This white shark, photographed at the Farallon Islands off Northern California, has been tagged with an acoustic tag (front) and a pop-up satellite tag (rear) as part of the TOPP research program. Researchers have focused on the white shark population in the past, tagging the animals and observing their habits in the region, as the Inquisitr previously reported.
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“It was hard. But a shark is a shark”, he said. He was within four miles of the Farallones when a great white shark moved into his daughter’s field of vision, prompting the boat’s skipper to stop the swim. Mr. Dominguez reluctantly climbed into a boat, as if that could make you safe, chief.
The 17st 2lb (109kg) swimmer jumped into the cold ocean and began the swim under the Golden Gate Bridge on Tuesday night, wearing only a cap, goggles, swimsuit and a thick coat of grease to guard against jelly fish stings and keep him a little warmer in the 50F (10C) water.
A panorama of Farallon Islands view from the south, 27 miles out to sea from San Francisco.
Standing outside at the San Francisco Yacht Club in Belvedere after returning to Marin, he said he would have to check with his wife and daughters before he decides if he’ll try the perilous swim again, one that no swimmer has ever successfully completed. He was only hours from making history when the threatening shark appeared. (An average full-grown great white measures 13 to 15 feet long.).
Dominguez’s friend Kim Chambers will attempt to swim from the islands to the bridge starting August 8, 9 or 10, depending on the weather and tides, she said. She would become the first woman to make the swim in either direction.
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Swims by Night Train Swimmers, of which Dominguez is a member, raise money for charity, according to the group’s website.
