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Great White Sharks In Water Force Swimmer To Abort Golden Gate Bridge To Farallon Islands Attempt

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A Bay Area man had to stop his quest to be the first to swim from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Farallon Islands due to Great White sharks in the water.

Four swimmers have swam from the Farallones to the California Coast, but swimmer Simon Dominguez was attempting to be the first to complete the journey backwards.

Dominguez jumped off a boat under the Golden Gate Bridge last night.

A boat following along as Dominguez attempted the swim said there were Great Whites in the water nearby, and the swim was aborted when he was just three miles away from the islands.

"He had a great white circling around him," the boat's skipper told KPIX 5.

Dominguez says the skipper made the right call.

"It was hard. But a shark is a shark," Dominguez said.

As for Dominguez' future plans, he said a drink was in his immediate future.

"The next step will go straight to the pub have a few beers and decide what the next steps are," he said.

The swim was expected to take 13 to 18 hours.

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