Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Great white shark circles kayakers and fishermen in Sydney

Amazing footage of the moment a group of kayakers and fishermen found themselves being circled by a great white shark has been released. One of the group was even knocked into the water by the shark, and was forced to tread water while the man-eating creature circled him for a minute.

Steve Kulcsar, the 29-year-old kayaker who was knocked overboard, said: "A fisherman yelled out, 'There's a 5m shark coming your way.' We all thought he was just trying to stir us up for a laugh, but a few moments later, a big fin appeared."

Mr Kulcsar recalled the moment the shark bumped him into the water. "I wasn't really worried about the shark, actually. I knew it was there, but my first thought was to just get back in the kayak as quick as possible."



He said that making a quick change in direction could have been what prompted the shark to go for his boat.

"When it cruised past me, I thought I was safe, so I went as quickly as I could in the opposite direction," he said. "I think that was my mistake, because then it turned around and chased me. If I had stayed still, I think I would have been OK."

After a minute in the water, Mr Kulcsar was able to climb back into his kayak. The fishermen then hauled him into their boat. After ten nervy minutes, the shark lost interest in the group and swam away. Mr Kulcsar added: "I'm not really shaken up at all. At the time I was, but now I'm just having a few beers."

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