Shark spotted, delays surfing at J-Bay

Cape Town - A shark spotted in the vicinity of the competition zone delayed the quarter-finals of the Corona Open J-Bay at the iconic Jeffreys Bay on Thursday.

When action resumed at 11:00 - after the shark moved south past Boneyards - South African star Jordy Smith (surfing in the second quarter-final) was the last local hope in the competition.

The shark spotting brought back memories of 2015 when Australian surfing great Mick Fanning was bumped by a Great White shark while taking part in the same event.

Event officials spotted a shark coming up from the north in the direction of the competition zone and put the heat on hold. Safety teams closely monitored and confirmed that the shark exited the competition zone (moving south past Boneyards). After activating our responses protocols, ensuring the area is now clear, and discussing with the athletes, we will resume the heat at 11:00 a.m. SAST #CoronaOpenJBay @corona

A post shared by World Surf League (@wsl) on Jul 5, 2018 at 1:51am PDT