The moment great white sharks circle two divers stranded off NSW coast
Dramatic footage shows the moment two divers feared they would be attacked by circling sharks while stranded off the NSW Far North Coast with nothing but their fishing equipment.
Trevor Ketchion and Dylan Briggs were spearfishing out at sea off Tweed Heads in May when a strong current separated them from Mr Briggs’ dad, who was driving the boat.
The boat had dropped off the experienced spear fishermen at Nine Mile reef, but the pair resurfaced to find they were alone in the ocean with nothing but their fishing equipment.
Footage shared by the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter on Sunday captures their ordeal, which the pair feared they would never return alive from.
“For the first half-hour or so we tried to swim back up the current to get back to the boat but that wasn’t very effective,” Mr Ketchion said.
The swimmers decided to remove their fins and place them on their spear gun to wave overhead to try and attract attention, but it flagged some unwanted company.
“That didn’t work and also when you do that, you’re swimming a bit erratically and erratic swimming attracts certain creatures that you don’t usually want to attract in those situations,” he added.
In the clip, one of the men can be seen peering into the water to find a great white shark circling below.
“Shark! There’s a shark!” he can be heard yelling.
The pair were fortunate Mr Briggs’ dad raised the alarm and sent the Westpac Rescue team their way.
After three hours stranded at sea, without their boat in sight, the pair were winched to safety, away from the circling sharks.
Mr Ketchion said he and his mate owed the Westpac Rescue team his life because without their help the men probably wouldn’t have survived.