CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (WSVN) — A group of fishermen were treated to a rare sight off Florida’s Space Coast: a 15-foot great white shark circling their boat relatively close to shore. Sunday’s fishing trip off Cape Canaveral became a once-in-a-lifetime outing, even among the group’s experie nced fishermen. All Captain Blair Wiggins could do was watch in awe of the marine predator swimming just feet away from his boat. “It made me feel like, you know, I was pretty special that day,” he said. Special because great white sightings are rare compared to other shark species in Florida. “The second time in my life. I’ve been here 60 years on this Earth and have seen a great white twice now,” said Wiggins. And currently, experts say, more of these sharks could be swimming down to the Sunshine State. “In general, we see white sharks coming down to the Southern states, southern Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico right around now,” said Toby Daly-Engel, a shark researcher at Florida Tech. Daly-Engel said these sea creatures are looking for food and chasing warmer water. “Sharks really like it when it’s kind of a nice medium temperature — not too hot, not too cold,” she said. Great whites can live hundreds of years and grow up to 18 feet long. “I literally tried to measure when it was under the boat, and I could not put my arms halfway around that fish. It was a monster,” said Wiggins. Wiggins said the shark swam near the boat for around 20 minutes or so. The fishermen said they saw it about five miles east of the port. At first, they thought it could have been a manta ray or a whale shark, but the fin gave it away. “I was so enamored by seeing such a giant creature. It was cool,” said Wiggins. With spring breakers heading to Florida, researchers said the sightings shouldn’t prevent visitors from from going in the water, because great whites don’t usually come close to the shore and attacks are rare. “You’re more likely to get killed by a selfie than a shark. You’re more likely to get killed by the Grand Canyon than you are [by] a shark,” said Daly-Engel. Wiggins does not think this specific shark was tagged, but he has alerted researchers so they can keep close tabs on where it’s heading. ...read more read less