This is the terrifying moment a kayaker was attacked by a great white shark in California - and the man miraculously lived to tell the tale. 

Brian Correiar, a certified diver, was paddling in his 14-foot kayak through Monterey Bay in March when the shark attacked and knocked him into the water.

A bystander who was standing on the shoreline started filming the ordeal as soon as Correriar was launched from his kayak. The witness can be heard in the footage asking his wife to call 911.

The footage shows the shark attacking the red kayak just several feet from where Correiar was desperately trying to swim away.

Scroll down for video 

Brian Correiar (in yellow above) was paddling in his 14-foot kayak through Monterey Bay in California in March when a great white shark attacked him and knocked him into the water

Brian Correiar (in yellow above) was paddling in his 14-foot kayak through Monterey Bay in California in March when a great white shark attacked him and knocked him into the water

But within seconds, the shark was thrashing around dangerously close to where Corriear was bobbing helplessly in the water.  

Correriar told National Geographic he remembered hearing a bang before the kayak was launched into the air and he fell halfway out. 

He said he could see the shark's head above the water with its jaws latched onto the end of his kayak. 

Correriar initially froze but then quickly got out of the kayak and tried swimming to shore, while keeping an eye on the great white.  

The footage shot by a man on the shore shows the shark attacking the red kayak just several feet from where Correiar was desperately trying to swim away

The footage shot by a man on the shore shows the shark attacking the red kayak just several feet from where Correiar was desperately trying to swim away

The shark thrashed around dangerously close to where Correiar was bobbing helplessly in the water

The shark thrashed around dangerously close to where Correiar was bobbing helplessly in the water

This is the moment Correiar said the shark inched closer to him before dropping the kayak and diving straight down below him where he couldn't see it

This is the moment Correiar said the shark inched closer to him before dropping the kayak and diving straight down below him where he couldn't see it

He said he had tried to call the Coast Guard for help using his emergency GPS but they had trouble hearing him.

'At this point I was really nervous, I was sure I was done,' he said.

'It was like a horror movie. The shark came toward me, dropped the kayak, then dove straight down below me where I couldn't see it.'

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Share

Correiar said he spotted a sailboat nearby and frantically waved it down - all while trying to remain calm given the shark was lurking somewhere underneath him.

The terrifying footage captured by the bystander showed the family in the sailboat pulling an exhausted Correiar aboard to safety.  

He was eventually rescued by a family in a sailing boat who spotted him calling for help

He was eventually rescued by a family in a sailing boat who spotted him calling for help

 

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWKBdoCWcWtrZ3ensqLAjJCfoqyVYq61wMCcoqxlm5bGorfEq2R8mZyes7C%2BzaKYZ6Ckork%3D