I know what was lurking below me... it was not a shark!

You may have seen in the media recently reports of a 'shark' spotted at Praa Sands... Well 'that surfer' in the picture is actually me! Spencer Webb from Falmouth Surf School... I just wanted to clarify that, despite reports that it was a shark, it was in fact a pod of dolphins... They were swimming for a wave, so I lined up for the same wave, as I surfed down the face of the wave I could see two of the pod of dolphins as clear as day beneath my board! I was so blown away I lost concentration and wiped out! Check out the image of me below...


Below is an account from Thisiscornwall.co.uk...

SURFING etiquette suggests that no-one should steal your wave but if you can dive into the surf and then do backflips, who is going to argue?

This surfer is pictured launching into his break as two dark shapes with fins move in on the action too.

Onlookers said they clearly looked like dolphins having fun in the surf, just like the rest of the surfers at Praa Sands, Penzance.

Some thought the surf-loving shapes in the water could have been sharks – enough to spark a return to the frenzy of last summer when there were spurious reports of a Great White being spotted in Cornish waters.

This latest picture was snapped by experienced surfer Dan Harding, who captured the ominous image while enjoying the good surf and spring sunshine on Saturday.

The 34-year-old from St Ives, Cornwall, said the conditions at Praa Sands that day were perfect so he went to the beach with some fellow surfers.

"There were quite a few people around, about 20 to 30. It was a really good surf. The sun was shining, the waves were clean and not too crowded.

"I saw the big black shapes in the water. I managed to get three or four shots. The surfer (Spencer Webb of Falmouth Surf School) fell off his surfboard immediately after I took the photo."

Mr Harding, a blacksmith, said the surfer may have fallen off because he was startled by the shapes. There was no panic – the shapes were more than likely dolphins which were known to enjoy surfing: "Dolphins have been surfing longer than people."

He said dolphin appearances this early in the year were said to herald a good summer. But any shapes spotted in the water these days seem to get people's minds racing with fears of sharks.
In the past two years, there have been several reports of large killer sharks in Cornish waters. The alleged sighting of the Great White in July last year made tourists nervous and created a public frenzy of excitement, even though there had never been any official recordings of the shark in British waters before.

A picture of a mysterious dorsal fin which sparked the rumours and which was taken by a local fisherman was revealed to be a hoax, but not before it created panic among bathers.

Before that, in 2005, reports of possible Mako shark sightings came flooding in. Maori for man-eater, the Mako was spotted at numerous locations around the county that summer.

This time, however, there was little doubt these creatures were dolphins doing what dolphins and surfers do best – having fun and showing off.