James McCarthy-Price would happily never meet another shark.
But less than 24 hours after bobbing in the ocean, being circled by a predator that had just chomped through his windsurf sail, the Esperance resident said there were some silver linings to the ordeal.
"To have an interaction with a shark, an apex predator of the sea, and to walk away unscathed, of course I'm going to be stoked," he said.
"As scary as it was, it was still quite a unique experience.
"It's not every day you see a shark on the end of your sail."
The long-time windsurfer and local distillery owner spent Tuesday afternoon on waves off Fourth Beach, a 10-minute drive west of the Western Australia coastal town, and came off his board while doing a trick.
In the split second he was underwater, the face of many people's worst nightmares emerged in front of him.
"It was just this snout and these big eyes, nibbling on the end of my sail," he said.
He got back on his board and started slapping the water to try and scare it away.
But the shark lingered.
Mr McCarthy-Price said it circled for a good five minutes, coming close enough to touch.
"Everyone had told me about punching a shark and how good that is," Mr McCarthy-Price joked.
"But there wasn't any punching this shark.
"It was munching and tearing and shaking it's head and carrying on."
As the shark continued to do its laps he said he was flat-out concentrating on how to survive.
"[I was thinking] don't fall in," he said.
"Where's the shark?
"Is my foot in the water?"
After a while, he drifted down the beach towards a group of kite surfers who advised him to paddle in.
But he thought that would be too risky and stayed put.
Eventually, a set of waves pushed him towards shore and, losing sight of the shark, took his chance on the mauled windsurfer.
"I only had half a sail at that point so I was a bit worried I wouldn't be able to sail in," he said.
"But I managed to get away with all my fingers and toes, so I was pretty happy."
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development was notified and the beach was closed, reopening it the next day.
'You're sharing it with other things'
Speaking to the ABC yesterday afternoon, Mr McCarthy-Price wanted to acknowledge that other people had not been so lucky in Esperance, with three people killed in the region by sharks since 2017.
"I was able to go back to my family," he said.
"And for some locals in town, they haven't had such a positive experience and haven't been able to go back to their family. So definitely, I want to show some respect for them."
He also said the experience would not stop him from doing what he loved.
"I've got my gear [ready to go] in the car," he said.
"Realistically, [shark attacks are] such a rare occurrence.
"It's just part of the game you play really. When you're out in the ocean, you're sharing it with other things."