Prods keep great white at bay

Dave Richards and Nathan Podmore had set out last week to go spearfishing and anchored their boat about a half kilometere off Geraldton’s Drummond Point, in about 11m of water.

Podmore wore a headcam with the intention of obtaining footage of their hunting foray. However, soon after entering the water and while still at the surface, they realised that they were the ones being eyed up.

"Nathan was on the top of the water getting ready to go down and I felt something moving behind me," Podmore told The West Australian. "I turned around and all I saw was the back section of the shark.

“Mate, it was a metre away. My heart sank and I just tried to get Nathan's attention."

Instinctively the men moved closer together and started swimming back toward their boat, which lay about 50m away. They finned purposefully, avoiding any sudden, splashing movements.

However, the shark continued to circle, sometimes moving very close to the pair. Both took the decision not to shoot at it, as their spears might simply have bounced off the creature or annoyed it.

Instead, on a few occasions when the shark passed particularly close by, at one time after swimming directly toward the men, judicious prods with a spear were enough to dissuade further approaches for long enough to allow the men to regain their boat.

Podmore explained how, once at the boat, he did not raise his head from the water "until I knew I had three or four seconds” to clamber aboard.

To see footage of the encounter captured by Podmore's headcam, click here.