Angler's Amazing Escape From Great White

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The great white's favourite food is seal that it sometimes gets confused with humans

South African Werner Coetzee, 35, was fishing with friends when his boat was struck from underneath.

The incident happened shortly after dawn, 2km (1.2 miles) off Noordhoek in Port Elizabeth.

"I never saw him until it happened. I have a Pinnacle kayak which takes a big punch, but he knocked me and the front of the kayak about 2.5m (6ft) minimum out of the water," Mr Coetzee told the Herald Online.

"My kayak and all my tackle weigh 38kg (83lbs) and I weigh 102kg (16st) - so you can imagine.

"There was a deep-sea ski-boat about 200m (218 yards) away from me and afterwards they told me they heard the sound when the shark hit and it was like a gunshot, but more bulky.

"I landed in the water and the kayak landed next to me, upside down. That was when I saw it was a shark. It was about 4m (13ft) long. He was just a few feet away from me, biting into the front of the kayak.

"We eyeballed each other and I saw him change his attention from the kayak to me. Then I started pulling myself onto the hull.

There has been a rise in the number of shark attacks but it is still low

"I lay there for about a minute, although it seemed like much longer, waiting for the next hit. But it never came," he said.

Mr Coetzee's three friends were quick to respond along with the ski-boat skipper who helped pull him from the water.

The number of attacks reflect the growing number of water users but it is still very low, Shark Trust director of conservation Ali Hood told Sky News Online.

"There is absolutely no doubt shark attacks, both fatal and non fatal, are hugely terrifying and tragic incidents, although the number of attacks will reflect the ever-growing number of water users in relative terms to likelihood of shark attacks. However, attacks remain extremely low.

"The risk is lessened further by an improved understanding of shark behaviour and movement with early warning and shark monitoring programmes offering more effective protection and the ability to minimise human shark interaction."