CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH MR. WHITE
Two Paddleboarders Battle One Big Shark Off The Malibu Coast

Everett believes it was Calandra’s paddle striking the water, and not striking the shark, that scared the shark off. The shark submerged and the two paddlers looked for an escape route, with Discovery Channel visions of rocketing white sharks dancing in their heads. The Aquarius charter boat was a little too far off, so Calandra and Everett hopscotched to a closer, smaller fishing boat, watching each other’s backs in case Mr. White made a second charge.

“We got to the boat and Joey pulled his board in and got on the radio and called Baywatch,” Calandra said. “I have no idea why I stayed in the water. I was kind of in a daze by that time and I knew there were other paddlers who had gone past me. Joey stayed in the boat to organize the lifeguards and I took off to catch the other paddlers and warn them. I figured Baywatch would come up to me along the way but they didn’t so I finished the race.”

Along the way, Calandra saw some girls in kayaks meandering along in the kelp beds, and he told them to get to the beach right away. Everett also got back in the water and escorted some of the female competitors, one of whom gave him a free dinner that night. Calandra got to the beach shaken and stirred; with no doubt he was alive because a lifeguard who knew what he was doing had come to the rescue. “The only reason this thing didn’t strike me was because Joey was there to fight it off. I had seen this guy around and but didn’t really know him and there is no doubt he saved my life.”

The battle between prehistoric animal and modern men was the talk of the Malibu coast during the race, and in the days following the battle. Many of the participants and spectators were in a state of disbelief, not knowing what had happened. The rumor of the shark spread fast and some local residents pointed fingers at the Aquarius, the commercial fishing boat which essentially chums as it moves along, with bait being thrown overboard by fishermen along with the refuse of cleaned fish.

Others noted that the Monterey Bay Aquarium shark pen which appears off the coast at Paradise Cove every summer might have something to do with it. “Maybe one escaped from there and was pissed,” said paddleboard competitor Bill Kalmenson.

The truth is out there: white sharks exist along the Malibu coast, and Everett and Calandra were neither the first nor the last to encounter them, but they will certainly go down in local legend as the two men who fought off a big shark and won.

A Medal of Valor is something LA County should considered for Everett, to honor his bravery and the memory of Tommy Zahn, who dedicated his life to such selfless heroism.