Shark Encounter in Massachusetts

Two paddleboarders had a startling experience in Massachusetts when a great white shark surprised them while they were out on the water on the evening of July 4th.

College students Margaret Bowles and Maddie Cronin were paddling off the coast of Woods Hole, near Cape Cod, when they noticed the shark’s dorsal fin, which was about eight inches tall.

Cronin, a University of Toronto student, managed to capture a video of the moment when the shark’s fin surfaced, sending both women scrambling for safety.

“Yeah,” Bowles exclaimed as she jumped onto the board, clearly startled, according to the video.

Initially, they could hardly believe what they had seen and needed to check the photos Cronin took to validate their fears.

The image showed Bowles’ shocked expression just moments after the fin appeared. “I saw this big fin next to her, and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s a shark, we need to get out of here,'” Bowles, who is studying at Harvard University, recounted.

Once they made it back to shore, Bowles admitted she was in a bit of a daze. “It took me a second to really process it,” she said. “I’ve spent so much time teaching marine biology and swimming in the ocean; I just never thought a great white would be in these waters.”

As if in disbelief, she remembered asking a friend about sharks in Woods Hole, to which she confidently replied, “No, well.”

After sending the photos to experts, Massachusetts’ marine fisheries confirmed that the shark sighting was indeed genuine.

Despite the initial panic, the friends managed to stay calm and made it back safely. Once on land, they joked about the shark, naming it “Steve” and imagining it as a bit lost in the water.

“I’ve been swimming since then; I love the ocean. What happened is really rare,” Bowles stated.

She did mention pausing earlier to swim, which made her wonder about the timing. “That felt inevitable at the moment,” she noted. “I hope Steve will find his way back soon.” Interestingly, this sighting was the first confirmed great white shark in the area in over two decades.

The last known sighting in Buzzards Bay was back in 2004.

A shark biologist with Greg Skomal’s marine fisheries division pointed out that while great whites are typically seen along the outer Cape, they can venture into other parts of Massachusetts as well. “We’ve shown that they do occasionally enter Buzzards Bay,” he explained.

He advised, “If you encounter a shark, don’t panic—that’s the best thing you can do. The chances of being bitten are quite low. Just quietly exit the water.”