A man surfing south of Newport is alive after surviving an alleged shark attack Thursday.
Bobby Gumm of Newport was surfing with three friends about 200 yards off the coast at South Beach State Park when witnesses say was suddenly thrown approximately 10-feet into the air.
Ronald and Carol Clifford of Waldport were with Gumm when the attack occurred.
"He said he just got done surfing. He said he went up to sit down. He felt a bump on his leg, and noticed it was a shark. And that's when he called for help," Ronald Clifford said.
Clifford, a local surfing instructor, says he saw a 2-foot fin come out of the water.
“I wanted to go help him, but it was a frenzy, so I just decided (sic) we just paddled in,” Clifford said.
Clifford says that as the group frantically paddled, they turned, and saw that Gumm was coming in to shore as well. When they all arrived back on the beach, Gumm, visibly shaken, showed them a 23-inch chunk the shark had taken out of the surfboard.
Clifford, originally from Huntington Beach, California, says he has been surfing at South Beach for six years.
“It is known for sharks… We’re out in their ocean. Usually (we) don’t bother them, they don’t bother us. But today, we all felt something out there,” Clifford said.
