Greg Wilfert has been a lifeguard at Scarborough Beach State Park in Maine for 55 years. He has seen everything.
On Saturday August 8 around 1 PM, he was swimming patrol near the buoys with other lifeguards when a great white shark grabbed his rescue torpedo and dragged him six feet below the surface.
"I thought I got caught in a boat propeller and it pulled me under, and I realized when I was going under there was no boat," Wilfert told CBS Boston. "And I knew what it was. I knew it was a great white." He slipped free from the strap on his rescue device and swam for the surface as fast as he has ever moved. "I could've beaten Michael Phelps," he said.
He surfaced uninjured, got back to the beach, screamed at everyone to get out of the water and closed the beach for about an hour. Drone and jet ski surveillance is now constant. Wilfert was back at work Sunday.
The encounter came days after more than eight great white sharks were filmed on video near Scarborough beaches in a 48-hour window, biologists now believe more than a dozen juveniles between six and twelve feet are lingering in the area.
Wilfert's message to beachgoers: "You still can have fun at the beach. But play it safe."