On Sunday morning just after sunrise, life-long friends Sam Edwardes and Dane Davidson paddled out for a surf in Byron Bay like they had done countless times before.

The surf looked good at Belongil Beach and Sam got a head-start on his mate, but within seconds he knew he was in trouble.

“I just felt this thump into my leg. You can't imagine the feeling, it's a really intense hit,” Mr Edwardes told The Today Show.

He’d been bitten by a shark, and while frantically trying to get to shore, he was also attempting to warn his mate about what was lurking in the water.

“I started paddling into the beach, I was a bit frantic.

“I was going as fast as I could, I was racing to get to shore and it took ages. It felt like an eternity to get to the beach.

The damage to Sam Edwardes' board. (9news)

“I just wanted to get to shore and I wanted to make sure Dane knew … so I was telling him not to come in,” Mr Edwardes told Georgie Gardner today.

It wasn’t until he reached the shore he realised the extent of his injuries, and that the shark had not only torn a chunk out of his leg but also his board.

“When we got to the beach I saw the injury - I looked down at my leg - and I noticed there was a mighty big hunk taken out of it. And that's when I freaked out. And that's when I thought ‘this is bad’.”

The bite just missed major nerves and arteries in Mr Edwardes’ left thigh. (9news)

His friend Dane responded quickly, and used the leg rope from his own board to stem the bleeding.

Mr Edwardes recalled losing his vision and finding it hard to breathe.

“I thought I was going to die.”

The 41-year-old was rushed to hospital, and one doctor who treated him said he was lucky to be alive.

Dane Davidson helped by wrapping his friend's leg in rope. (9news)

9News at the weekend confirmed the shark was a juvenile great white around 2-3 metres in length.

The bite just missed major nerves and arteries in Mr Edwardes’ left thigh, but he still has a long recovery ahead of him.

Georgie described it as "the size of a football".

Strangely, this is the third close-encounter with a shark in Mr Edwardes’ friendship group.

Sam Edwardes (left) was surfing at Belongil Beach when he was attacked. (Supplied)

In 1999 their mate Tony was killed when he was attacked by a shark off South Australia's Yorke Peninsula.

Then seven years ago another fellow surfer, Jason, was attacked by a Bronze Whaler. He managed to wrestle free.

“It's uncanny. I don't know if there's too many other small groups of blokes that surf together that've had three significant run ins with sharks.”

"You love the surf you love the ocean, it's part of your DNA, you've done it all your life, how do you feel about it now, how do you feel about going back in?" Georgie asked.