Posted by on September 08, 2004 at 18:18:33:
STINSON BEACH, Calif. - The waters off Stinson Beach reopened at dawn Wednesday after being closed for nearly 10 days after great white sharks were sighted.
The waters were reopened briefly last Friday after shark sightings the previous Sunday. But another shark was seen later Friday morning, prompting officials to close waters through the Labor Day weekend.
The U.S. Park Service reports that lifeguards and rangers will continue to monitor and regularly patrol the waters off Stinson Beach, which remain open as long as no further sightings occur.
The sightings came in the wake of a fatal shark attack Aug. 15 on an abalone diver off the Mendocino County coast north of Fort Bragg.
"There has been a sighting up at Point Reyes, but that is not unusual," Marcus Dobrowolski, a lifeguard at Stinson Beach, said Tuesday. "But the waters here have been clear."
The last shark attack at Stinson Beach occurred May 31, 2002, when a 24-year-old surfer from Bolinas was bitten on the left side about 250 yards offshore. He recovered from his injuries, but needed more than 100 stitches to close his wounds.