A fishing trip turned into a once-in-a-lifetime experience when boaters off the coast of North Florida got an up-close encounter with a great white shark.
The 14-foot shark came within feet of the boat on Saturday as it sat off the coast of Amelia Island, just north of Jacksonville.
Captain Tony Peeples of Southern Style Charters said the shark ate half of a 50-pound drum in just one bite. When it went to eat the other half, Peeples said it got hooked on one of their lines.
“It’s kind of a humbling experience when you see something that big three feet from you,” Peeples said.
The great white ultimately swam away as one person on the boat exclaimed, “You don’t see that everyday!”
The company posted video of their encounter online, joking that they “had a minnow at the back of the boat.”