KEY POINTS:
Omaha Beach has reopened after a shark attacked a boat carrying two surf livesavers yesterday.
Omaha Surf Lifesaving Club said livesavers would be keeping a "sharp lookout" for sharks today but were not expecting any issues following the attack.
Lifesavers Lauren Johnson, 19, and Kris O'Neill, 26, were
checking reports of sharks near the beach, north of Auckland, about 2pm yesterday, when their 3.8m inflatable rescue boat was attacked by a four-metre bronze whaler.
As the pair chased the shark out to sea, it rounded on them, repeatedly ramming their boat from beneath.
It then sank its teeth into one of the boat's rubber pontoons, which immediately began to deflate.
"It disappeared under us and after that Kris felt the motor jump. The shark had gone between the motor and pontoon and took a chunk of it," Ms Johnson said.
"It kept on going from the bottom, headbutting us."
The animal was thrashing its tail and circling the boat, popping up between the engine and pontoon and snapping its jaws.
"I thought I was going to die - I thought my number was up," Ms Johnson told the Herald on Omaha Beach last night.
She had to try to stay in the centre of the boat, as the shark's attack threatened to flip the craft.
Mr O'Neill was still in shock yesterday as he told of his encounter with the "big and toothy" predator.
"It was just below the surface. You could see a dark shadow under the water.
"Normally we chase them and they go straight away and you don't see them again. ... but then it started smashing its head underneath the boat," he said.
"It stuck its head up between the outboard and the pontoon and started thrashing around and trying to bite everything in there. Its head was right out of the water."
The inflatable rescue boat has four separate air compartments, so puncturing one will not sink it.
Mr O'Neill said he was stunned as the shark kept attacking.
"I yelled at Lauren to get in the bottom of the boat, but I didn't need to because she felt the pontoon go flat underneath her. So she sat in the middle of the boat and we drove back."
He said they "didn't really panic". "There was a few swear words going back and forth but that was about it."
Mr O'Neill said he had no idea why the shark was so aggressive.
"I wasn't really worried about being eaten, but I didn't want it to sink its teeth into my arm or something."
There were a lot of mullet close to shore at the beach of late, and it was possible the shark had been feeding.
Mr O'Neill said he had been put off the water for the rest of his shift, but was not deterred from lifeguarding long term.
Surf Life Saving northern region manager Dean Storey yesterday urged people not to let the incident put them off going back into the water as the risk of shark attack was minimal.
"The risk of drowning is far greater than a shark attack. The public are always advised to swim at lifeguard-patrolled beaches and swim between the flags."