Plett shark drama: narrow escape for Pretoria paddler
A PLETTENBERG Bay holidaymaker was lucky to escape unscathed after a close encounter with a 4m great white shark yesterday.
Ben Swart, 55, of Pretoria, told rescuers he and two friends, Nick Bester and Ronald Pronk, were paddling from Plett’s Central Beach to Keurbooms when his surf-ski was bashed underneath by the shark.
The blow knocked him into the water about 400m offshore.
The shark took a huge bite out of the surf-ski.
As soon as Swart hit the water, he swam back to his damaged surf-ski and clambered on to it in an attempt to avoid the shark.
Bester and Pronk then came to his aid. They rafted the three surf-skis together and called the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) for assistance while paddling to shore.
Plettenberg Bay NSRI station commander Marc Rodgers said when the crew arrived just after 7am in two rescue craft the men were still paddling to shore.
“All three men were taken aboard the two rescue craft and the surf-skis were recovered and brought to shore without incident,” he said.
“The men were not injured and required no further assistance.”
Although Swart did not see the shark after the impact, Bester saw it about 30 seconds later nearby.
Shark Spotters research manager Alison Kock identified the shark after she was sent photographs and the measurements of the bite mark on the surfski.
The organisation carries out research focused on inshore white shark presence and behavioural ecology
Kock said the encounter was definitely with a great white shark of between 3.9m and 4.3m in size.
She said the circumference of the bite and the spacing between the tooth marks could determine the size and species of the shark in question.
“It is very difficult to say exactly what goes on in a shark’s mind, but judging by the velocity of the hit, it could have been a case of mistaken identity – that the shark thought it was going after food,” Kock said.
“A surf-ski is quite narrow and travels relatively quickly, so it does resemble food from beneath the surface.”
Rodgers said: “We urge the public, paddlers and bathers, to be cautious.
“NSRI coast watchers monitoring the coastline have noted shark sightings along the Plettenberg Bay coastline following this incident and caution is advised.”