Shark Bites Leg of Man Snorkeling Near San Onofre : Attack: John Mark Regan of Westminster is not seriously hurt. A Harbor Patrol official says he can’t recall another such incident in the past 2 1/2 years.
NEWPORT BEACH — John Mark Regan believes that, in his all-black wet suit, he was mistaken for a seal. That’s the only way he can explain being bitten on the leg by a six-foot Mako shark just 100 feet off the surf line near San Onofre on Sunday afternoon.
It was the first reported shark attack in Southern California waters since 1989.
“In the animal kingdom, there is no such thing as an experimental gourmet,†Regan, a 31-year-old medical technician from Westminster, said three hours after the attack while limping on a boat ramp with his pant leg still bloody. The shark “took one bite and took off.â€
The attack, which did not result in serious injury, occurred about 3:30 p.m. as Regan snorkeled in 15 feet of water while two friends fished from the trio’s 17-foot aluminum skiff. Earlier, he said, he had noticed something swimming in the water near the boat but had mistakenly thought that it was a seal.
Suddenly, he said, he felt a pair of jaws grab his right calf from behind. “There was no pain at all,†he said. “It was very fast and painless.â€
After his friends hoisted him aboard, Regan piloted the craft toward the sheriff’s Harbor Patrol dock in Newport Beach. Halfway there, he said, he radioed patrol officers that he was feeling “woozy†and might need some help bringing the skiff in.
“He was a little shaken up,†said Officer Robert Dupre, who escorted the boat to the dock.
Back on land, Regan refused medical treatment from the paramedics who had been called, saying he felt just fine. The shark attack left 10 tiny puncture wounds in the back of Regan’s right calf, none of which appeared to be serious.
Dupre said he has heard no reports of shark attacks in the past 2 1/2 years in Orange County. While sharks are sighted regularly along the coast, attacks on humans are rare.
“I haven’t seen many that near the surf line,†Dupre said.
In 1989, an underwater cameraman was attacked by a blue shark while filming a documentary on sharks off Santa Barbara Island. Bitten in the left forearm and right hand, he was hospitalized in serious condition.
Earlier the same year, a kayaker on an excursion off Malibu was killed in an attack believed to have been perpetrated by a great white shark. The body of a companion kayaker was never recovered.
This was the second time Regan has been attacked by a shark. A scuba diving instructor at Laguna Sea Sports in Laguna Beach, he was bitten in the other leg two years ago while diving in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. That time, he said, he was carrying a bag of fish that he had just speared. But this time, he said, the attack was entirely unprovoked.
“I wondered why the hell this was happening to me again,†Regan said after Sunday’s incident.
Back on the dock, Regan waxed philosophical. The only part of the shark remaining, he said, was a bit of its tooth embedded in his upper leg which he intended to remove when he got home.
“All I want to do is go home and relax,†Regan said.
And what of the dive trip he had planned for the next day? “I’ll think twice about it,†Regan said. If he goes, “I’ll go with a buddy.â€
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
