Shark Week shocker as great white breaches just yards from oblivious boogie boarder

Agreat white sharkwas caught on video launching itself out of the water just yards behind a boogie boarder at Newport Beach — creating a shocking scene at the popular Southern California destination.

The family behind the camera had no idea what they had captured until they reviewed the footage hours later.

“We were praying on the beach, and we were like, ‘Hopefully a miracle happens.That’d be super-cool [if] a miracle happens,'�

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As the family replayed the footage, Stevenson said he wasn’t sure what he was seeing. 

Then he zoomed in.“I was like, ‘That’s not even a dolphin — that’s a shark.'”

Newport Beach, CA, video captures shark breaching the water as a boogie boarder catches waves. (Soaren Stevenson via Storyful)

No one else on the beach appeared to notice the shark, Stevenson said.

“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. 

“I was like, ‘That’s not even a dolphin, that’s a shark.'”

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Although hegrew up in Hawaiiand has encountered sharks before, the brother-in-law viewed the whole incident as “a once-in-a-lifetime-type experience,” Stevenson said.

The encounter left Stevenson with a new appreciation for animals thatshare the oceanwith surfers and swimmers.

“It’s kind of surreal to think that the shark is inthe same watersas my [brother-in-law], and he didn’t even know it,” Stevenson said.

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.(Soaren Stevenson via Storyful)

“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].”

Despite the close encounter, Stevenson said he doesn’t plan to stay out of the water.

“I don’t think they want to eat us,” he said — adding that beachgoers should still remain alert andstay safe.

The breaching happened just as Shark Week 2026 kicked off, which Stevenson called “a funny little coincidence.”

Soaren Stevenson captured a great white shark launching itself out of the water just yards behind a boogie boarder — his own brother-in-law — at Newport Beach.(Soaren Stevenson)

While the footage appears alarming, shark incidents involving people remain rare.

Fewer than 250 documented shark incidents involving all shark species have occurred in the state since 1950, according to theCalifornia Department of Fish and Wildlife.

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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.

Even after the frightening close call, some people say they have no intention of avoiding the ocean.(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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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.

He was treated at the scene before being transported to a nearby hospital withnon-life-threatening injuries.