Shark attacks are extremely rare in occurrence at Pacifica State Beach in California, but Tuesday afternoon, one kayaker had the terrifying experience of running into a 10 or 11-foot great white shark while fishing about 100 yards off of Pedro Point, ABC News reports.
"It was intense," said Micah Flansburg, recounting his scary experience to reporters. "It was just like the Discovery Channel where you see the eyes roll to the back of the head and the pink gums and his teeth bared."
In Flansburg's mind, there was no doubt that the shark that approached him and lifted his kayak was a great white. "Almost instantly, the shark came and it hit the bottom of the boat, lifted the boat up, and grabbed ahold of it and just started shaking the whole boat, and I'm just hanging on to this thing," he said. "I had my paddle on my lap, and my fishing pole and a bottle of home brew. The next thing I know, every single thing I had went flying in the air, it hit me so hard."
The sudden attack occurred at around 3:30 p.m., and though Flansburg doesn't remember what he said during the incident, his father-in-law does.
"Yeah, it was a lot if religious stuff, 'Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God!'" said Ross Webber, Flansburg's father-in-law. He was in his own kayak about 10 feet away. "He was riding like a bull and keeping his balance and I was like, 'Go for it! Don't fall in the water!'"
According to Flansburg, he held on for dear life for about 10 to 15 seconds. The Pacifica police agree that it was indeed a juvenile great white shark, as Flansburg compared the length of the animal to his kayak, and officials judged the bite marks left on the boat.
When the shark realized that kayaks are not tasty fish, it swam away, and beach-goers continued swimming as officials determined it hadn't occurred close enough to the shore to pose any danger.
