Wilson broke down in tears after the incident but on Tuesday also told how Fanning swore at the shark as he fought back and “gave it a bit of what for”.
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Australian surfer Mick Fanning says he has gone back into the ocean for the first time since he survived a shark attack during a surfing competition. Fanning was attacked by a shark on Sunday during the JBay Open but escaped without injuries. “And it was frightening, it was spooky but that fear and that spookiness was part of the attraction for sure”.
“To walk away from a shark attack with not a scratch on you – it is a miracle really”. “I thought: ‘I have a board, a weapon, and if I just get there I can just stab it.'”.
The next World Surf League event is in Tahiti in August, but it’s not known yet if he’ll compete.
On his return to Australia on Tuesday, Fanning admitted he was dealing with “an emotional mental sort of trauma” that he said would probably take weeks, if not months, to get over.
“Surfing has given myself and my family so much”.
“I’m just so grateful Mick is OK, and I know Sean was looking after him”. “I went straight into panic mode”.
“I was getting dragged under my leg wrap, and then I felt like it kicked me off, but it was still there, and I was still attached to my board”.
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Fanning used social media to pay tribute to Wilson, who paddled towards him in actions that have earned an Australian state government nomination for a bravery award. Luckily, Fanning broke free and began swimming ashore as jet skis and a boat came to rescue him. “I was just trying to manoeuvre my way around it”, The Courier Mail quoted the world champion as saying.
