Huge Great White Shark Attacks Kayaker Off Santa Barbara Coast

A Santa Barbara man was attacked by a huge great white shark Thursday when his kayak was punctured by the predator. The shark bit the kayak but failed to reach up to the man as he jumped into the waters.

The man, who was identified in local reports as Brett Jackson, was “shaken up but not injured,” reported Mick Kronman, the city’s harbormaster. Jackson told NBC affiliated-KSBY-TV that he was kayaking about a mile from Stearns Wharf when the shark appeared only a foot from his face. The great white shark grabbed the side of the kayak.

Read: Great White Shark Gets Shockingly Close To Paddle Boarders Off California Coast

"It was about a foot away. Its nose was about a foot from my nose, biting on to the side (of my kayak) here and it drove me back, flipped me over," Jackson reportedly described the incident. "Here are more bite marks on the bottom. I came out from the water as quick as I could. I was laying on the back like this trying to hold my legs and arms in."

Just after the shark took a bite at the kayak, Jackson paddled his slowly-sinking kayak, later reaching a boat. Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol said there has been no similar shark attack in several years. After Jackson survived the attack, Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol brought him safely to shore.

"My heart's racing!! Not a scratch. It's crazy," Jackson said.

According to Chris Lowe, director of the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach, the shark was most likely full grown, the Los Angeles Times reported. Lowe said the shark may have thought the kayak was prey.

“That behavior is the most common behavior in these interactions,” Lowe said. The shark “grabs the board or kayak, shakes it once or twice,” then leaves. “That’s how they decide whether it’s something worth eating.”

While talking about shark attacks, Lowe said it is ideal to stay in groups when going in the water that are usually close to where sharks may be found as the animal is less likely to attack in these cases. The incident sparked the closure of the beach Thursday afternoon, and authorities put up notices about the shark sighting.

Read: Washed-Up Shark At New Jersey Shore Rescued With Bare Hands

Jackson, who felt he was lucky to have survived the attack with no injuries, said he has not thought about returning to waters yet. This is the third shark sighting in two days off Santa Barbara area beaches. Earlier Thursday, in an incident similar to the one Jackson experienced, a paddleborder was a half-mile off the beach when an eight-foot great white shark bit his board.

Then earlier on Wednesday, a fisherman spotted a 13-foot shark over the side of his boat. That sighting took place about two-thirds of a mile straight off Leadbetter Cove.