Brave surfer’s instinctive act after he survived a terrifying encounter with shark at Little Avalon Beach: ‘Go buy yourself a lottery ticket’
A surfer was bloodied and bruised after a terrifying near-miss with a shark.
Paul ‘Bass’ Stanton was enjoying an early morning surf at Little Avalon on Sydney’s northern beaches just after 5.30am on Saturday when the predator lurking underneath swam up and ‘bumped’ his board.
He instinctively pushed the shark away, but not before one of its teeth hit his thumb.
Counting his lucky stars, Mr Stanton quickly paddled back to shore to warn other surfers and showed off his bloodied hand to shocked onlookers.
Photos posted online showed two bite marks and several drops of blood on his surfboard.
It’s understood that Mr Stanton was in good spirits afterwards, despite the close encounter.
‘Still five fingers. He is fine,’ a friend shared on a community Facebook page.
A local commented: ‘Go buy a lottery ticket because today, you are one lucky person.’
Paul Stanton showed off his bloodied hand after he was ‘bumped’ by a shark while out surfing
The shark left two bite marks on the local’s surfborard
Despite sustaining a cut to his thumb from the shark’s tooth, Mr Stanton was able to push the beast away and return to shore
Another added: ‘Wow that’s amazing. Glad your ok mate.’
Others joked that Mr Stanton has a new nickname – Sea Bass Fanning, referencing Aussie surfer Mick Fanning, who famously punched a shark while competing in a tournament in South Africa in 2015.
Avalon Beach was closed while Surf Life Saving NSW conducted a thorough patrol for the shark, which could not be tracked down.
Sharks were also spotted at packed beaches in nearby North Narrabeen, Crescent Head and Little Tallow on Saturday, as temperatures soared past 40C across the city.
Mr Stanton’s terrifying encounter comes just four months after local father-of-one Mercury ‘Merc’ Psillakis, 57, was fatally attacked by a five-metre-long great white shark at nearby Long Reef.
