A teenage surfer has described how he cycled home to his parents after he was attacked by a shark near Mandurah
Cameron Pearman was sitting on his board off Port Bouvard, south of Mandurah, around 6.15am on Saturday when the shark struck.
He told Fairfax Media he saw the shark just before it attacked.
"I saw the shark half a second before it bit my leg. It was fully grey all over. I didn't really fell anything at the time. It was a bit crazy for a moment but it started to hurt after the adrenalin wore off," he said.
The 13-year-old paddled to shore on Pyramids Beach as quickly as he could.
"When I got there I pulled up the leg of my wetties and there was blood and cuts and I realised that I was so lucky I didn't lose my foot or something," he said.
The 13-year-old had been surfing with his cousin who is a trained surf lifesaver. He carried out first aid before Cameron climbed onto his bike and cycled home.
"Dad didn't believe me for a bit but I showed him the cuts and then he believed me. Mum was a bit crazy," he said.
"I had something to eat then went to hospital to get the cuts cleaned and patched up."
The injuries were not serious but the shark that bit him had a mouth big enough to leave wounds on Cameron's right leg from the knee to the ankle.
But the encounter hasn't put the teenager off surfing.
"I'm hoping to get a surf in tomorrow," he said.
Shire rangers on Sunday reopened the beach where the attack occurred.
Cameron Pearman has chatted to media about his brush with a 2m
#shark off Pyramid beach this morning.
@abcnewsPerth
pic.twitter.com/EGvfsD3hYm — Katrin Long (@Katrin_Long)
November 29, 2014
Shortly before the attack, SLSWA tweeted that a shark had been sighted in the water at Port Bouvard Bridge, south of Mandurah.
SLS Lifesavers report medium unknown sp. shark sighted 07:45hrs 29/11 in Port Bouvard Bridge, Mandurah Cont — Surf Life Saving WA (@SLSWA)
November 28, 2014
