NEW YORK — Temperatures were well into the 90s on Wednesday, a perfect day for a dip in the ocean at Rockaway Beach.

Unfortunately for beachgoers, they were unable to dive into the ocean because of shark sightings in the afternoon.

“We got here around 3 p.m. and they didn’t let us go farther than about five feet in the water,” Renee Francisco said

That meant no surf, just sand.

“It was extremely frustrating, to be honest, because we came here to go swimming,” Francisco said. “I love to give a good deep dive in the water, and we didn’t get to take that opportunity so it was a very bizarre situation.”

Potential sharks were no reason to stay dry for her boyfriend, Vincent Briffa, from California.

“It was very frustrating,” Briffa said. “But being from California, that’s not a really a big deal. No one’s been attacked at Rockaway Beach and people get attacked in the Pacific Ocean all the time.”

A spokeswoman for the city parks department said swimmers were told to stay out of the water because of multiple reported shark sightings on the length of the beach, adding that it is imperative that beach goers follow the direction of lifeguards and staff to not enter the water until it had been deemed safe.

“It seemed like anybody who went too far out, they would wave them back,” Ethan Laird said. “When we got in the water, they definitely noticed that like we were going too far out, like I went out a little too far once.”

“It was like a beautiful day, super sunny, super hot,” Gemma Marx said. “We kind of did go in anyway, but we definitely got yelled at a bunch.”

Still, while people NY1 spoke to said they were not scared of a shark biting them, it is possible. Just last month, a lifeguard at Jones Beach thought a shark bit him, forcing people out of the water.

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