- Mitchel Hargreaves was hoping to film dolphins while surfing off the NSW coast
- But instead he spotted a massive bull shark cruising directly beneath his board
- He paddled in the opposite direction to the giant, and luckily made it to safety
A Sydney surfer has captured the terrifying moment he came face to face with one of the ocean’s most terrifying giants.
Mitchel Hargreaves was hoping to film some dolphins while surfing at Cellito, near Boomerang Beach, about 140 kilometres north of Newcastle on Saturday.
But instead he spotted a massive shark cruising directly beneath his board as he was riding a wave, which died off and dropped him right at its side.
A Sydney surfer filmed the terrifying moment he came face to face with a bull shark during a surfing expedition off the NSW coast
Mitchel Hargreaves (pictured) was hoping to film some dolphins while surfing at Cellito, near Boomerang Beach on Saturday
‘When I first saw it I though it may have been a bit of seaweed, but as I got closer (over the top of it) I could see it swimming beneath me and immediately knew it was a shark,’ Mitchell told Daily Mail Australia.
‘My first thought was to paddle in the opposite direction of where I saw the shark was going to.’
The 19-year-old was on a surfing trip with a bunch of other guys celebrating his father’s birthday.
He yelled ‘shark’ to warn the rest of the group about the monstrous swimmer before making a swift escape back to the safety of the shore.
Instead he spotted a massive shark cruising directly beneath his board as he was riding a wave, which died off and dropped him right at its side
He yelled ‘shark’ to warn the rest of the group about the monstrous swimmer before making a swift escape back to the safety of the shore
‘That was my first time seeing a shark and it looked a lot bigger than me so I was rattled and didn’t go back out,’ he said.
‘However, Karl (his father’s friend) paddled back out to let the others know, and they ended up staying out for another half an hour.’
He said no one believed him over his terrifying encounter until reviewing his GoPro footage later that night.
‘We’re pretty sure it was a bull shark,’ he said.
The 19-year-old was on a surfing trip with a bunch of other guys celebrating his father’s birthday
‘That was my first time seeing a shark and it looked a lot bigger than me so I was rattled and didn’t go back out,’ he said