Eric Geiselman : photo courtesy Etnies

Shark Envounters

Eric Geiselman says shark broke his board — and his nerve at Santa Cruz

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 7 November, 2009 : - - Pro surfer Eric Geiselman's surfboard was broken in half by what he thinks was a great white shark Thursday evening while he was surfing off Laguna Road, Santa Cruz. Geiselman, in town from New Smyrna Beach, Fla., for the Cold Water Classic, was surfing for fun between heats with his younger brother Evan and friends around dusk Thursday.

The shark came up from under his board and broke it in half, he said. "Out of nowhere, a crazy force just blasted my board into two pieces — just clean," said Geiselman, 21. "I think what happened is, I kicked it with my leg and I spooked it." Geiselman said he was 50 yards from shore when he was hit. He panicked and paddled as fast as he could back to shore.

"My brother thought I was joking at first, but his face just turned blue when he saw that I was serious," Geiselman said. "I can't even describe the terror I felt. When I got back onshore, I thought I was going to pass out with all of the adrenaline rushing through me." Geiselman's board, used only three times and shaped by his father, was broken just above the fins. There were no teeth marks in the board.

Cold Water Classics director Darren Brilhart said he got the call from Geiselman at dusk Thursday. "No bites, but it freaked ... him," Brilhart said. "He competed (Friday) but ended up losing. I'm not sure if it was a result of nerves but it could have been. He does come from the shark capital of the world, though. Typically if you get found by a white shark you're not surviving."

Geiselman said surfers in New Smyrna Beach typically encounter blacktip and spinner sharks daily. However, the Fox Racing and Etnies-sponsored surfer said coming across a white shark was not something he anticipated. "I've been doing Cold Water Classics for I think five years now but this is the most drama I've experienced, for sure," Geiselman said. "Plus, it was the worst run I've had yet. Usually I have a great time, though."

Sean Van Sommeran, of the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation in Santa Cruz, said the encounter was most likely with a white shark. "It is a well known, sharky stretch of beach," Van Sommeran said. "The possibility that he came in hard contact with a great white is 99.9 percent likely. There are 200 species of sharks documented in the bay but the only shark with the potential to be this close to the shore would be a white shark."

Van Sommeran said there are many things that could go wrong when surfing, but coming up against a shark is not something that happens often. Geiselman said he is just happy to be alive.

He spent Friday afternoon surfing with friends off Año Nuevo filming footage for his sponsors. "It's scary to think how vulnerable you really are out in the ocean," Geiselman said. "I'm definitely not too keen to surf that lane again, but they're all around. I'll still be here."

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