Australian windsurfer says shark ‘hits me like a freight train’, but it can do it

Australian windsurfer Andy McDonald got lucky this week after coming face to face with a shark off the country’s west coast.

A camera from surf media website swellnet.com captured the moment the shark seemingly came out of nowhere and knocked McDonald, 61, off his board.

“Everything was really nice, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, bang, something so hard and strong hit me like a freight train,” McDonald told Australian broadcaster ABC. “It just pushed me in the air and I fell into the water. I knew it was a shark.”

The swellnet video shows McDonald and a couple of other windsurfers cruising in the coastal waters near the town of Margaret River when he and his sail suddenly plunge into the water and out of sight.

“The shark must have gone under because everything went underwater, me and all my gear, and at that point I was kind of hitting it and wrestling with it, sort of trying to get away from it, kicking it and trying to hope that none of my limbs were anywhere near its mouth, which I had no idea where it was,” he told ABC.

“I thought it wasn’t there anymore. I just thought, ‘This is it, this is the moment where it’s the end of my life.'”

About 10 seconds after he was dragged down, with some splashes in place, McDonald can be seen re-emerging in the swellnet video. While speaking to ABC, he sat behind his surfboard, which had a distinctive bite-shaped hole about a foot wide on the side.

When asked if his fight with the shark had put him off surfing for a while, McDonald said he already had a replacement and would likely be back in the water within hours.

“I ordered a new license plate this afternoon,” he said. “I’m going back in the water. I’m going out again tomorrow.”