Great white shark attacks kayak, tipping fishermen into the ocean

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Durban - Kayak fishermen Sean Jansen van Rensburg and Muir Robertson, whose kayak was “nibbled” by a great white shark last Saturday while they were fishing off Scottburgh, on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, will be back on the ocean this weekend. The pair were about 2km offshore at 9am, when Widenham resident Robertson felt his kayak being bumped. “I felt a shark bumping the back but that has happened before, so I wasn’t too worried. “Then the shark came back and bit into the ski. Once it started biting, the boat started lifting up. I only saw its head out of the water and estimate it was about 3.5m long. I tried hitting it with the paddle, but the ski came out of the water and rolled over,” said Robertson, adding that the shark only let go once the ski was upside down. In a panic in the water, he knew his only chance was to get back into the boat quickly.

“I had three fishing rods attached and it took three attempts to get the ski the right way up.

“I jumped in as quickly as possible and asked Sean to come next to me. We could see the damage, there was one hole right through, and teeth marks. But there was no leaking. I managed to get my rods in and we paddled back to shore as quickly as we could.”

Van Rensburg, who was close to Roberston, said he saw the shark bump the boat.

“It disappeared and then suddenly it came out of the water and was on the back of the boat. I could see it wouldn’t let go. I was paddling towards Muir when he went over and then came back up. His rods were in the way and it was slippery as he tried to get back on.

“The shark had disappeared, I think it felt the ski was not that tasty. We paddled in very, very quickly,” said Van Rensburg.

Both men are veteran fishermen and have encountered great white sharks before.

Roberston said: “I’ve been fishing close to 20 years and for the amount of hours I have spent out there, I think it was bound to happen, it was a once in a lifetime experience.

“I’ve had a tiger shark take a fish out of my hand before.

“I heard that the shark bit another ski the next day, so it’s interested, but could just as easily have been moving through.

“Weather permitting, I’ll be back out there this weekend.”

Van Rensburg agreed, saying: “You’ve got more chance of being hit by a taxi than eaten by a shark.”

Chairperson of the Scottburgh Kayak Club Mick Clarke confirmed there had been another report of another shark encounter with a kayak the next day.

“It was very close to where the one which took place on Saturday,” he said, adding that the teeth marks on the kayak would be checked with the Sharks Board.