That’s a big bite. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
When Andy McDonald decided to go wing foiling off Margaret River on a sunny Monday afternoon, he didn’t expect that it would be very close to the last time he ever made that decision. The 61-year-old wound up in a fist fight with what he believes to be a great white shark, and the whole thing was caught on camera. According to reports, McDonald was about half a mile from shore when a shark suddenly hit his board, and hit it hard.
“Just out of the blue, something just went (bang), straight up from behind, like a super solid hit and I was flying through the air and just crashed into the water,” he told 7NEWS. “It was obviously biting my board, and then it dragged me under the water, took me under, dragging the board and the sail.”
McDonald, as you’d expect, thought for a second that he might not return to shore alive. Instead of giving up, though, he fought for his life. “This is it. I’m so far out to sea, no one’s around, there’s no Jet Skis or anything and I’m at the mercy of this beast,” he said. “I tried to keep calm but it’s impossible.”
He began punching the shark as hard as he could, and eventually he was able to climb on top of his partially submerged sail, where he tried to stay a still as he could. While we’re not on the great white shark’s preferred menu, they are curious predators who often rely on test bites to see if something is edible. Those test bites, unfortunately, can be enough to kill a fragile human.
Luckily, McDonald was just a stone’s throw from an incredibly brave friend, who immediately paddled over to him and helped him back to the beach. The swim took the pair 20 minutes — which was likely a terrifying span of time.
“It was an incredible effort (from his rescuer) because I didn’t know if the shark was still around,” McDonald said.
When they did manage to make it to safety, McDonald took stock of things. Amazingly, he wasn’t injured, but the board he was on proved just how lucky he was. Swellnet cameras were rolling and captured the event, which can be seen in 7NEWS coverage, below. While the attack was happening, McDonald didn’t ever actually see what was attacking him.
“Even when I was underwater, I didn’t see it,” he remembered. “I might have seen a flash of color — there was so much foam and kicking and I was punching it as well, and kicking it, trying to keep all my arms and legs intact, I didn’t know where its head was.”
