Paddleboarders in the Bahamas had a scary close encounter with a hammerhead shark while they were out in the ocean.
Malea Tribble from Fort Lauderdale in Florida was participating in the Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis, which is an annual charity event to raise awareness for the cystic fibrosis community.
Her husband and relay partner, Ricky, were paddleboarding from Florida to the Bahamas in the race when they spotted the dorsal fin of the shark as it snuck up behind Malea on her board.
They explained on their Instagram that they were "surprised by a curious and friendly visitor while paddling".
They were almost halfway across the Gulf Stream, out of sight of land, when the shark appeared.
The post said: "Ricky was able to calmly give his wife direction on manoeuvring the situation to get safely to the boat without incident."
Malea said she never felt unsafe, but actually felt calm as she didn't have time to allow herself to be scared.
She told local ABC affiliate WPBF that she "saw my husband’s face drop, and I saw him tell the captain to shut off the engine and he then guided me to the boat. As soon as he did that, I knew it was a shark".
She added: "Oddly enough, it actually looked at me. I swear I saw his eye staring right at me."
She continued: "This event is about being 'Bold in the Face of Fear', mother nature made that a reality for me in a way I never imagined. I faced a huge fear of mine and came out stronger than I ever thought I would be, and in reality, it was not as scary as I anticipated."
Founder and Executive Director of The Crossing For CF event, Travis Suit, said he was grateful Malea was not harmed and was "so proud of the calm and disciplined response" they had.
He reminded people that we are visitors when we are in the ocean and it is the shark's home, "so it’s to be expected."
Since 1900 there have been 16 recorded incidents between humans and hammerhead sharks, and of those, there have been zero deaths - according to the International Shark Attack File.
