- Police found abandoned boat off the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria on Sunday
- Officers tracked down the owner as it emerged he was thrown in water by shark
- But luckily his mates were nearby who brought him on board their fishing boat
- Kayak spotted drifting early in the morning by a passing vessel sparking search
A fisherman was thrown into the sea from his kayak sparking a search after the empty vessel was spotted drifting off the Victoria coast.
He was pulled overboard after hauling in a shark while fishing in the Western Port Bay off the Mornington Peninsula on Saturday.
Fortunately, he was able to signal friends in a nearby boat who quickly pulled him out of the water.
The fisherman’s abandoned kayak was found drifting off the coast in Victoria on Sunday morning
The owner failed to report the kayak missing to authorities sparking a search when it was spotted by a vessel
After he hooked the angry animal which fought back and dragged him into the water, he returned to the shore with his kayak and carried on fishing with his mates.
But when he returned to collect the kayak several hours later it had drifted out to sea and was nowhere to be seen and did not tell authorities it had gone missing.
It prompted a search after the empty boat was found by another vessel in the Western Port Bay early on Sunday morning.
Police located the owner – a 34-year-old man from Cranbourne – after the kayak sighting was reported at 6am around a kilometre off Cliff’s Beach near Balnarring.
Police said the vessel and his fishing gear will be returned to him after he was located safely at home
A spokesman for Victoria Police said: ‘The shark, obviously unhappy to be caught, has caused the man to be tipped out of his kayak in its effort to get free.
‘He’s managed to get the kayak to shore and continued fishing with his mates.
‘When he’s returned several hours later to collect his kayak, it had gone.
‘A search was commenced to locate the owner of the kayak, who was located safely at home and hadn’t thought to notify authorities of his missing kayak.
‘The man’s fishing gear remained intact and Water Police will return his vessel to him today.’