Shark knocks surfer off his board, believed to be a bull shark - Cabarita Beach, NSW

News from The Nightly - Author Emily Williams

Surfer’s lucky escape after heart-stopping close encounter with shark

A surfer Matthew Devine had a close call after a terrifying encounter with a shark, at Cabarita Beach around 4pm on Sunday, near the Queensland and New South Wales border.

The 53-year-old was knocked from his board by what is believed to be a bull shark and thrown into the water.

He told 7NEWS he was sitting on his board at the time.

“Then bang,” he said.

“There’s a shark come up from underneath, flipped me off, knocked me off my board into the water.”

While in the water, Devine said he came face-to-face with the shark.

“I thought shit, this thing’s big and then, yeah, I was just waiting for it the third time to hit,” he said.
“I thought this third time it’s going to get me.”

In surfcam footage shared online, the father-of-two can then be seen desperately paddling to shore, where lifeguards were alerted.

“I’m no expert, but it looked— it happened really quick— but the nose looked sorta round, so I’m thinking it’s maybe a bull shark,” Devine said.

He said the incident would not deter him from getting back on his surfboard in the coming days.
Devine shared the footage on a community Facebook page, warning other local surfers.

Several commenters suggested he “go buy a lotto ticket” after his brush with the shark.

“That was scarily close,” wrote one.
“Hectic, glad you can tell the tale,” added another.

This is the third shark encounter at the beach in 15 months.

In June last year, a 16-year-old boy was mauled and left with life-threatening injuries.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE & CLIP HERE

CHANNEL 9 VID HERE