Everyone is talking about Australian Pro-surfer Mick Fanning and his shark encounter. Now today a recreational scallop diver has been killed by what is understood to be a great white shark, off Tasmania’s east coast. Horrific for his daughter who was with him.

Years ago, when my youngest son Lee was a teenager, we were staying at Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast.

It was early morning and my husband and I sat in our car watching our son surf.

Suddenly my husband and I both saw a shark about forty metres from our son.

Lee was sitting on his board at the line up waiting for a wave.

My husband and I jumped out of the car and started running down the beach, shouting SHARK! I will never forget the feeling of fear. My knees were like jelly and I could hardly run. My heart was pounding so loud and so fast I could feel it in my chest.

As a mother I will never forget the fear, panic and helplessness I felt on that morning. Just writing about it makes me feel shaky.

Now I will tell the story of what happened next in my son Lee’s words.

“I was looking out the back from where the waves would come when all of a sudden I saw a huge dorsal fin forty metres away. The shark was coming my way. From the size of the dorsal fin I estimated it would be at least fifteen feet long.

There was another surfer near me. We both saw the shark at the same time. He look stunned and scared and I probably looked the same.

We looked at each other.

“Did you see that mate?” I asked.

“Yeah, Yeah what will we do?” he replied

“Turn around slowly, pull your legs up and lay on the board and next wave we  will paddle in,” I told him.

We pulled our legs up and laid on our boards and turned them towards the shore. It felt like ages before a wave came but it was probably only seconds.

With the aid of the wave we were soon safely on shore.

My parents who were waiting with white anxious faces told me that there were more sharks about 100 metres out.

I looked out to sea and counted another eight dorsal fins.