The moment every surfer fears, when you hear someone shout out that one word that can strike fear into even the hardiest of characters.

Sacha Specker is no stranger to the water, the former bodyboarding world champion now a fan of surfing and a regular at Noordhoek’s Dunes break. Not that he would ever have had a day like January 29, when catching some waves with mates got all kinds of real.

Excerpts from the original on Wavescape below:

The nightmare was about to begin. He was about to be visited by a large white shark. Well, not quite visited. It was a little more than that. While out in the backline with a pack of about 12 guys, a young surfer 15 metres further out screamed those words we all dread.

The surfer, facing Specker and the beach, had seen a shark behind Specker. He “screamed with blood curdling fear in his voice, while scrambling his limbs onto his board: “SHARK, RIGHT BEHIND YOU!”

“As I jolted around I must have startled the shark as I saw it change direction abruptly and dip below me. A moment later it resurfaced an arms length from me, jet black eye, white belly, flank and pectoral fin in view as it pushed a bow wave and brushed my feet. Dorsal fin out the water, and tail fin slow and steady side to side, always in sight, while circling me four times.

“It felt surreal as though time stood still. I was certain it was going to have a go at me. I tried to keep facing it, nose of my board pointing at the shark. While it was close, it never crossed my mind to back off. There was no room to move. I was literally spinning around on the spot, numb limbs, clenched fists and trying to slow down my breathing. It felt like the only chance I had, was to be ready for it and keep facing it.

“Eventually it dipped and moved off toward the beach. For a few moments I paddled backwards, trying to put distance between myself and the shark and get closer to the other guys in the lineup. I thought that was the end of the ordeal, until I saw the shadow slow down, fin resurface and head towards me again. I thought I was done. Now it’s coming back to finish me off.

“I tried to stand my ground and not freak out, paddling toward it again as Mike Schlebach shouted: “Stay calm! Guys … everybody paddle towards Sacha. Everybody together.” It seemed like an eternity before the guys got close. The shark dipped underneath me just before it got to me, made a turn toward Mike a few metres to my right at this point, who could see it underneath him.

“The guys literally surrounded me and we slowly paddled toward shore. The first wave only broke when we were half-way in. I felt relief, but still the fear of it picking one of us off in the whitewater (my previous shark encounter a few years back happened in waist deep water while duck diving in aerated, turbulent water). I was more scared when I could not see it. All I wanted to do was get to the beach and feel the sand beneath my feet.

“I have spent a large portion of my life in the ocean, enjoying it, riding waves and documenting its endless moods, and the life in and around it. On Friday the 29th of January 2016, I thought I was going to spend my last moments in the ocean. Somehow it was not to end for me this way. For this I am grateful.

“I feel privileged to have had such an encounter with this majestic apex predator and come away unscathed. It has been a massively humbling experience, pointing out just how insignificant we are as individuals. On another note, it shows how strong we can be when we stick together”….

“Life has never tasted sweeter than on that walk back to the car park,” a relieved Specker said afterwards.

I think Sacha might owe his tjommies a few beers for their bravery – you see that Mick Fanning, that’s how we deal with sharks down in this neck of the woods.

[source:wavescape]