A South Australian diver has recounted a terrifying 15-minute ordeal spent on the ocean floor, “eye-to-eye” with a great white shark that circled within arm’s reach.
Sam Chapman and his diving companion, Alex, were diving for crayfish 11 kilometers off Cape Jaffa when they encountered the three-meter-long predator, so close that Chapman could have touched it.
“I saw this big black eye, and it slowed down as it passed us. I could have kicked out and grabbed its pectoral fin if I wanted to,” Chapman recalled.
Despite the danger, they stayed calm, clinging low to the reef and maintaining eye contact with the shark.
After an intense 15-minute standoff, Chapman led Alex to safety, both holding onto each other’s shoulders and armed with only a knife.
“You’re in their backyard, and you have no control over what they do… It was pretty intimidating,” Chapman admitted.
Remarkably, the pair emerged unharmed from the encounter and immediately alerted Shark Watch SA to warn others.
While they regret not capturing the moment on camera, Chapman remains undeterred and plans to resume diving, though closer to metropolitan beaches.
This incident follows a similar encounter in December when Chapman and other divers came face-to-face with a juvenile shark in the same area.
