Andy McDonald, 61, was hit and briefly pulled under by a shark near Margaret River, Western Australia, this week. Swellnet footage shows him vanish beneath the surface and resurface about 10 seconds later. He escaped without serious injury, though his board has a roughly one‑foot bite‑shaped gap. McDonald ordered a replacement board and said he planned to return to the water the next day.
Windsurfer 'Hit Like a Freight Train' by Shark Near Margaret River — Resurfaces Unhurt
Andy McDonald, 61, was hit and briefly pulled under by a shark near Margaret River, Western Australia, this week. Swellnet footage shows him vanish beneath the surface and resurface about 10 seconds later. He escaped without serious injury, though his board has a roughly one‑foot bite‑shaped gap. McDonald ordered a replacement board and said he planned to return to the water the next day.
12:05 AM, 11/13/2025Society
Australian windsurfer recalls sudden shark strike off Margaret River
Andy McDonald, a 61-year-old windsurfer, had a narrow escape this week when a shark struck him and his equipment off Western Australia’s Margaret River coast. Surf-site cameras operated for swellnet.com captured the startling moment the shark seemingly came from nowhere and knocked McDonald from his board.
"Everything was really nice, and then just out of the blue, bang, something so hard and strong hit me like a freight train," McDonald told ABC. "It just pushed me up into the air and I fell into the, I fell into the water. I knew it was a shark."
The swellnet footage shows McDonald and a couple of other windsurfers gliding through the water when he and his sail abruptly vanish beneath the surface. According to McDonald, the shark appeared to dive under him, pulling him and his gear under for several seconds.
"The shark must've dived because everything went underwater, myself and all my gear and at that point I was like punching it and wrestling with it, pretty much just trying to get away from it, kicking it and just trying to hope that my, none of my limbs were near its mouth, which I had no idea where it was," he told ABC. "I thought I was gone for. I just thought, 'This is it, this is the moment that is the end of my life.'"
Roughly 10 seconds after being pulled under, McDonald resurfaced amid splashing. When he later sat behind his board he pointed out a distinctive bite-shaped gap in the board’s side roughly one foot wide. Reports indicate he was fortunate to escape without serious injury.
Asked whether the encounter would keep him out of the water, McDonald told reporters he had already ordered a replacement board and planned to be back out the next day. "I ordered a new board this afternoon," he said. "I'll go back in the water. I'll go back out tomorrow."
Context
Footage of close shark encounters like this often sparks public interest and discussions about marine safety. Local authorities and surf communities typically monitor such incidents, but no further public reports of additional injuries or attacks in the area were released alongside McDonald's account.