Shark Week hysteria hit San Clemente a month early, with a sighting sign that thinned out the crowded SC beachbreaks. With warm waters, summer vacationers, the black ball, and over-hyped swells, the waves are a war-zone and local pranksters are fighting back.

The State Parks sign appeared on a San Clemente City Beach (flaw #1) yesterday 6/1 near the pier, and though looked legit, had misspelled Calafia and errors unlike official warnings.

SCLG Supervisor seemed to take the hoax lightly, commenting “We surmise that someone might have taken a picture of that sign, Photoshopped it a little and added their own warning to fit their desires. Gotta give ‘em credit for creativity. They even cited sections from the Public Resources Code.”

This doesn’t mean whitey isn’t out there though. Chuck Patterson captured a baby white tail-whip with his GoPro 3 summers ago while SUPing in San Clemente.