‘Thank f**k’: Surfer details punching shark’s head during attack

A 24-year-old shark attack survivor has detailed the moment he brawled his way out of a savage shark attack while surfing in Western Australia.

A 24-year-old shark attack survivor has detailed the moment he wrestled away a 3.5m shark after it attacked him suddenly while surfing in Western Australia.

Originally from Ballina in New South Wales, Jack Frost saved himself by paddling his board a marathon 600m to shore after the attack.

Witnesses at the time told reporters on the scene Mr Frost had “a lot of blood” and that he’d “saved his own life”.

The attack happened at the famous Boat Ramp Bombie surf break at Gnarabup in the Margaret River region at around 8.45am on July 24.

Shocking Swellnet webcam footage taken from the shore captured the moment the shark attacked, showing violent splashing and a surfboard flying into the air.

With the attack merely a speck in the frame, the footage also depicts the immense distance wounded Mr Frost needed to paddle to safety after the violent affair.

Ballina surfer Jack Frost recounted his shark attack victim after being bitten at Gnarabup Beach in Western Australia. Picture: 9 News

Despite the Margaret River region being a surfers’ mecca, Mr Frost revealed in an interview with Swellnet this week that he was surfing alone that morning.

In boisterous fashion, he told the website the attack threw a spanner in the works for a months-long trip around Australia.

“We came over to the West Coast to earn some coin and settle down for a bit.

The plan was to hang around this area for a while, plus do a couple of stints up north, but I don’t know … if I get nailed by another shark, I’ll probably f**k off back to the East Coast,” he said.

Mr Frost said he was about to pull the pin on his surf when the shark attacked from “straight underneath”.

“I was sitting on my board (the shark) just f***ing came up and smacked me,” he said

Mr Frost said he was “lucky” he was sitting atop his board.

“It just nicked my leg,” he told Swellnet.

“When I say ‘nicked’ I’ve still got a good gash on my leg and a couple puncture wounds a bit higher, but nothing crazy; nothing like what it could’ve been.”

Mr Frost’s attack was caught on a live stream at the surf break. Picture: Swellnet

Separated from his board, Mr Frost began a brief melee with the shark.

“I just figured I’m not going to roll over for it, so I moved onto its back and started punching its head a few times,” he said.

“That doesn’t really do much; it didn’t even flinch. But then I started punching it in the side towards the gills, and I must have got one punch in where it’s touch-sensitive, and it just f***ing shot down into the depths.”

“It went quiet and then I got back on my board. Thank f**k my legrope wasn’t in its mouth.”

A large gash in the middle of Mr Frost’s board shows the carnage he perhaps avoided for himself.

Mr Frost said he reassured himself, repeating, “You’re going to be alright” during the lengthy paddle to shore.

Mr Frost said the shark attacked from directly below, with his board copping much of the damage. Picture: Swellnet

He said numerous bystanders, including an off-duty nurse, who he described as “absolute legends”, helped him get to Margaret River Hospital, where he would be moved on to Bunbury Hospital and treated for the gashes to his thigh.

“I told them, ‘Look, I’ve got no coin. I don’t really want to jump in the back of an ambo right now’,” he told Swellnet.

“So they said, ‘That’s OK, we’ll drive you then’.

“My car was just around the corner. I didn’t want to get blood in their car, and she was like, ‘Nah, don’t be stupid, get in’.”

Only Queenslanders and Tasmanians receive ambulance cover from the government. All other states are expected to fork out or have ambulance cover as part of their insurance plans.

Mr Frost says he’s undeterred from surfing, fishing and diving, but will refrain from surfing alone again.

Mr Frost’s attack marks WA’s seventh this year.

Originally published as ‘Thank f**k’: Surfer details punching shark’s head during attack