Chandler Moore, 7, was surfing at a Florida beach known as the shark attack capital of the world when he was knocked into the water by a blacktip shark.
It happened so quickly that his father Shaun Moore, who posted the video on social media, wasn’t aware of the shark and what happened until someone pointed it out to him.
@GoPro @wsl @surfline Check out what I captured on my GoPro from my sons surfing session on Saturday! pic.twitter.com/pygwNv3FoW
— Shaun Moore (@ShaunMoore) December 2, 2019
“One of the surfers out there through social media got in touch,” Tennille Moore, Chandler’s mother, explained to WESH. “He was like, ‘Did you see the shark?’ And Shaun’s like, ‘What shark?’ So we slowed the video down and we were amazed.”
The incident occurred Saturday at New Smyrna Beach, a location known for its shark attacks. NatGeo reported that it is the shark attack capital of the world according to the International Shark Attack File, and said it estimates that anyone who has swam there has been within 10 feet of a shark.
Also on FTW Outdoors: Shark helps fisherman land huge tuna
“I’m like the luckiest boy ever since I didn’t get bit by that shark,” Chandler told WESH. He went on to explain what happened.
“So I’m just, like, standing up on this normal wave, and then I see fish, that makes me scared, so I kind of start to turn it, but then the shark hits me and knocks me right off.”
Two fish had jumped out of the water in front of him and he thought a third one had struck him. He learned later it was a shark.
“That explains why two fish in front of me jumped out of the water, because they got scared of the shark,” he told WESH.
But Chandler isn’t afraid of sharks. And the shark encounter isn’t going to scare him away from surfing. On the contrary.
“It’s not going to keep Chandler out of the water for sure,” Tennille Moore told WESH. “He’ll be out there. He’d be out there every day if he could.”
Photo courtesy of Shaun Moore.