JUPITER, Fla. (WSVN) — A teenager said he felt like he was on top of the world after he came across a great white sight off the Florida coast. As luck would have it, it would be the first of two such encounters in two days.
Video captured Jupiter resident Nick Bailey’s reaction after seeing a great white shark for the first time.
“Bro, great white! That was the sickest thing ever!” he said.
The next day, the teen experienced another wild encounter, this time closer to home.
The first sighting took place March 25 about four miles off the coast of Stuart.
“I thought I saw a bull shark, but really quickly I realized it was not a bull shark,” he said.
Bailey immediately flipped on his camera for what he described as both one of the best and most disappointing experiences of his life.
“After I looked at the video, I realized, I was like, ‘Man, I was so close to it.’ Like, I was, ‘I really wish this could happen again and I could touch it. Like, that would have been so cool,'” he said.
The teen would be hit by a wave of luck the very next day, when he saw another great while off the coast of Jupiter.
“When I realized what it was, I was like, ‘Wow, this is happening!'” he said.
“We looked over, he was like just like cruising the bottom. Nick went down, and I just followed behind him,” said fellow diver Justin Shaw. “I was just super surprised. I’ve never seen one before and we see, like, hundreds of sharks every day we go out.”
Other cellphone footage shows the divers poking away an aggressive hammerhead who wanted their fish and got it.
Twenty-four hours later, Bailey said he did something he admits wasn’t smart: he reached out and grabbed the great white’s tail.
“I touched a great white! Boy!” he said in the video.
“I know that sharks can change their behavior in a matter of seconds. but that thing, he was cool,” said Bailey. “I knew what he wanted, and he wanted nothing to do with me.”
“Dude! Two great whites in two days! That’s insane!” Bailey said in the video.
Experts warn those who encounter a great white shark to avoid touching them at all costs, no matter how tempting it may be.
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