Great White Shark Spotted in North Carolina, Hits Fishing Boat [VIDEO]

A great white shark was spotted near the coast in North Carolina over the Thanksgiving weekend by friends out on a fishing trip.

A group of friends who went fishing at Wrightsville Beach near Wilmington, N.C. got up close and personal with an 18-foot-long great white shark just a few feet away from their fishing boat

The fish kept circling. He kept getting closer and closer and he swam under the bow of the boat and hit it then came around the boat a couple minutes later, did a turn, and slapped the side of the boat with the back of his tail, 25-year-veteran Captain John Watson told ABC News affiliate WWAY. You could feel the whole boat shutter.

Watson was with friends when they came close to the shark just a mere 17 miles away from the shore of Fort Fisher. The estimated 18-foot-long, four-foot-wide shark surrounded their boat, which was not much larger in comparison, for as long as 20 minutes.

After a while, when the shark started hitting the boat, it kind of makes you a little nervous, he said. All of sudden you start hearing all the dun-dun-dun-dun-dun's.

Don't believe their account?

Matt Garrett of Boston, Mass. captured the entire ordeal on his iPhone 4S in a video that was shared by CNN.

It was all amazement, seeing such a large living creature. It also doesn't seem real. It was very surreal! It didn't sink in until later that this was so significant, Garrett told CNN, admitting he thought at first the fin was two dolphins.

Paul Barrington of the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher confirmed it was a great white shark as opposed to the many other sharks that swim freely in the region. While North Carolina is prone to have sharks in its waters, Discovery News reported that great white shark sightings are very rare.