Two Australian Fishermen Got Up Close and Personal with a Great White Shark

**kellyhound** · #1 ● 01-20-2013, 11:39 AM

Two Australian fishermen got up close and personal with a great white shark, and the pair said it was a heart-stopping experience.

"Oh, my God," said the men in the video. "Yeah, that was close. Can we start the engine and just have that running?"

A 12 feet Great White nudged a small fishing boat near Wye River on Victoria's south west coast.

"All of a sudden, from the shadows comes this big head, and I just freeze," said fisherman Alan Falzon.

"'Jaws' was recently on TV, and you think of the last scene there where he jumps on the boat," said fisherman James Prascevic.

They were fishing for much smaller sharks, about 3 kilometers off shore, when they lured more than they expected.

"He rubbed his side along the boat and put his nose on the engine," said Prascevic.

The men were nervous, to say the least, but also mesmerized by the ocean predator and couldn't tear themselves away -- staying at sea for 40 nail-biting minutes as the shark circled.

"The adrenaline was kicking in, and you don't think sensibly when you have a great white shark swimming around your boat," said Falzon.

But this moment was too close for comfort.

"All right, let's go," said the men in the video, returning to shore with a remarkable tale.

"I wouldn't say it's a common thing -- even for the scientists looking for them. They're animals really hard to find, so it was quite an exciting opportunity to see one," said Paul Hamilton with the Melbourne Aquarium.