Soaren Stevenson filmed a Newport Beach shark breach video that captured a great white shark launching out of the water just yards behind his brother-in-law on an early Saturday morning outing. Stevenson later said the family did not realize what they had recorded until they reviewed the footage hours later.
Speaking on Tuesday to Digital, Stevenson said, “We were praying on the beach, and we were like, 'Hopefully a miracle happens. That'd be super-cool [if] a miracle happens,'” before the encounter unfolded off Newport Beach. He said the beach scene has drawn attention as part of Shark Week coverage.
Soaren Stevenson And The Replay
Stevenson, a California-based college ministry leader, said he was not sure what he was seeing when the family replayed the footage. “I was like, 'That's not even a dolphin — that's a shark,'” he said after zooming in.
He said the footage showed the shark in the same water as his brother-in-law, who was boogie boarding just ahead of it. “He definitely didn't know how close it was,” Stevenson said.
Newport Beach Shark Breach Video
The encounter unfolded off Newport Beach, a popular Southern California destination, and Stevenson said no one else on the beach appeared to notice the shark at the time. The video places the boogie boarder directly in the shark's path without his realizing it, which left the family with the realization only after the replay.
Stevenson said his brother-in-law grew up in Hawaii and had encountered sharks before, but viewed this one as a once-in-a-lifetime-type experience. “It's kind of surreal to think that the shark is in the same waters as my [brother-in-law], and he didn't even know it,” Stevenson said.
He added, “It just makes me realize that when you go out there to surf, you can come way closer to such a beast than you ever think you [would].”
