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CAPE Town surfer Paul Buckley, who survived a shark attack at Jongensfontein near Still Bay, told yesterday how he grabbed the shark by its tail to stop it biting him.

Buckley, who had to have about 150 stitches to his left thigh, yesterday met the 16-year-old boy who helped save him.

He was discharged from hospital in Mossel Bay on Wednesday night and returned to Jongensfontein to meet Pieter “Boeta” de Witt, who witnessed the attack from his parents‘ patio.

Both keen surfers, the two immediately set about examining the bite marks in Buckley‘s board.

Buckley, still limping, said he and his friends had been riding the waves in a well-known surfing spot for about three hours on Tuesday morning.

“My friends and I were sitting on our surfboards when I suddenly had a strange feeling. I could hear something and I literally felt a very strong negative, aggressive presence. I just knew in my gut that it was a shark,” Buckley said.

After that, the attack happened in a matter of seconds. The shark bumped him and he saw the creature face to face as it bit him and he fell off his board.

Buckley said adrenalin and instinct took over and he grabbed the shark by its tail. “I thought if I held it by the tail, its mouth could not reach me again.”

The shark broke loose of his grip and disappeared under the water. Buckley then grabbed hold of his damaged board and paddled to the shore, where De Witt and his sister Wilmarie came to his rescue and took him to a local doctor.

De Witt saw Buckley thrashing about in the water and ran down to the beach while his sister brought the car around. As Buckley reached the shore, he said, the surfer called for help. It was clear from the injury to his leg that something had attacked him.

Although the bite marks on the board still have to be examined by experts to determine what type of shark attacked Buckley, he said it was a 3m great white.

He said there was a lot of wildlife in the water on Tuesday morning, including whales, dolphins, a seal and seabirds. He was not sure why the shark attacked him, but said it was only by God‘s grace that he was not fatally injured.

“The first thing I said when I was attacked was ‘No, please God not like this‘.”

He said he would not allow the attack to deter him from his love of surfing and was keen to get back in the water. “The surf is good today,” he said as he looked out over the ocean.

De Witt, a shy boy, shook hands with Buckley, who thanked him for his help. He will receive a bravery commendation from the Hessequa council next week.