08-11-2011, 10:01 AM
hahahaha like i was going night swimming! we all know what happened to Chrissie~~
August 11, 2011
CHATHAM — The sighting of a large great white shark near the popular and crowded Lighthouse Beach has led to a ban on nighttime swimming at several Chatham beaches, Harbormaster Stuart Smith said Wednesday afternoon.
The swimming ban will be from 5 p.m. to 9:30 a.m. on all east-facing ocean beaches in town, including Lighthouse Beach.
The decision seemed "like the prudent thing to do," after a shark was spotted inside Chatham Harbor.
Officials found seal carcasses believed to be attacked by sharks at South Beach, just beyond the point of Lighthouse Beach, Smith said. The carcasses were found about three-quarters of a mile to a mile from the beach parking lot, Smith said.
During the height of the day, "we think the sharks are further out (offshore)," he said, explaining the nighttime ban. Also, during the daytime, the town has more people on patrol watching for sharks.
The increasing number of sharks in local waters led to similar precautions last year along several Cape Cod and south coast beaches, but this week's ban is the first time in 2011 that beaches have been closed because of shark sightings.
Wednesday's action expands Tuesday's ban on swimming within 300 feet of seals, a favorite prey of the great white. Tuesday's ban applied indefinitely to swimming along the entire barrier beach shoreline, from the Chatham line to South Beach where it connects to Monomoy Island.
The town didn't close the beaches to swimming completely, but the announcement suggests that beachgoers, mariners and swimmers pay close attention to their surroundings when in the water and not venture too far from shore.
A yoga group that meets every morning on Lighthouse Beach reported seeing the large fin of a great white shark on Wednesday, Smith said. His office didn't get the information until later in the afternoon.
![[Image: CHRISSIE2.jpg]](http://allthatjaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/CHRISSIE2.jpg)
![[Image: Jaws_first+victim.jpg]](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bSk6yN_RU3Q/TMyNUrhNM-I/AAAAAAAAJ1o/GaE0uShuaeE/s1600/Jaws_first+victim.jpg)
August 11, 2011
CHATHAM — The sighting of a large great white shark near the popular and crowded Lighthouse Beach has led to a ban on nighttime swimming at several Chatham beaches, Harbormaster Stuart Smith said Wednesday afternoon.
The swimming ban will be from 5 p.m. to 9:30 a.m. on all east-facing ocean beaches in town, including Lighthouse Beach.
The decision seemed "like the prudent thing to do," after a shark was spotted inside Chatham Harbor.
Officials found seal carcasses believed to be attacked by sharks at South Beach, just beyond the point of Lighthouse Beach, Smith said. The carcasses were found about three-quarters of a mile to a mile from the beach parking lot, Smith said.
During the height of the day, "we think the sharks are further out (offshore)," he said, explaining the nighttime ban. Also, during the daytime, the town has more people on patrol watching for sharks.
The increasing number of sharks in local waters led to similar precautions last year along several Cape Cod and south coast beaches, but this week's ban is the first time in 2011 that beaches have been closed because of shark sightings.
Wednesday's action expands Tuesday's ban on swimming within 300 feet of seals, a favorite prey of the great white. Tuesday's ban applied indefinitely to swimming along the entire barrier beach shoreline, from the Chatham line to South Beach where it connects to Monomoy Island.
The town didn't close the beaches to swimming completely, but the announcement suggests that beachgoers, mariners and swimmers pay close attention to their surroundings when in the water and not venture too far from shore.
A yoga group that meets every morning on Lighthouse Beach reported seeing the large fin of a great white shark on Wednesday, Smith said. His office didn't get the information until later in the afternoon.