Nimble Kelly Slater Once Sighted a Great White Shark Just Through ‘Happenstance’

A record 11-time World Surf League Champion, Kelly Slater, once came close to a tête-à-tête with a Great White at Lowers in 2017. Did the ocean monster threaten him? Did he paddle back to the shore at the sight of the creature?

Slater shook hands with waves at a young age. He endearingly chased the waves and won championships as early as a 10-year-old. That indeed gives a hint as to how he responded when he caught sight of the powerful white shark. It’s important to highlight that the jolting event took place at dark.

Slater’s encounter with an 8-foot shark

In 2017, Slater was warming up for the yearly event J-Bay Open held in South Africa. Notably, Slater has a record of winning the highest number of times in the championships.

“Right on dark I went out and caught one wave,” he told. “As I was paddling back out, I just happened to be looking where it jumped and saw the whole breach.” The surfer took to Instagram to share the incident in his story.

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In his words, the eight-foot mighty shark appeared at a distance of about 50 yards from him. Furthermore, he shared that out of six people out there; he guessed four people saw it jump. What happened then? Unabated by the seemingly threatening incident, he continued his warm-up and caught a couple more waves.

Slater called for serious action on the rising population of sharks

A few months before the surfer’s encounter with the shark, Slater called for the culling of sharks on Reunion Island, France. The death of a young surfer enticed this reaction. Moreover, the number of attacks total 20 since 2011.

The alarming rise of attacks and a potential threat to youngsters pursuing their passion concerned Slater. Furthermore, he clarified that he was an environmentalist and asked for a constructive debate on this.

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Kelly Slater pointed out a sensitive issue of man-animal conflict. What do you think about his stand? Share your thoughts below.