"It was a big shark. Ten-to-fifteen feet by looking at the velocity and force of it jumping out of the water.” 

For whatever reason, perhaps, but only perhaps, an explosion in numbers following a quarter century of government protection, Great White encounters, attacks, have become a regular sorta thing on Australia’s east coast. 

Not so much if anymore, but when. 

It don’t matter if you’re Byron Bay or Ulladulla or Bells, the ocean’s tanks have been making their presence known and felt to surfers.

Five months ago, Mark Sanguinetti died on the beach after being hit by a fifteen-foot White at Tuncurry, a few hours north of Sydney. 

Three months ago, Joe Hoffman survived a hit by a ten-foot Great White at Crescent Head, a little further north of Tuncurry. 

Four weeks ago, on Father’s Day, daddy-to-be Tim Thompson was killed by a White at Shelley Beach near Coffs Harbour. 

Two weeks ago, a flotilla of surfers were chased out of the water and onto a rock ledge by a fifteen-foot Great White near Ulladulla. 

And, last Friday, former world number five surfer Amee Donohoe, a powerful natural footer, Jordy Smith sorta style, who’s now head coach/owner at Central Coast Surf Academy, got a real close look at a Great White at McMasters Point, an hour and a half north of Sydney. 

Donohoe, who is forty, was paddling back out when, “I saw this huge Great White launch straight out of the water five feet from myself and even closer to the other surfer,” she told ABC. “I knew it was a Great White because I could literally see all its teeth and the white underneath its belly.”

Donohoe reckons the White was chasing her pal Steve. 

“It breached out of the water, really close, probably looking to have a fight with him. He was looking at a wave and when he missed it he saw what was happening. It was trying to intercept him. From where I was looking, and I’m not talking it up, there was teeth to be seen. It was a big shark. Ten-to-fifteen feet by looking at the velocity and force of it jumping out of the water.” 

After beaching ‘emselves on nearby rocks, Donohoe says her feet are still bandaged but didn’t feel any pain at the time ‘cause of the adrenalin dump,  her pal Steve was hit by the realisation he was probs about to get hit.

“Pretty intense,” says Donohoe.

“And no doubt that this was a Great White. Very obvious, very, very obvious. I know the difference between bull sharks and reef sharks. I’ve seen ‘em all over the years. They’re nothing like this.” 

Still, Donohoe describes the encounter as a “phenomenal experience.” 

“Seeing them on TV is one thing, being that close and seeing that nature in full force was… I’m very grateful we got out unscathed. From its behaviour it was definitely looking for something to eat.”

The video captured is as ominous as it is oppressive, like a cartoon Mount Everest coming to life. 

A robotic surfboard has been successfully navigated into the eye of what is, right now, the most powerful storm on earth, category 4 Hurricane Sam.

Scientists with Saildrone and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) worked together in piloting the drone surfboard just northeast of the eye of the big blow.

The video captured is as ominous as it is oppressive: waves, wind and a grim sky that resembles some cartoonish manifestation of Mount Everest coming to life. 

“Saildrone is going where no research vessel has ever ventured, sailing right into the eye of the hurricane, gathering data that will transform our understanding of these powerful storms,” said the company’s founder Rich Jenkins.

From the NOAA,

Equipped with a specially designed “hurricane wing,” enabling it to operate in extreme wind conditions, SD 1045 is braving Hurricane Sam in the open ocean, collecting real-time observations for numerical hurricane prediction models, which are expected to yield new insights into how large and destructive tropical cyclones grow and intensify.

SD 1045 is one of a fleet of five ‘hurricane’ Saildrones that have been operating in the Atlantic Ocean during hurricane season, gathering data around the clock to help understand the physical processes of hurricanes. This knowledge is critical to improving storm forecasting and is expected to reduce loss of human life by allowing better preparedness in coastal communities.

Wild, yes?

"I was worried about them more than myself."

If further proof was needed of man’s relegation to “the weaker sex”, see also Harris v Biden, a teenage surfer has saved three men from dying in treacherous Jersey Shore seas. 

Kayla Smith, who is sixteen and a five-year surfing vet, had finished her session in Bayhead, New Jerz, and was waiting for her mother to pick her up when she noticed three men struggling in the surf. 

“I was worried about them more than myself,” Kayla told Philly News, “because I could tell that they were probably sipping on water from the ocean and everything. They couldn’t catch their breath.” 

The placement of Bayhead’s jetties filter sand into a deep-water drop off making it a high-tide spot. Couple this with a steep angled, sizable south swell and you have rip current escalators that love to carry unsalted civilians toward Lisbon for free.  

Kayla paddled out on her board and brought the men in. 

“I was like ‘I’ll balance the board for you guys, just kick to help me get in,’ because there’s no way I could have pulled them… no one could touch out there because there was probably like a 10-foot drop.”