Noah Wallis encounters a shark in the lineup. Photo: Surfing With Noz // YouTube
Noah Wallis recently had an experience that most surfers dread, and he live-vlogged the whole thing. In a recent video posted to his YouTube channel, Surfing with Noz, Wallis initially set out to take advantage of some clean, shoulder-high barrels in a totally empty lineup. Then, when he returned to the beach to consult with his drone pilot, he found out that he had actually been sharing the lineup with a shark the entire time.
However, Wallis’ reaction was quite the opposite to the average surfer’s. Rather than stay land-bound until the coast was clear, Noz decided to immediately return to the waves.
He and the filmer believed the shark to be a relatively harmless species, but Wallis was still understandably nervous about the situation. “I’m not gonna lie. I’m pretty paranoid and freaked out right now,” he said, shortly after making it back out. “I don’t know if this is the best idea, but he reckoned it was a grey nurse, so… hopefully it’s not the other grey shark.” The ‘other grey shark’ in question most likely referred to a bull shark, which would be quite possibly the worst thing to encounter out in a totally empty lineup.
Still, Noz remained undeterred. He did also have the small comfort of his drone pilot acting as a shark spotter. The two established a signal, in which the cameraman would wave to him if the shark approached. However, it was unclear what Wallis actually planned to do if he got that signal, as there would be basically no way to escape if the shark did turn out to be dangerous.
In the end, while the shark was revealed to be unsettlingly close during parts of the second session, Wallis emerged unscathed. “That was probably the craziest surfing experience I’ve ever had,” he summed up afterwards. Even still, he immediately started to plan his return to the break, saying, “We’ve come in and there’s spitting barrels up the beach…so I think we’re going to be on for a morning session.”
