A great white shark off the Volusia County coastline has lifeguards on high alert after a GPS tracking device spotted the 14-foot-long shark just 5 miles offshore.
Volusia Beach Safety specialist Brad Warner kept looking at his cell phone Monday after the shark came too close for comfort to the coast.
The nonprofit research group Ocearch has named the shark "Katharine," and has been tracking it since August. On Monday, Katharine was near Daytona Beach and headed south, toward New Smyrna Beach, the "Shark Bite Capital of the World."
"It looks like probably 5 miles. Looks pretty close," said Warner, adding that's the closest he has ever seen a great white approach the Volusia County coast, which is usually populated by bull and spinner sharks. Those are currently swimming south to warmer waters.
Ocearch first tagged Katharine off Cape Cod to study the 2,300-pound great white's movements in real time. It's been posting updates on the shark's journey on Facebook and Twitter.
"If they come pretty close, we'll probably clear the water, but other than that, how close would it have to be? I'd say a couple of hundred yards," Warner said.
Lifeguards are not too worried about swimmers getting in the water, since the temperature at Daytona Beach was a chilly 62 degrees -- ideal for a great white shark, but not for swimmers -- unless you're a tourist visiting from upstate New York, where the water temperature is below freezing.
Still, even basketball player Ben Honahan, visiting Daytona Beach from New York, admitted: "It was cold. It was cold."
Warner kept an eye on his phone Monday to make sure that great white shark never made it closer to shore than 5 miles.