"When I swim," Thrower added, "the seals actually swim very close by in groups. The seal population seems to have increased here in La Jolla and up and down the San Diego coast."
Other swimmers, including Amanda Benedict, a member of Martin's swim group, urged the public "not to freak out," calling the shark attack a "random event."
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, April 27, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 64 words Type of Material: Correction
Shark attack: Some editions of Saturday's Section A carried an incomplete version of the article about a deadly shark attack in San Diego County. The missing information included the full name of a professor of marine biology quoted in the story. He is Richard Rosenblatt. The top of the story is reprinted in today's California section, and the full story is available at www.latimes.com/sharkattack
Some surfers and bodyboarders hardly needed such urging.
At Cardiff State Beach, just north of Solana Beach, Lynn Austin, 51, a stay-at-home mother from Carlsbad who has been surfing for 40 years, remained in the water despite the warnings of rangers driving along the beach.
Austin, who has a 5-year-old daughter, said her husband thought she was getting her nails done.
Sharks, she said, "usually attack in the morning and evening -- and from what I've been told, they spend the rest of the day in deeper water, sleeping. But you don't want to catch a wave and fall off your board because that's when you attract sharks, when you do a big splash."
Justin Sturgeon, 34, of Del Mar was bodyboarding with a couple of others. Of the beach closures, he said: "It's an advisory. It's not mandatory. . . . How many times would the same shark attack twice on the same day?"
Martin's ex-wife, Robin, and other family members and friends converged on the Solana Beach home where the couple had raised four sons and a daughter. Martin was a pilot, loved to visit Mexico and was "a farmer at heart" who grew vegetables, Robin Martin said.
He had begun competing in triathlons about four years ago and was a "big outdoorsman" with a "dry sense of humor, she added.
Martin had formerly been a part-owner of All Creatures Animal Hospital in Del Mar. "He was a very compassionate, nice guy," said Brenda Zito, who took her cat to Martin for treatment.
In Del Mar, Michael Mulvany, owner of All Creatures, said Martin was "never a high-stress individual. That's why people enjoyed working with him."
"He always had a smile on his face, never seemed to get down," Mulvany said. "That's what I'll miss."
Daniel Rock, manager of B&L Bike and Sports in Solana Beach, a store specializing in gear for triathletes, said Martin pushed himself hard during training and remained a trim 185 pounds.
"He enjoyed it as a way to keep up his fitness and compete," Rock said. "He enjoyed the training and the camaraderie. He was a gentleman in a classic sense. A real nice guy."
