Foot-chomping at New Smyrna Beach. Hydrofoil horror in the Canary Islands. The big one near Nantucket. No sharks allowed at The US Open for Surfing

This week’s news is a bit sharky.

Foot-chomping at New Smyrna Beach

New Smyrna Beach, Florida—the so-called “shark bite capital of the world”—delivered again. On July 18, 18-year-old surf instructor Sam Hollis was bitten on the foot while giving a lesson near Ponce Inlet.
“It felt like something clamped down… like something out of a cartoon,” Hollis recalled. He managed to kick the shark off and make it back to shore. The injury was deep but not life-threatening, and in true surfer fashion, Sam says he “can’t wait to get back in the water.” This was Volusia County’s fourth shark bite of the year.

Hydrofoil horror in the Canary Islands

Off the coast of Fuerteventura, a UK hydrofoil surfer got the scare of his life when a suspected 8-foot mako shark bit through his board and then took two deep bites to his thigh. He was downwind-foiling solo in open water when the attack happened near Los Molinos. Somehow, he escaped and made it to shore. The bites were described as “deep” but not life-threatening. This is a rare attack for the region, but not unheard of as makos are known to frequent deeper, warmer waters. Makos are one of the fastest shark species—reaching up to 45 mph in bursts. Not exactly the fish you want chasing you.

The big one near Nantucket

Meet Contender—a 13.8-foot, 1,653-pound great white shark and the largest ever tagged in the Atlantic. On July 18, OCEARCH reported a satellite “ping” just 30 miles off Cape Cod, near popular summer beaches like Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Contender was originally tagged in January off the Florida–Georgia line and has steadily migrated north. The data collected from this tag will help scientists understand great white behavior and seasonal movements. While Contender isn’t known to approach the shore, he’s still swimming just outside the beachbreak… and that’s enough to give your tan lines goosebumps.

Coming up: 2025 US Open of Surfing

Huntington Beach, a.k.a. Surf City USA, will host the Lexus US Open of Surfing from July 26 to August 3. Lexus sponsoring surf events? Yep, it’s a big deal for them. Lexus will serve as title partner for five marquee League events in 2025: the WSL Awards, Pipe Pro, Trestle Pro, US Open of Surfing, and WSL Finals. You get the WSL’s Challenger Series and World Longboard Tour by the Huntington Beach Pier. There’s Sundown Sets: Beachside concerts with Common Kings, Chevy Metal, Yolanda Be Cool, and others. I’m literally looking up all these names as a type as I am not as familiar. Everyone’s super excited about the Snapt5 premiere: August 2 at Sealegs. Logan Dulien’s latest surf film features Mason Ho, Jack Robinson, Yago Dora, Noa Deane, and over 20 more surf heavyweights. I’m literally looking up all these names as a type as I am not as familiar. LOL. Sharks in HB? Once even a great white was spotted. Better not be any sharks this time!

Author: The Wipeout Weekly team