Young Aussie surfer photo bombed by shark that shared wave
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this photo from Monday, provided by Chris Hasson, 10-year-old Eden Hasson, Chris’ son, surfs near what is believed to be a great white shark at Samurai Beach, Port Stephens, Australia.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this photo from Monday, provided by Chris Hasson, 10-year-old Eden Hasson, Chris’ son, surfs near what is believed to be a great white shark at Samurai Beach, Port Stephens, Australia.
CANBERRA, Australia >> A 10-year-old surfer has had a close encounter with a photo-bombing shark that shared a wave with him off an Australian beach.
Chris Hasson said today that he was taking photos of his son Eden riding a wave off Samurai Beach at Port Stephens, 110 miles north of Sydney, on Monday when something unexpected and indistinct caught his eye.
He discovered he had photographed the face of a twisting shark just below the surface with his son on an apparent collision course. Hasson said shark experts had since told him it was a juvenile great white about 2.5 meters (8 feet) long.
“I saw the second photo and (thought) — no way,” Hasson told the AP. “I quickly called him in and whistled.”
“He (Eden) saw a shape in the wave and thought it was seaweed and felt something as he went over the top — he got his leg rope caught on something — but he thought nothing of it until he saw the photo,” Hasson said.
James Cook University shark researcher Andrew Chin said the photographed shark was possibly a small great white.
“From the angle, it looks like the shark was spooked and is rolling away from the board to escape it,” China said. “There is no way that this is a hunting approach.”
Eden said he was glad he hadn’t seen the shark until he was safe on the beach and saw the photo.
“If I was on the wave and saw it, I probably would’ve freaked out and fell off,” Eden told Nine Network television today. “I was lucky I didn’t fall off.”
Port Stephens is on the northern coast of New South Wales state which has experienced an extraordinary increase in shark attacks since a Japanese tourist was killed by a great white in early 2015.
Hasson said he was back in the surf with Eden and his siblings, aged 12 and 5, on Tuesday to enjoy the final week of the school summer vacation.
“Everyone’s back to business. It’s too good a lifestyle sport not to,” Hasson said.
10 responses to “Young Aussie surfer photo bombed by shark that shared wave”
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It had to be one of his luckiest days!
Wow, if I was the guy on the left I’d turn around and get out of there!
Co-Exist. Understand,this is the Sharks domain…the Ocean!
Try telling that to the shark. “Can’t we all just get along?”
It is also the human’s domain.
Our natural capabilities allow us to exist almost everywhere.
Competition between species fit to be in the same domain is common.
Doesn’t look like the man in da gray suit is rolling away. It looks more like he’s getting a better look at his potential next meal !!!
No fun surfing if great whites are roaming around looking for their lunch and you happen to be close by.
Those wave hogging humans – they’re lucky I wasn’t hungry.
Sharks and dolphins both love to surf. I have personally seen this many times over my lifetime fortunately never bitten. Kid was also lucky, the minute he would have fallen into the water from his board the shark may have thought injured prey dropped in and instinctively would have charged at the boy.
OK, that is NOT a shark people. It’s another surfer “duck-diving” the wave on his way paddling back out. OMG what a joke, typical media hoax. the boil he creates as he submerges also creates the illusion of a sharks mouth as it rolls over for the “killer bite” that the media wants you to believe … and apparently you all do. Ca’mooon.