'It Was Just Beautiful', Divers Encounter Great White Shark Off Jupiter
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JUPITER (CBSMiami) - It was a heart-stopping experience for a group of divers when they came face to face with a great white shark.
Tommy Allore said it was a day he will never forget. Allore, his wife, and a couple of friends were spearfishing in about 60 feet of water, about three miles off the Jupiter inlet, when they spotted it.
"When you look down, you knew immediately from the profile, that it was a white shark," he said.
He said they were all stunned with their up-close encounter.
"I think everyone was just excited. I called for the camera, I knew I wanted to get down there and get a photo with it, and luckily, it stayed around long enough to capture that," said Allore.
Allore's video captured a friend getting close to the shark as it made big loops around a shipwreck and a cobia.
"I probably got about 20-feet away. It was just awesome. Making eye contact with a great white is just a unique situation. It was just beautiful," he said.
Allore estimated that the shark was between 10 and 13 feet in length. He added that his group kept it calm the entire time.
"There's a level of respect. and you understand the power of the animal, but it wasn't a fear. It was more adrenaline. We were excited, we knew it was a special moment," he said.
Allore was later told the shark had been tagged by a research group in Massachusetts about seven years ago. The organization named the shark "Salty."
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