Kayaker On Close Call With Shark Off Cape Beach: 'I Got Lucky'

ORLEANS (CBS) - Walter Szulc was brave enough to return to Nauset Beach Monday, two days after the scare of a lifetime.

Szulc was paddling a kayak while being followed by a great white shark at the beach on Saturday.

However, he didn't even see the shark until he was tipped off by Dana Richardson, a nearby paddle-boarder.

"The guy on the surfboard, the paddle boarder, he held his paddle up at me and he didn't flinch. I noticed that, and I knew something was up. At that point I'm paying attention to what's really in front of me. So, I turned back and that's when I saw the fin and the body of the shark and it seemed as if the head of it was under me"

Richardson said the scary thing was Szluc didn't even hear him at first.

"That was the scariest part is no matter how hard I yelled, I couldn't get his attention. For about 10 seconds, that shark was just trailing him and he was paddling like he was just having a great vacation. I was freaking out, like if he gets knocked in then I'm going to have to be out there trying to get him away, or whatever was going to happen," said Richardson.

Meanwhile, hundreds of terrified people watched from the shore, including Mike Bissanti and his family.

"He turned around behind him and the fin popped right up right out of the water and he started to paddle faster and faster and then everybody looked and the fin came up again and we went 'Whoa, shark!' So everyone started yelling 'Get out of the water!' and he started paddling as fast as he could," said Bissanti.

No sharks were seen at Nauset Beach on Monday , but state officials tagged one great white shark and spotted several others out by Monomoy Beach, which isn't too far away.

"Our guards are always watching the water keeping their eyes open, binoculars and so forth and any of our staff personal are always on guard and it's just business as usual," said Lee Miller, Nauset Beach Director.

But, beachgoer Karen Foley isn't phased by all these shark sightings.

"We're not too worried about the sharks. I know there's a lot of lifeguards watching the beach and making sightings and letting the swimmers know that everything is okay, but just to kind of stay close to shore," said Foley.

At the end of the day, Szulc is thankful nothing happened to him.

"It was in the shark's hands, in my opinion he was there and what he wanted to do was up to him. I got lucky," said Szluc.