{"id":22513,"date":"2026-07-29T04:53:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T04:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=22513"},"modified":"2026-07-29T04:53:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T04:53:07","slug":"great-white-shark-breaches-near-boogie-boarder-on-video-at-newport-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=22513","title":{"rendered":"Great white shark breaches near boogie boarder on video at Newport Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A great white shark was caught on video launching itself out of the water just yards behind a boogie boarder at Newport Beach \u2014 creating a shocking scene at the popular Southern California destination.<\/p>\n

The family behind the camera had no idea what they had captured until they reviewed the footage hours later.<\/p>\n

“We were praying on the beach, and we were like, ‘Hopefully a miracle happens. That’d be super-cool (if) a miracle happens,'” Soaren Stevenson, a California-based college ministry leader who filmed the video, told Fox News Digital in an interview Tuesday.<\/p>\n

10-FOOT GREAT WHITE SHARK SPOTTED SWIMMING DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO YOUNG PEOPLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the family replayed the footage, Stevenson said he wasn’t sure what he was seeing. <\/p>\n

Then he zoomed in. “I was like, ‘That’s not even a dolphin \u2014 that’s a shark.'”<\/p>\n

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Newport Beach, CA, video captures shark breaching the water as a boogie boarder catches waves. <\/span> (Soren Stevenson via Storyful)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

No one else on the beach appeared to notice the shark, Stevenson said.<\/p>\n

“He definitely didn’t know how close it was,” Stevenson said of his brother-in-law, who was boogie boarding just ahead of the breaching shark. <\/p>\n

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“I was like, ‘That’s not even a dolphin, that’s a shark.'”<\/p>\n

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Although he grew up in Hawaii and has encountered sharks before, the brother-in-law viewed the whole incident as “a once-in-a-lifetime-type experience,” Stevenson said.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/p>\n

The encounter left Stevenson with a new appreciation for animals that share the ocean with surfers and swimmers.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

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Soaren Stevenson, who filmed the video, said he and his family were praying on the beach, hoping “a miracle happens,” before the shocking encounter unfolded.<\/span> (Soren Stevenson via Storyful)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“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).”<\/p>\n

Despite the close encounter, Stevenson said he doesn’t plan to stay out of the water.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I don’t think they want to eat us,” he said \u2014 adding that beachgoers should still remain alert and stay safe.<\/p>\n

The breaching happened just as Shark Week 2026 kicked off, which Stevenson called “a funny little coincidence.”<\/p>\n

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\"Soaren<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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Soaren Stevenson captured a great white shark launching itself out of the water just yards behind a boogie boarder \u2014 his own brother-in-law \u2014 at Newport Beach.<\/span> (Soren Stevenson)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

While the footage appears alarming, shark incidents involving people remain rare.<\/p>\n

Fewer than 250 documented shark incidents involving all shark species have occurred in the state since 1950, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.<\/p>\n

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ<\/strong><\/p>\n

The department also notes that shark incidents have not increased proportionally despite growing beach attendance and the rising popularity of activities such as surfing, swimming and scuba diving.<\/p>\n

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\"Beachgoers<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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Even after the frightening close call, some people say they have no intention of avoiding the ocean.<\/span> (Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Fox News Digital recently reported that a Georgia man in his early 20s was hospitalized after suffering a shark bite while helping his pregnant fianc\u00e9e get to safety at a Florida beach.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/p>\n

Volusia County Beach Safety officials said the man was wading in waist-deep water near the Dunlawton Beach Approach in Daytona Beach Shores when a shark estimated to be about 4 feet long bit his left foot and ankle.<\/p>\n

He was treated at the scene before being transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.<\/p>\n

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Kelly McGreal is a production assistant with the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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