Shark attacks horror as a 20-foot canoe is ‘bitten in half’ by a great white on Australia’s east coast
Three-meter great white shark attacks canoe during kayaker’s morning paddle
Kayaker was uninjured in a terrifying ordeal and has since returned to the water
Shark torn from large canoe in Coffs Harbor on NSW’s north coast
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A kayaker has survived a terrifying encounter with a ten-foot great white shark that destroyed his outrigger canoe.
The retired accountant was paddling near the south wall of Coffs Harbor on the north coast of NSW last Wednesday when the predator suddenly lunged without warning from the rear of his canoe, biting off a large chunk of the carbon fiber vessel.
The paddler was not injured in the attack and has since returned to the water with a borrowed canoe to train for an upcoming event this weekend.
His six-metre torn-up canoe is in much worse shape after a section behind where the kayaker sat was bitten off.
What’s left of the barrel has been pierced with multiple teeth marks.
A three-meter great white shark is believed to be responsible for this extensive damage to a mauled outrigger canoe (pictured)
The Department of Primary Industries DPI believes a ten-foot great white shark (stock image) was responsible for last week’s incident
Coincidentally, the kayaker marked a passing boat heading out to sea to install a Shark-Management-Alert-In-Real-Time drum line for the warmer months.
“The water bubbled up – then it was flat as a nail in seconds – it happened very quickly,” one resident told the Coffs Harbor attorney.
Coffs Harbor yacht club commodore John Wait was not surprised to learn about the kayaker’s encounter with a shark.
“They’re there in plague proportions right now,” he said.
“It’s just one of those things—the numbers will drop again soon.”
The kayaker’s terrifying encounter took place near the South Break wall of Coffs Harbor (pictured)
The Department of Primary Industries believes a great white shark was likely responsible for the incident.
“It was reported that the man was kayaking between Pig Island and the Coffs Harbor fault wall when something hit the back of the kayak,” a spokeswoman told the Daily Mail Australia.
NSW DPI shark biologists spoke to the man and reviewed photos of the kayak and damage to determine if a shark was involved.
“The shark has not been seen by any of the three kayakers in the area, but the bite marks and profile in the kayak indicate a white shark.”