Yesterday in southern Maine: sitting on my board waiting for a wave when a large, dark grey, triangular dorsal fin cuts through the water about 10-15 feet from me. I paddled in without incident. Probably a basking shark,right?
Major pucker factor, eh? Hope it was for your sake....and it sounds like you're hoping it was. been seeing a lot of porpoise (more then usual) this year on L.I. so maybe it was just a loner.
It definitely got my attention! I got a good enough look (it was pretty f***ing close) at the fin to know that it was definitely a shark of some sort. I guess they've seen porbeagles around there before, but this was a pretty big fin and I'm pretty sure porbeagles stick to deeper waters. I was just seeing if any locals had some input. I'm pretty sure it was a basking shark, in which case I wish I'd stayed in.
Don't panic. Likely a huge great white that got tired of eating seals at the cape and decided to swim over to Maine for a respite. And remember, for every shark you see, there are likely three that have sensed you in the water because they are so much more attuned to the environment. In all seriosness, I too am enjoying our "healthy" ecosystem where giant predators are at our doorstep. Paddled past a black swirlling rock in the dark the other morning and got the creeps. If I'd seen a fin, I would have gotten the hell out of there too.
