A great white shark was caught on video leaping out of the water just yards behind an unaware boogie boarder at Newport Beach, California.
The footage was recorded by Soaren Stevenson, a college ministry leader, who only realized the shark was in the frame after reviewing the clip later.
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“We were praying on the beach, and we were like, ‘Hopefully a miracle happens. That’d be super-cool [if] a miracle happens,’” Stevenson said.
He noticed an unusual splash near his family member and inspected the recording. “I was like, ‘That’s not even a dolphin — that’s a shark,’” he added.
Spectators on the shore did not see the shark’s sudden breach, and the boogie boarder remained unaware of the close encounter.
“He definitely didn’t know how close it was,” Stevenson noted.
The swimmer later viewed the event as extraordinary despite the potential danger.
“It’s kind of surreal to think that the shark is in the same waters as my [brother-in-law], and he didn’t even know it,” Stevenson said.
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Reflecting on the ocean environment, Stevenson remarked how often people unknowingly share waters with marine predators.
“It just makes me realize that when you go out there to surf, you can come way closer to such a beast than you ever think you [would],” he said.
He maintained an optimistic outlook, emphasizing that marine life usually poses little threat to humans. “I don’t think they want to eat us,” Stevenson said.
State wildlife records show that shark incidents remain rare despite heavy beach visitation across California.
According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, fewer than 250 documented incidents involving all shark species have occurred statewide since 1950, with no proportional increase alongside rising water sports participation.
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In a separate incident reported in Florida, a Georgia man in his early 20s was hospitalized after a shark bit his foot and ankle while he assisted his pregnant fiancée in waist-deep water near Daytona Beach Shores, according to Volusia County Beach Safety officials.
