Shark!

Guess what makes those kinds of marks in a surfboard–"biters"–not our favorites. Still, if surfers or people in general were on Whitey's menu, we'd be disappearing right and left. That doesn't bring us too much comfort when we're the first to paddle out in the morning on a foggy day. We've got this board on loan and display, here at SHF. Photo: Linda Michael

Who: John Forse

What: 12' Great White shark attack (determined by bite in John's leg and tooth marks left in the board by Ralph Collier - shark expert) 

Where:  Gleneden Beach, OR

When: April 22, 1998

Why:  Mistaken identity??

Details: John was surfing and his first reaction was that it was a seal. The shark pulled John under by his leg and John started hitting it with his fist and the shark released him and John shot to the surface. The shark surfaced too and was looking at him, John said he was as big as a Volkswagon across and he was about an arm's length from its dorsal fin then the shark dove under and John's leash was caught in the shark's jaws so he was dragged under again and he thought  this is the end but just as he thought that the shark bit through the leash and John made it to the surface and was able to paddle in despite his injury!  He said " I think the shark was as freaked out as I was!" (We have some doubts about that).

Teeth marks in the wetsuit (they correspond to the board and stitches in John's leg. Photo: Linda Michael

One of several newspaper articles on the event.