Cottons Point — On January 25, 2009 Manuel Quinitana was surfing Cottons Point, San Clemente with 10 – 15 unidentified surfers. It was 11:30 AM and he had been on the water about 3 hours. Air and water temperatures were estimated at 65 and 57 degrees Fahrenheit respectively with a clear sky and a mild 10 knot breeze. Quinitana reported; “I was surfing Cottons Point and was ready to get out from being tired. Some waves started to show about 40 yards South of my location. I moved over from the pack of other surfers to get some of those peaks for a last wave. All of a sudden I looked just Southwest and saw the shark. It took me about five seconds to realize that it was very close to me. I began to second guess myself and thought it might be a dolphin. After watching it for several moments slowly swim in a straight line I saw the size, color, and realized that it was a large shark very near to me. I was very frightened while trying to keep my composure. I headed for the shore and I tried to take small strokes. I finally made it. A friend of mine was just getting in. I told him what I saw. He then asked if I was sure it wasn't a dolphin. I have been surfing for 23 years and have seen many dolphins. I know it was a shark. The head and tail never surfaced but a large light gray dorsal fin with a triangular shape did pop up in front of me. It was just cruising. It also had a little bit of white on it with some dark scares on it. The dorsal fin was about 18 inches in height. You could see it was large as I could see some body close to the dorsal fin. It had to be over 10 feet in length. My friend and I then got his friends out of the water and were able to inform the ranger.”
