(WSVN) - A surfer was catching some waves when he noticed the water was full of fins, and they weren’t dolphins. They were sharks and they were way too close for comfort.
The surfer spoke about how he escaped with his life.
“Well, we went up to Sebastian to do some surfing,” said Eli McDonald.
It was a bright, sunny day that called for a day of surfing in the ocean, but for Laura Evans and her fiancé, McDonald, this surf trip near the Sebastian Inlet was a bit out of the ordinary last weekend.
“It was beautiful out,” said McDonald. “Water was great. There were baitfish running around.”
After a couple of hours in the water, that’s when the encounter happened.
“Next thing I knew, I got stuck in the middle of a mullet bait ball and they were just jumping everywhere. One hit me in the head and I seen a big tarpon go underneath my board.”
McDonald didn’t know a couple of sharks were lurking around, but Evans knew right away.
“Only thing I could do was take pictures and ask God not to let him get bit,” Evans said.
Evans opted not to call out to him for fear of making the situation worse.
“I was terrified. I wanted to go scream and run up and down the beach but, you know, I knew that he would know what to do in that situation, and I also knew that he would want me to capture whatever I could.”
Mcdonald, an experienced surfer, managed to escape the scary encounter without a scratch.
He was stunned when he saw the photos.
“When I see the one behind me, I’m thankful that my foot wasn’t in the water,” McDonald said.
And there was no fear for this avid surfer. He was back in the water the very next day.
“We always know they’re there right?” McDonald said. “I think it’s part of your passion of being in the ocean and surfing, being aware of your surroundings.”
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