Surfer stalked by great white shark on SoCal beach relives terrifying encounter

The surfer who had a frightening run-in with a great white shark at Newport Beach said she didn’t realize it was the feared predator circling her surfboard until it was too late.

“Went to this beach my whole life with my friends,” Vivian Phongngo told KTLA. “I’ve never seen anything bigger than a stingray.”

She at first thought the beast was “a really nice fish” before believing it was actually a dolphin.

“And then like after three seconds, I was like no, that’s a shark,” she told the outlet.

When its fin emerged from the water near her arm, she began yelling “shark” as the approximately 8-foot- juvenile great white came too close for comfort.

Phongngo was about 20 to 30 feet away from shore at the time and scrambled to the beach to report the sighting to lifeguards — who didn’t believe her at first, she said.

Officials ultimately took the encounter seriously, evacuating the water one mile east and west of the shark’s last known location. Newport Beach remained closed for about four hours as authorities investigated.

“We deemed that it was a credible shark sighting,” Newport Beach Lifeguards Captain Gavin Wright told KTLA.

The shark was never found, despite surveillance in the water and air.

Phongngo later joked about the sighting in an Instagram post, saying the shark was simply “surfing” with her.

“Also.. the shark sighting was not a publicity stunt , nor did I pay the shark to come, I was just surfing at my fav spot and well… the shark was also surfing w me,” she wrote.

The experience taught Phongngo to respect mother nature.

“I just kind of looked out in the ocean and I was like, yeah, I got to respect, respect Mother Nature,” she told KTLA.

The Newport Beach Fire Department advised Thursday that shark sightings are rare and the animals are usually transiting through the area.

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