Jul 11, 2008 7:02 pm US/Eastern
Kids Sail In Waters Where Shark Sighting Reported
Officials Say One Sighting Was A Hoax
Photo Gallery: SHARKS!
EDGARTOWN (WBZ) ―
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Two Martha's Vineyard beaches were closed following unconfirmed sightings of great white sharks.
AP
The beaches on Martha's Vineyard are open again after a shark was spotted, but beach officials are going to be on high alert as hundreds of kids hit the water for a sailboat regatta.
A second shark sighting was reported, but officials confirmed Friday that one was a hoax. Officials said 60-year-old Michael Lopenzo faces disorderly conduct charges after he told people to get of the water at Joseph Silva State Beach because he had seen two sharks about 22 feet long and 3,000 pounds each while he was fishing.
Officials closed the beach, but Edgartown Police Chief Paul Condlin said investigators later determined Lopenzo was lying.
Harbormaster Charlie Blair said 300 kids will be racing on Friday as part of Edgartown Race Week. The race is not being called off, but all eyes will be on the water, searching for sharks that could be swimming around.
Today, as the busy beaches on the island reopen, Blair said people are swimming at their own risk.
On Thursday, a shark was spotted on South Beach. Blair said a lifeguard and several beachgoers in the area called in to report seeing a fin in the water. A sight-seeing airplane flying over South Beach also reported seeing a shark.
A plane was sent up to try to confirm the sighting, but they did not find any sharks.
Shark attacks are extremely rare in waters off New England, but Great Whites have been known to occasionally prowl in the region.
Blair said he isn't ready to say if the shark is a Great White, but, "I'm saying it was a big shark. If it's not a basking shark, it doesn't matter if it's a Great White or a Tiger (Shark). A Tiger probably has a worse record."
Officials have posted warning signs on the beaches, but some have been stolen by people trying to score a free souvenir.
The shark sighting comes just one week before the island's 22nd Annual Oaks Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament.
In 1974, Steven Spielberg chose Martha's Vineyard for the movie version of "Jaws," depicting a series of deadly Great White attacks in the fictional community of Amity.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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