shark swimming south. That’s when he decided to pack up and go home — he’d had enough adrenaline for the day.
“I couldn’t handle it,” he said. “I was shaking so much I just left.”
He posted the videos to his Instagram account, @caveman_476. His shark videos have gone viral a handful of times during the past two years.
Steiner said he doesn’t necessarily have advice for people who see a drone while they’re surfing; it’s up to them if they want to head to shore or not.
While Steiner films sharks, other people might film seals, dolphins, fish or even surfers — so spotting a drone doesn’t guarantee that a shark is in the water, he said.
But spotting a drone is a good sign that you’ve got some kind of company, and you should take your feet out of the water and communicate with other surfers, he said.
“Stay calm, be aware, communicate to each other, keep your head on a swivel and eyes open,” he said.
But Steiner wouldn’t tell surfers when to leave the water.
“Then some sneaky locals could get a drone and scare everyone out of the water and get the waves to themselves,” he said with a laugh.
