An Israeli Wind-Surfer described his experience of being surrounded by sharks off the coast of Atlit. PHOTO: The Telegraph

A wind-surfer from Haifa found himself surrounded by sharks while he was surfing off the coast of Atlit in northern Israel on Sunday.

Speaking to Israel’s Channel 2 News, Costa Salmin recounted how he found himself near the large predatory fish, yet maintained his calm throughout the entire experience. He said, “I was surfing in the reef, and because it is close to the rocks, I kept focused on the ground so I would not crash into them.”

“Suddenly,” said Salmin, “I saw what looked like the outline of a shark.”

According to Salmin, even after he realized that he was surrounded by sharks, he was not afraid at all, being as they were not a dangerous breed. “I think they were Reed sharks, and they’re not dangerous,” the surfer said. He added that, “every time I got close to them, they ran away.”

“I turned around and  went over them one more time and I saw that there were at least 3-4 sharks,” Salmin said. “I have a fixed camera on board,” he said, and when he got close enough, “I pulled it out and tried to take pictures of them up close.”

“It’s very unusual to see sharks in Atlit, but almost every year we hear of fishermen in the area spotting sharks,” he said.

Watch a video of the harrowing experience below:

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