Shark bumps surfer at North Avoca
When David Witt paddled out for a surf on Sunday he had no inkling the drone he heard hovering above him was about to capture his close encounter with a large shark.
David Witt has been surfing for 40 years but he’s had few bigger shocks than when a shark hit his board off North Avoca early on Sunday morning.
“That’s one of the most frightened I’ve been,” Mr Witt said.
“It was about 7.15 and I saw something out of the corner of my eye,” he said.
“By the time I looked over it was almost on top of me and I jumped up on my board and yelled shark!
“Thank God it was a grey nurse and not a great white.”
He said the group immediately returned to shore.
The 50 year old Kincumber boat builder said he had paddled out with his son and some other members of the Central Coast Malibu Board Riders Club but had no inkling the drone they heard hovering above them was about to capture a close encounter with a large shark.
“It was a nice morning, clear, but I didn’t see the school of bait fish. If I had seen it I wouldn’t have gone in,” he said.
Local drone photographer Jim Picot captured the scene just moments before the inquisitive shark bumped the board, causing the startled surfer to lift his legs “and scramble away”.
Mr Picot said it was strange to watch the scene unfold because it was clear that the surfers were completely unaware of the shark which was chasing salmon along the coast.
“From above I could see it all clearly — but at surface level they have a completely different vantage point,” Mr Picot said.
“At first the shark seemed to be ignoring them, and then suddenly turned toward the surfer — like it was curious and wanted to see what it was,” he said.
“It all happened so quickly. It bumped the board, the surfer reacted frantically trying to move away, then they both swam off in opposite directions.”
Mr Picot said he had zoomed in on the surfers from more than 30 metres away so could not alert them to the presence of the shark which he thought was a harmless grey nurse species.
Mr Picot said it has been a “phenomenal thing” to witness the number of sharks along the coast this year as they chased huge schools of mullet and salmon.
Daid Witt said he had only ever seen one other shark up close in his decades of surfing.
“It was a medium sized shark that swam right under my board - it was just minding it’s own business,” he said.
“We’re in their domain so you understand the risk.
“Surfing has kept me fit and healthy all my life - so it’s worth it”
Mr witt said he had also seen dolphins, seals and penguins while out in the surf.
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