An unnamed 50-year-old surfer has survived a shark attack involving an 8 to 10 foot juvenile great white shark.
The attack took place Sunday at Montaña de Oro State Park, reports the San Luis Obispo Tribune, where State Park Ranger Supervisor Robert Colligan said the man was surfing around 11 a.m.
Shortly thereafter, the shark came up from the depths and bit the surfer, dragging him underwater and biting his surfboard and his right hip and thigh.
“I was about 10 feet from him, and it was absolutely quiet," said fellow surfer Andrew Walsh, who actually (no joke) described the event as "radical." The bitten surfer emerged moments later, crying "shark attack" and paddling for shore.
Once he beached himself, the man used his leash cord as a tourniquet for his bitten leg. Two doctors who were walking along the beach came to his aid, and he was transported to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo.
As the AP reports, the shark was a juvenile, and authorities are posting temporary signs warning of this attack. The last shark attack nearby happened in 2003 when a woman swimming with seals was killed about 10 miles south of this beach.
The beach remains open and the surfer's condition has been updated from "fair" to good."