'When We Looked Back I Saw It Was Actually A Shark', Said Florida Boy Knocked From Surfboard
NEW SMYRNA BEACH (CBSMiami/CNN) - A seven-year-old from Orlando 7-year-old has quite a story to tell after he was knocked off his board by a shark while surfing - and he has the video to prove it.
Chandler Moore and his family went to New Smyrna Beach on Saturday for some post-Thanksgiving fun. His dad, Shaun Moore, said it was a "picture perfect" day for surfing.
"It was almost 80 degrees, sunny and the waves were good," Shaun Moore, 40, said. "The beach was crowded and there were a ton of surfers out."
The father and son went into the water with their boards.
They spotted a wave to ride. Moore said he gave Chandler a push on the board. As Chandler stood and steadied himself on the board, he was knocked down by something.
"I was just surfing and then I saw two fish," Chandler said. "I thought the thing that hit me was a fish."
They replayed the footage caught by the GoPro camera attached to Chandler's surfboard.
"When we looked back I saw it was actually a shark," Chandler said. "I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' "
A screengrab from the video shows what appears to be a small blacktip shark, Shaun Moore said.
Blacktip sharks are very common in New Smyrna Beach, so common that experts call the area the shark attack capital of the world. The International Shark Attack File estimates that anyone who has been swimming there has been within 10 feet of a shark.
Chandler wasn't injured or bitten during his shark encounter. He showed off the video to classmates in his second-grade class.
"They were all talking to me like, 'Oh, my gosh, is that's a real shark?'" Chandler said. "They had a million questions."
When asked if he'd go surfing again soon, Chandler said, "Totally."
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