John Craig’s story is probably going to be made into a Hollywood blockbuster.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the spearfisherman and former scuba diving instructor was fishing of the coast of Western Australia when several unfortunate incidents occurred.
First his speargun got stuck under some rocks, while at the same time the boat on the surface with his buddy on board suffered an engine failure and started to drift away in the current. Realising that he could not catch the boat, he was left alone 7.5km/4.6 miles from shore.
Deciding his only option was to head to shore, he began his epic swim. Soon he realised he was being stalked by a 4m/13ft tiger shark. According to Craig:
“I put my head in the water to check I was in the same place and suddenly saw a huge four-metre tiger shark approaching within arm’s reach.”
He added:
“Its head was nearly a metre wide, it was about three times the girth of me and it was just like a submarine, just circling.”
Keeping his speargun between himself and the shark as he swam, Craig had to endure terrifying moments as the shark kept circling him and making darting, close-in runs.
After a while, though, the shark lost interest and disappeared, leaving Craig to complete his epic three-hour open-water swim.
Eventually Craig was rescued by a massive air and sea search operation. A pilot spotted him on a beach, where he was found to be OK but utterly exhausted.
