Folly Beach, SC (WFMY) - A surfer had a close encounter with a shark at Folly Beach in South Carolina.
The shark estimated to be about 8 feet attacked the surfboard by biting it. You can see bite marks from the pictures of the surfboard that’s also broken in half. Jack O’Neil who was surfing on the board said the board snapped as it bounced to the beach. WCSC reports, the attack happened Tuesday around 11:30 a.m. in the area of Fourth Street on Folly Beach. O’Neil said the bump knocked him off his board.
"I was paddling to the right and something came up and knocked my board," O’Neil said.
I fell off my board, turned around and the bottom was all ripped off."
O’Neil said he first thought he hit a rock but realized it was too deep. "I just got up on my board and I was frantic," he said.
"I wanted to get out of the water as fast as possible." When he got out of the water he told a few beach goers about what happened.
O’Neil said he has plans for the board he calls “Ole Betty.” Half the board will be mounted to the wall and the other half made into a chair.
O’Neil has been surfing for eight years.
He said he won’t let this stop him from going back into the water.
"No, of course not," he said. "Sharks live in the ocean. That's where they're from."
O'Neil described the incident as unlucky because he's now out of a board.
