Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Sharks have been inhabiting the world’s oceans for hundreds of millions of years.

They are everywhere and most often go sight unseen.

But the denizens of the deep are there cruising around, mating on occasion, and feeding when necessary.

Ingemar Patiño Macarine, the most renowned open water swimming in the Philippines, is visiting Southern California this week and is looking forward to swimming in the ocean with the Open Water Swim Club.

“We know there are sharks out there,” says Steven Munatones. “But we often run into many more dolphin and never see anything but perhaps an occasional sand shark in Huntington Beach or Seal Beach..”

But the sightings of Great White Sharks has been the topic of discussion of the local watermen and swimmers, especially after John Hollenbeck, an Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol sergeant, took the above photo of a Great White 40 yards offshore in Huntington Beach. “I’ve seen an awful lot of sea life in my career, but not great white sharks. If you have a chance to see one, you go see one.”

In neighboring Seal Beach where other Great Whites were recently sighted, the community that Lynne Cox made famous, Seal Beach lifeguard chief Joe Bailey told the Orange County Register, “People need to make their own informed decision on whether they are going to get in the water. Just like when dealing with any other wild animal, it’s not a good idea to chase them or seek them out; that’s when bad things can happen. There are sharks in the ocean, and they are out there doing what they do, don’t irritate them.”

Hollenbeck and his deputies Steve Pace and Joe Capioppo stood on a 7-foot long boat and stuck a GoPro below the surface into the murky water outside of the Huntington Harbour entrance when they captured the above photo of one of the 6 juvenile sharks about 5-8 feet in length. “As they get older, they move to deeper waters. We don’t want people to panic and think great whites are suddenly out here. It’s a common occurrence and nothing to be alarmed about; it’s been happening since before the human race was here, and will probably happen afterward.”

It was an amazing experience; it’s not something you commonly see.”

Copyright © 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association