Beach House Vacation in Florida

Vacation at the Beach with Sharks

I always hear, “Look out for sharks!” when I head for the beach—but up till this year I’ve never actually seen a shark. Then this summer I saw about four or five sharks in one day. We were near San Sebastian inlet, just south of Melbourne, Florida, on the Atlantic coast. We had a VRBO house rental on the beach, so we could walk out the back door, out the back yard, over the dune, and be on the beach in under a minute. The beach was not private but it felt like it was because there was never anyone on it throughout the week. A public access point was nearby, however, and people would show up on the weekends.

This particular morning the first shark I saw was near the shore where the waves broke on the beach. The shore dropped right at this point and there was a good foot at least of water for the shark to swim in. It was dark and swimming along the shoreline right there at the inmost point, heading northward away from us up the beach. I could see its fins sticking up out of the water—and it was about a stone’s throw away. I said to the others, “Hey, guys, I saw a shark over there. So, you know, heads up!” They were playing in the water. I went out, too, because the water was so clear and free of any debris—it looked so inviting—that I could go all the way out to where I couldn’t touch and I could see the bottom of the ocean, my legs and feet and everything so clearly. The water was warm and calm. The seaweed was way out in a big reef like a dark patch that stretched all along the coast. I figured it would be in before long, so I better enjoy the clear, clean water while I could.