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PORT FAIRY, Australia — When you’re out at sea and a great white begins circling your boat and biting your prop, it’s a good idea to deter the shark. And to film the action.
A new video from Australia shows angler Dan Hoey use a broom to keep a curious shark from destroying his boat’s motor. And according to a report from news.com.au, Hoey was mostly successful.
"The shark nearly took a chunk out of my Yamaha motors, leaving a few small dents and scratches," he said.
The incident occurred while Hoey and his brother were fishing for other species of sharks with a client near Port Fairy. A great white, estimated to be more than 16-feet long, aggressively approached the boat.
"I’ve seen sharks in the past and they’ve been quite standoffish, but this one was very fired up," Hoey said.
The massive shark seemed intent on biting the prop, which obviously worried the anglers. Hoey reached for the aforementioned broom and began playing defense against the great white.
The standoff lasted about 20 minutes. Hoey kept a level head during the experience, telling news.com.au that he was "in absolute awe" of the shark.
When Hoey returned to shore and showed the video to his wife, who co-owns Salty Dog Charters with him, she wasn’t too alarmed initially. As time passed, however, the magnitude of the encounter sunk in.
"When Dan came home and showed me the vision, I didn’t think too much of it because we are used to seeing sharks," Rachael Hoey said. "But after watching the video a couple of times, it’s only just hit me how full-on it was."