Drew Trousdell had an encounter that’s slightly reminiscent of a certain shark horror movie classic. While his shark encounter didn’t end with a loud bang, it started with one – when he ran right into a shark while kayaking in the Matanzas Inlet in St. Johns County, Florida, during Labor Day weekend.
Luckily for us, he caught the entire thing on his GoPro:
The shark just wouldn’t quit. It comes at Trousdell and bites at his paddle twice in less than 30 seconds. Fortunately for the kayaker, that was the only thing the shark managed to get its teeth on.
“It wasn’t until I hit the beach and really considered the severity of it and the lack of my preparedness that it really kind of set in,” he said. “Had it been the hand versus the paddle, it could have gone a lot different.”
Trousdell, who is an American Canoe Association Level 4 coastal kayaking open water instructor, didn’t go out on this trip as prepared as he normally would. Without a radio, a signaling device, an extra paddle or any first aid, he’s lucky the situation didn’t escalate.
“I have encountered orcas. I’ve encountered humpbacks. I’ve encountered bears, alligators, and I’ve seen sharks at Matanzas as I’ve surfed there, much bigger sharks than this guy, but generally speaking, they don’t seem to pay much attention to you,” Trousdell said.
Next time, maybe he’ll bring a bigger boat.
