Drone footage shows shark sizing up surfer in Australia

 

A shark swims close to World championship tour surfer Matt Wilkinson World at Sharpes Beach, New South Wales, Australia, October 7, 2020 in this photo supplied by Surf Life Saving NSW. Surf Life Saving NSW/via REUTERS/Files

 

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A dramatic close encounter between Australian world championship surfer Matt Wilkinson and a shark off the east coast of the country was captured by a drone, showing the shark circle him, close in and then dart away from his feet.

 

Wilkinson was paddling in from a surf at Sharpes Beach, 733 km (455 miles) north of Sydney, when the shark swam towards him and then under his surfboard on Wednesday, with the drama being captured on a drone used by lifeguards to watch for sharks.

 

The 1.3-metre (five-feet) Great White Shark then circled and swam up to Wilkinson's feet, which were trailing in the water, and quickly turned away.

 

"I was surfing out the back at Sharpes Beach and just cruising on my own," Wilkinson, a former pro surfer, said in a press release issued by Surf Life Saving NSW.

 

"I heard a splash and a noise and looked around and couldn't see anything. Then the drone came down and told me that there was a dangerous shark in the area," he said.

 

"I realised how close it came without knowing it was there. I called my wife because I didn't want her to see the footage before I saw it. She doesn't want me surfing for a couple of days now."

 

Wilkinson competed in a world championship heat just before Australian Mick Fanning's encounter with a large white shark at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa in 2015, which he fought off by punching it.

 

The area around where Wilkinson was surfing has a reputation for sharks and has been the scene of a spate of attacks over the years.

 

A 46-year-old surfer was killed last month at a Gold Coast beach after he suffered severe leg injuries from a shark attack, with Australia recording a total of 19 shark attacks in 2020, according to the Taronga Conservation Society.

 

A world championship surfer had a close encounter with a shark on Wednesday (October 7) in New South Wales, Australia.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-10-08

 

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I think he would have been paddling a whole lot faster if he had seen what was behind him.

regards worgeordie

8 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

I think he would have been paddling a whole lot faster if he had seen what was behind him.

regards worgeordie

I think I would have been ‘polluting the ocean’.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 8, 20205 yr by Chomper Higgot

He was  lucky maybe. I remember seeing a video taken from the beach by a buddy of a guy on the  face of a wave when two great whites  came up at him in the wave , one on each side. Only thing found after was a few pieces of his board. Gone in seconds ! North Australia.

That looks like a Boogie Board he is on not a surf board, there such an attraction for sharks as there smaller & from the position a shark attacks from, (below) it gives the appearance of a Turtle. .....Arms-legs

 

 

1.3 meter shark.

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

Drone footage shows shark sizing up surfer in Australia

Great stuff from a drone..... where I lived (Surfers Paradise Qld) they used to have a helicopter, donated from one of the banks (Westpac) as there was so many Japanese tourist there,  but wages etc --it cost fortune.

Using Drones could be best safe surfing innovation since the Jacques Cousteau discovery.

 

 

 

Edited October 8, 20205 yr by sanuk711

That shark looks small compared to this one in South Africa, also check out the babe swimming with this massive White below this video.

 

 

Great pic!  Wonder if drones could be used to track stalking land sharks...before they attack their victim?

That shark is definitely at least a meter longer than 1.3 meters. I’d say it’s closer to 3! 

26 minutes ago, pacovl46 said:

That shark is definitely at least a meter longer than 1.3 meters. I’d say it’s closer to 3! 

About same length as the guy, so I'd say 1.80 or so.

When they were filming Jaws some of the footage was shot in the Great Australian Bight. The crew spotted a great white much larger than the film’s behemoth. It took me years to dare to go back into the surf after seeing that film,

11 hours ago, stevenl said:

About same length as the guy, so I'd say 1.80 or so.

A bit longer than the guy with his arm stretched out, so it’s at least 2.5 meters long!