© KSBW.comThis "Shark Warning" sign was posted early Thursday morning. Surfers still surfed.
A fake public notice dated 6/6/2013 read "Shark Warning Water Advisory," and said three great white shark attacks happened on Wednesday at three popular surf spots: Capitola Beach, Privates, and Rockview.
"Due to the highly aggressive nature of these encounters, it is strongly advised to stay out of the water for 48 hours or surf Cowells instead," the advisory read.
Cowells is on Santa Cruz's west side, Pleasure Point is on the east side, and the two sides have a longtime rivalry. They share one thing in common: their waves are crowded.
KSBW called state park rangers, as well as police and fire stations in the area, to find out more about the dangerous shark. Everyone who answered the phone was confused, and quickly became suspicious that the shark attacks were entirely made up.
The signs appear official with the California State Parks' bear logo, but state park rangers said they did not make them. The signs were taken down by noon Thursday. News of the aggressive shark also spread through word-of-mouth.
"Some old guy was warning everyone this morning at the top of the stairs at Sewer's. I thought that was odd," said Neal Kearney, who has lived and surfed at Pleasure Point his entire life.
"I knew someone was just trying to stir stuff up to keep people out of the water during the swell," Kearney said. "It didn't work, it was super crowded!"
Friday has a lot of surfers amped. After a spring filled with windy, small surf, Surfline.com is forecasting a solid swell to arrive on Friday.
During big swells, surf etiquette is often violated and vulgar language flows as surfers drop in on each other. A sticker reading "Locals Only" with a shark across it always can be spotted on East Cliff Drive's road signs and benches. And June's rising water temperatures have also inspired fair-weather surfers to return to the ocean, irking winter warriors who shivered in 53-degree water for months.
© KSBW.com
State park lifeguard supervisor Eddie Pizano said, "These signs were not created by State Parks. So we did some investigating and confirmed with other agencies like Capitola (police), the fire department, and sheriff's department that they did not create these signs or post them."
The Monterey Bay is home to hundreds of sharks, including the fearsome great white.
The last reported attack in Santa Cruz County happened on July 6, 2012. A man was fishing from a kayak off when an 18-foot great white shark rammed the kayak and lifted it with its jaws. The kayaker plunged into the water, was scooped out by a nearby boater and escaped without injuries.
The last attack in Monterey County was on Oct. 29, 2011, when a 27-year-old Seaside man was surfing at Marina State Beach. Eric Tarantino narrowly escaped death when a great white shark bit his arm, neck and surfboard before dragging him below the surface. Tarantino recovered at a trauma center and still surfs at the same beach.
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