UPDATE: More great white sharks seen near Seacliff State Beach

UPDATE 6/29/15 11 a.m.: More sharks are being reported in the same area where they were seen in Santa Cruz County last week. This time we’re hearing from a marine biologist who was at Seacliff State Beach during the action. Giancarlo Thomae said last week he saw as many as 15 great white sharks and he admitted it was a pretty rare sight. But on Monday, he said at least 12 were seen again.

“I’ve been on the ocean every chance I’ve got for the last 20 years,” Thomae said. “It’s not unheard of to go up in a helicopter this time of year and see 1 to 3 sharks, but 15? Never in my wildest dreams would I expect to see that.”

He estimates the sharks were juvenile, ranging in size from eight to 12 feet. He believes they were in the area perhaps looking for warmer waters, maybe looking for future food sources since harbor seals tend to hang out near the cement boat. But he doesn’t believe the sharks were feeding, noting if they were hunting, they would’ve been swimming faster.

Also on Thursday, NewsChannel 5 crews ran into a local family picking up their son after the Junior Guard program. Water competitions were cut short because of the sighting. Alex Minugh, 13, said after competition days, the next day is usually a play day. However, he saw a big difference in what kids were doing to make the time pass on Friday.

“We did go out on the water with our paddle boards,” Minugh said. “But we did stay closer to shore than we usually do.”

“No one in the water,” Leila, Minugh’s mom observed. “It seems more people are just out on the beach. You know, having fun on the beach. Not so much in the water now.”

Thomae believes it’s safe out on the water. While the sharks were close to shore, they were not in a feeding mode.

“I want this to be a positive story,” Thomae said. “A story of beauty how 15 magnificent and feared animals can swim within feet of hundreds of Junior Lifeguards without anybody even knowing it. “

PREVIOUS POST: More reported shark sightings in Santa Cruz County on Thursday. According to our partners with Specialized Helicopters, there were more than a dozen different sharks spotted in local waters not far from shore.

One lifeguard spotted a shark about a mile up from Seacliff State Beach, however it did have an impact there, especially for the kids participating in the Junior Guard program.

13-year-old Alex Minugh and the other kids in the Junior Guard program were participating in some water games when all of a sudden —

“We were playing one of the competition games and they told us to get out of the water,” Alex recalls. “They took out the buoys, got them as fast as they could. They stopped all the games and we basically had free time for the rest of the day.”

Supervisors got a credible report from a lifeguard in the area and jumped into action.

“With a credible sighting,” Eddie Rhee-Pizano, lifeguard supervisor for Santa Cruz State Parks explains, “we do our action plan. Post some signage a half mile in each direction of the sighting, just advising the public that there was a sighting in the area.”

And as a precaution, had the kids sit out for the rest of the day.

Our partners at Specialized Helicopters say they saw as many as 13 sharks swimming off Seacliff near the Cement Board. At this points, it’s hard to tell the size or species.

“It’s a common thing,” Leila Minugh, Alex’s mom said. “You have sharks in the water.”

Alex’s mom wasn’t too concerned with her son’s safety because she knows he is in good hands and attacks are rare.

“It’s probably like lightning, right, getting struck by lightning?” Leila said. “It’s not something that’s going to happen all the time.”

But of course, lifeguards warn beach-goers to always be aware of your surroundings.

“There are rip currents out there,” Rhee-Pizano said. “Other marine life that are a potential hazard as well, and there are sharks out there as well.”

Warning signs will be up for at least 24 hours after a sightings, so we should find out sometime Friday whether they’ll be taken down.