Chatham beach closes after shark sightings

CHATHAM, Mass. -- A string of shark sightings caused one beach to close down in Chatham on Friday.

For the first time this year, a Chatham beach had closed.

Swimming was prohibited along the entire eastern shoreline of South Beach.

“The spotter pilot spotted three or four addition sharks in the area South Beach, in this area, about two to three miles south of Lighthouse Beach,” said the Chatham Harbormaster Stuart Smith.

The sighting was in the same spot that sharks were tagged on Tuesday.

“The plane actually swerved down on us, about maybe 100 yards above and yelled out of the plane, ‘Get out of the water now,’” said Patty Young, who was swimming close to the sharks.

“The boat that was actually tagging the shark and looking for it, was to the left of us, like right in front of us,” said Cooper Young, who evacuated the water because of sharks.

Even at opened beaches, shark spotting is replacing swimming.

“They’re intriguing, they are great white sharks you know. They are so big, it would be fascinating to see one,” said Louis Tripodi, hoping to see a shark.

“It’s pretty amazing that they’ve made it up this far, so to see a 15-foot great white, as long as it’s not doing anything bad, ya know, it’s in its natural habitat, it would be pretty cool to see,” said Mike Beliveau, who is looking for sharks.

The Beliveau family was on a water taxi and saw firsthand what a great white was capable of doing to a seal.

“There were shark bites, might have been like two or three days out,” said Jessica Beliveau, who is worried about sharks.

People are fascinated by the sharks, as long as it is from a safe distance. The beaches were packed, but the water was empty.

“Not as fun, definitely. Being able to come to the beach and just kind of stay on the sidelines,” said one beachgoer.

“There is 66 miles of beach in Chatham, we’re only closing five,” said Smith.

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