How to survive a shark attack

In Southern California, great white sharks are swimming near surfers 97 percent of the time, according to a recent study-and surfers are rarely aware of them. Here's what you need to know about sharks and when they attack.

- by Wondery

APRIL 29. LATE AFTERNOON.

Dusty Phillips beams as his girlfriend, Leeanne Ericson, arrives at the San Onofre beach near San Clemente, California. Ericson's shift as a bank teller has just ended, but there's enough daylight left to get in a little ocean time on this Saturday afternoon. Phillips secures the rubber leash of his yellow surfboard around his right ankle and looks at Ericson, who's tugging on her wetsuit.

“Faster, slowpoke,” Phillips teases. “I'm missing all the good waves.” Ericson smiles and grabs her swimming fins. She's thirty-five and, though she’s not a surfer, she takes every chance to go for a swim in the ocean.

“Ready,” she replies. The two make their way into the water and swim out to the breakers, where Phillips waits for a solid wave to catch. It’s a beautiful day, he thinks. As the sun drops toward the horizon, its light bounces off a pod of dolphins as they jump above the waves. The wind kicks up, and the water's a little murky, but the waves are decent, and Phillips whoops as he catches a solid set.

He's taking a breather less than one hundred yards from shore when Ericson surfaces nearby, treading water. She flashes him a wide grin, and he pats the top of his board, an invitation to come join him. She swims over and hoists herself onto the board, and the two sit in the surf, facing each other, legs dangling below.

Suddenly, there’s a dark streak of motion to Phillips's left. A sea lion, breaching. To Phillips, it looks panicked and confused. Ericson clocks this too. “You know what that means, right?” She gives him a smirk. “Probably running from a shark on the hunt.” The couple exchange a few shark jokes and chat about how their days went when Ericson jerks her leg and locks eyes with Phillips. “Did you just kick my fin?” she asks. “That's not funny!”