“If it wanted me, I was gone.”
That was the chilling realisation for Dee Why surfer Alex Preston, though not in the moment.
The local had been out for a 7am surf at Dee Why Beach yesterday (16 February) and was unaware a shark had come so close.
“I was really shocked. I had no idea,” he said.
“There was no sound on the surface. There was no visible sign of it under the water.
“It just got up on me so quickly and quietly.”
Alex initially spotted the shark’s tail in the water and messaged a local surfers’ group chat to warn others not to paddle out.
It was only after a friend reviewed live streamed camera footage of the incident that the full extent of the encounter became clear, the shark had been far closer, and behaving more aggressively, than Alex had realised.
“I only saw the tail.
“I did not even know until after,” he said.
“It came from under and behind me in the swell line.”
He described the incident as unusual, particularly given the lack of typical warning signs surfers often rely on.
It was a beautiful, clear day. No recent heavy rain, no murky water.
“Yesterday there was no visible signs of any sort of, like there was no fish, no birds on the beach or diving at the water.”
As a lifelong surfer who has always considered himself cautious, Alex said he had been wearing a shark deterrent band, purchased two years ago ahead of a trip to the South Coast where he knew the risks were higher.
“I have always been pretty cautious,” said Alex.
“There have been times where there has been fish and birds and all that sort of stuff recently and I have just thought, na, that is not looking too flash.”
Despite the frightening nature of the incident, Alex believes the shark’s behaviour may not have been predatory.
“You can see it make some vicious manoeuvres around me,” he said.
“But I think if it wanted to get me yesterday it would have got me.
“I think it was more of a get away from my area…It might have been chasing me away from its eggs.”
Alex stressed that he has no formal education in this area and was only speaking from his experience as someone who is in the water almost daily.
“There was recently a lot of seaweed at the beach and a lot of rain, and the banks are very different to what they normally are.”
He also expressed concern that sharks seem to be becoming more established in the area.
“I actually think they [sharks] have taken up residence at Dee Why.”
The issue remains particularly raw for many in the local community.
Alex was good mates with Mercury Psillakis, who was tragically killed in a fatal attack at Dee Why last year.
“Some things have been done, but I do not think it is an adequate enough warning.
“We need to put some permanent signage for a period of time until we have a handle on it.”
The encounter has left Alex hesitant to return to the same spot, and he hopes sharing his experience will serve as a warning to others.
“I would not go back out. I would go where there are lots of other people surfing,” he said.
“I do not think anyone has a handle on the situation at Dee Why at the moment, not the government, not council.”
This incident comes after a shark took one clean bite out of a young surfer’s board at Dee Why in January.
“We need to look at it as a short-term thing. How can we prevent any more actions like that?”
