IT HAD ME IN ITS JAW
I was SHOUTING and PUNCHING
MARCEL Brundler repeatedly punched a great white shark in a life-and-death battle in the surf near Lorne yesterday.
Mr Brundler was circled and then attacked by the four-metre predator, which left a large bite mark in his board. “He cut himself on the (fibre) glass and then left,” Mr Brundler said. “That’s the only reason I’m still here.
“It had me in its jaw, I was shouting and punching it while it attacked me.”
“I punched him as many times as I could. We all knew he was bigger, stronger and faster than me.”
VETERAN surfer Marcel Brunder feared he was going to be mauled to death by a four-metre-long shark while catching a wave at a popular surf break near Lorne.
He credits his $800 fibreglass surfboard for saving his life.
“He cut himself on the glass and then left,” Mr Brundler said.
“That’s the only reason I’m still here.”
The Lorne surfer was enjoying a mid-morning surf at Cathedral Rock yesterday when he thought he spotted a dolphin in the distance.
The dolphin turned out to be a four metre long “white pointer shark” swimming directly towards Mr Brundler.
Panicked, Mr Brundler was left with no option but to fight for his life.
“At some stage, it had me in its jaw, I was shouting and punching it while it attacked me,” Mr Brundler said.
“I punched him as many times as I could.
“We all knew he was bigger, stronger and faster than me.”
The shark attacked Mr Brundler’s board, leaving multiple bite marks, and tore his wetsuit. Mr Brundler escaped uninjured. His horrifying encounter prompted a part-closure of Lorne Beach, with Fisheries Victoria warning anyone against swimming within a 10 kilometre radius of Cathedral Rock.
Lorne Leading Senior Constable Mick Atkinson said a number of surfers were in the water at the time of the attack.
“There were four surfers in the water at the time and they paddled in pretty quickly after that.”
Lucas Von Sanchez, who took to social media to warn of the sighting, said a group of onlookers saw the shark approach Mr Brundler and immediately panicked.
“You could see from outside the water that it was trying to bite him repeatedly,” Mr Von Sanchez said.
“I surf there everyday and in all the years I have been there I have never heard of one ever.
“Now everyone will think twice before going in the water.”
Lorne Beach Pavilion’s Siana Wijono said the news spread quickly throughout Lorne.
“Everyone has been talking about it,” Ms Wijono said.
Cathedral Rock is a prime surfing spot along the Great Ocean Road.
Up to 32 sharks were spotted near Fairhaven and Anglesea on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Beaches along the Great Ocean Road were on high alert throughout January as dozens of sharks, many believed to be great whites, were spotted in the space of a few days.
There have been 13 unprovoked shark attacks in Victoria since 2005, according to the Global Shark Attack File, and 18 fatal attacks in Aus- tralia in the past six x years.
Mr Brundler, who police said was remarkably calm after the attack, has vowed to get back on the board next week.
“Maybe not on my y own though, it will be eaa little scary,” he said.