Shark Knocks Two Surfers From Their Boards In Northern New South Wales

Two friends have had a frighteningly close encounter with a shark yesterday during a surf at Sharpe’s beach, between Ballina and Lennox Head. According to the report on ABC News, the pair were hurled off their boards when, what they thought was a great white “as big as a car, length-wise” drove at one of the men, biting through his leg rope and ramming them both in the process. Fortunately, apart from a few board dings the friends didn’t sustain injury as a result of the meeting.

The north coast of New South Wales, particularly the area surrounding Ballina has had a significant number shark related incidents over the last year, some fatal, and the pair (both locals) admit to have experienced several encounters in recent years. It’s been said that the most dangerous time to be in the water is at dusk and dawn, this incident happened in the centre of the day at around 12:30pm. 

“Suddenly there was this disturbance underwater and I’ve been shook while sitting on my board and I’ve looked down and realised there’s a shark,” said eighteen year-old Curren See. “It’s come up from the right underneath my board and gone for my leg and just by chance I’ve moved my leg out of the way as it’s gone for it, speeding like a torpedo, it bit through my leg rope. As it’s missed me, it’s gone to correct and come back around and as it’s done that it’s erupted out of the water from the side and hit my friend Harry.”

“Because there’s virtually nobody on the beaches and it’s not summer, at the moment we’re just telling people to please be aware,” said Ballina mayor David Wright.

“I don’t know if it was its head or tail or body that hit me in the arm, but I was knocked off my board and pulled a fair way under,” recounted Harry Lake. “It was absolutely huge, it’s hard to give an accurate size, but it was as big as a car length-wise. I saw its abdomen above and below the water and it was huge.”

After checking all limbs were still attached, the pair scrambled onto their boards and began their dash to shore. 

“Harry said ‘don’t split up’, and I’m yelling at him ‘hurry up, hurry up’,” Mr See said. “There were no waves, so we just had to paddle as fast as we could in, not even looking behind us. Miraculously a little wave, then a bigger one managed to carry us both in.”

“This is my fourth shark encounter but none has actually gone for me before and never one this big,” Mr Lake said.