This is the Jaws-like moment a paddleboarder was stalked by a huge shark that at one point moved its head right under their board. The great hammerhead shark, which can grow up to 15 feet long, was spotted by the tell-tale sign of its dorsal fin piercing the waves around the paddleboard.
Malea Tribble, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was taking part in the Crossing For Cystic Fibrosis event with is a long-distance charity endurance paddle which sees competitors tackle 80 miles of the Gulf Stream from Bimini in the Bahamas to the mainland in Florida.
Paddleboarders are escorted by support boats as the sea around the Bahamas is well-known to be home to sharks, including tiger and hammerheads.
In this encounter Malea can be seen being circled by a great hammerhead, which although large, are usually shy around humans.
The inquisitive predator can be seen breaking the surface of the water with its rear fin as it takes an interest in Malea and her board.
Posting the video of the moment on Instagram The Crossing For Cystic Fibrosis (CFCF) described the tense encounter.
The caption read: “Malea Tribble, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, a three-time participant and two-time paddler in The Crossing event, was surprised by a curious and friendly visitor, while paddling from the Bahamas to Florida in the annual fundraiser for the CF community.
“Malea’s husband Ricky, who was on the boat at the time, and her relay partner paddling with her in the event, was the first to spot the tall dorsal fin as it rose up behind Malea on her board.
“Their team was almost halfway across the Gulf Stream, out of sight of land, when the shark appeared.
“Ricky was able to calmly give his wife direction on manoeuvring the situation to get safely to the boat without incident. Both Ricky and Malea are experienced paddlers and official mentors with The Crossing For CF community.”
According to CFCF, since 1900 there have been 16 recorded incidents between humans and hammerhead sharks, and of those, there have been zero deaths.
Founder and Executive Director of The Crossing For CF event, Travis Suit, said: “We are grateful Malea was not harmed and so proud of the calm and disciplined response the Tribble’s had during the situation as paddle mentors in this event, providing a great example of how to handle close encounters like this. We are visitors when we are in the ocean, it’s really their home, so it’s to be expected.”
