An Australian surfer had the scare of a lifetime Sunday when a roughly 10-foot shark became tangled in his leg rope and dragged him out to sea like “a powerful jet ski,” The Northern Star reported.
John Morgan, a 51-year-old surf shop owner from the east coast tourist town of Byron Bay, surfs every day. He was coming off a wave when he felt a violent tug on his leg rope.
"I was then suddenly hauled backwards,” Morgan told The Northern Star. "It felt like I was riding behind a powerful jet ski."
"The water was dirty so I couldn't make out what type of shark it was but I knew from the splashing white water that it was roughly eight to ten foot.”
Morgan said he thought the shark was as scared as he was, and just hoped it would untangle itself. It eventually did, and both parties swam as fast as they could in opposite directions.
"It didn't want to hurt me, we just happened to cross each other's paths,” Morgan told The Northern Star. "It totally freaked me out; I'm just glad it didn't turn around and bite me."
Lifeguard Coordinator Stephen Leahy told The Northern Star that Morgan had done exactly what anyone should do in that situation.
"He didn't panic, he left the water straight away and notified emergency services," Leahy said.
Morgan said his shark encounter will not keep him out of the water. He planned to be back out for his daily surf the next day.
Click here to read more on this story from The Northern Star.
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