They're in the water while shark attack is on their minds
The crowds are thin at Solana Beach the day after a fatal attack there, but many beachgoers and aquatic athletes still keep their appointments with the surf.
San Dimas resident Rafael Nungaray said he had promised his young boys and a friend he would take them to the beach today.
"I told them I know this really nice beach. I was there 15 years ago," he said. "It's called Solana Beach."
That was before Friday's fatal shark just off the coast of the San Diego County beach. Retired veterinarian Dave Martin, 66, a triathlete, was bitten by a shark while swimming with other fitness buffs.
But Nungaray and his sons, Rafael Jr., 13, and Felix, 7, and their friend Ryan Ramirez, 13, decided to head to the beach anyway. The boys, who were in the water up to their waists, said they were more bothered by the cold water.
"Sharks don't' scare me," said Rafael Jr.
Although the beach crowd was thinner than usual for a Saturday, the shark attack was all the talk. It was the first death attributed to a shark in the county since 1994.
Surfer Joseph Putrow, who runs the local surf shop, Strickly Boarding, was preparing his surfboard to go into the water. He said he was not concerned about his safety.
"That shark is long gone, he said. "He's off heading north. It's nothing to worry about. It all depends on where you're surfing. The swimmers were a little bit farther out."
But Eric McHenry, a professional "aerial" surfer, said his mind was on the shark attack, but because he needed to prepare for a big contest next week, "I have to keep surfing."
McHenry recalled how he was once surfing at the appropriately named Shark's Point in Santa Barbara with his parents and brother when they saw the huge fin of a great white shark.
"We don't surf there anymore," he said.
At Fletcher Cove, several people left bouquets and plants at a makeshift memorial for Martin. Some left notes like this one: "You were the kindest, most compassionate man I have ever known. Thank you for taking such care of our animals for more than 20 years."
Ray "Riptide" Barrios, a triathlete from Sherman Oaks who was bicycling with a friend at the beach, said he was in San Diego to swim in a race. He said he called his mother to tell her about the shark attack and to not worry .
"I told her if it ever happens to me, if I died swimming in the ocean, she should know that I died doing what I love."
sue.horton@latimes.com
