Great white knocks woman off surfboard near Gracetown
A surfer has escaped injury and walked away with only a damaged board after a close encounter with a great white shark in Western Australia's South West.
The woman, believed to be in her early 20s, was knocked off her board by the 3.5 metre shark at North Point beach near Gracetown, north-west of Margaret River, just before 6:00pm on Tuesday. Chunks of the surfboard were gouged out in the collision with the animal.
Off-duty lifeguard Tom Van Beem was surfing nearby at the time and witnessed the incident. He said the woman was alone in the water when the shark knocked her off her board.
"I felt this water movement underneath me," Mr Van Beem said. "I looked at the girl sitting next to me [and] she got knocked off her board. Then I saw the shark's body follow with the pectoral fin and the tail."
Mr Van Beem said he and the surfer — a young Belgian woman — were left shaken as they inspected the damage to her board.
"I just put my head down and paddled as fast as I could," he said. "I had this sinking feeling that it was going to hit me, but luckily enough we made it to the rocks. We were all pretty shaken up. We're just lucky to be here."
North Point to Lefthanders closed
A shark warning has been issued for North Point beach in the wake of the near-miss.
"To reduce the threat to people, North Point to Lefthanders surfing spot has now been closed," the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said in a statement.
Breaks around Gracetown will remain closed until at least Thursday morning as a precaution.
"Fisheries officers will monitor the situation and Parks and Wildlife officers will monitor beach closures over the next few days," the department said.
"The Surf Life Saving WA Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter will also conduct a sweep of the area as part of its patrol activity during the school holidays from 7.00am through to 5.00pm each day."
//JACQUELINE LYNCH
© Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Comments
http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-26/large-white-shark-knocks-surfer...
You cant surf lefties because there was a shark at nth point ?
Clam, I suppose given the relatively recent history it’s not a great surprise.
You're right rabbit68 .
They close beaches to the south only .
The northward side all clear to enter ,
Close by theres waves to surf,
free from the closures .
Its prime time gracetown surf season too .
Pity its not an epic swell
There’s always a few that tend to run the gauntlet of Mr Whitey & the closures anyway, particularly if the waves are on.....
Do fisheries or the powers at be actually enforce a closure on a surf break because of a shark sighting/encounter. ?? I hope not..I thought they could only issue general warnings ,like NPWS when theres a whale carcass etc in the area. Enter at own risk , Even when the lifeguards close the beach they can't technically stop someone from paddling out. I can hardly see some knucklehead in his National Sparks and Wildfires truck calling the cops if you decide to suit up.
Thats about right , you could score surf if you dare
Spent my whole youth surfing this coast in particular the northy to lefty stretch. This whole shark thing has ruined it for me - can't even paddle out down there without feeling like a chomping is imminent- irrational maybe but that's what it's done-
Yeah SS it hits home big time, I can remember surfing NP on junky days like these, jump off the rock in front of the peak, the way the water moves and sections on the reef... time well spent.
This is just spooky. Odd that breaks just north weren't closed, like they assume GWS can only swim south...
Seems there is a pattern emerging? Ellensbrook to Cow bay have had their fare share of attacks over the recent years. There must be a relationship between the topography and the time of year? It's good news however to hear the young lady escaped unharmed.
Re topography: velocitybrother is a very knowledgeable fisherman, and he's marked out 'superhighways' out there on the WA coast. Between a beachy known to give quite a few surfers a bone, and a point that is known for its rocks (to be a little cryptic) he reckons there's one. Plus seal colony. So I'm out there sitting furthest out for the set, bleeding after getting scotched on said rocks on the way out, and the seals are all swimming close together, breaking the surface anxiously as they run up the point. Fun times.
Also, he reckons the mixed reef/sand setups are quite favourable for them, so we're out on one south of the metro area, a nice odorous slick of cray bait calming the surface of the lineup, more fun times.
Remember there was a dead whale strewn along that stretch in 2006 ( ? ) .
I remember going for a Lago session at Ellensbrook Bombie with the sky blood red from bush fires. No one around and big chunks of whale meat laying around the rocks / beach.
Wouldn't consider going out in the same circumstance these days.
With full respect, both the most recent Esperance and the Nth Pt attacks have had the same diagonal cross-hatched carbon fibre on the bottom of the board. With other surfers in the water both times, it marks it out as something to avoid.
Noticed that, one of the girls' boards was white, one was blue. Again, with full respect to the family; and a great relief in the case of this young surfer.
A surfer got chased out of the surf at margs this morning by a large shark apparently, ranger sign up on the stairs. Sharktober is early this year.