The ocean’s surface exploded without warning, throwing Tommy Civik into the air like a ragdoll. One moment he was carving a turn on his surfboard, the next he was experiencing a force akin to a head-on collision – a brutal impact that instantly shattered his board.
Civik, surfing off the coast of Mendocino County, California, felt a jarring, explosive force. He didn’t see the shark, only the aftermath: splintered fiberglass and the terrifying realization he’d been launched from the water. His friend, watching from the beach, initially believed the thrashing he witnessed was a shark attacking a seal.
Marco Guerrero’s confusion quickly turned to horror as he recognized the figure in the water was Tommy. He’d just seen his friend propelled skyward by an unseen predator. The ocean, moments before a source of exhilaration, had become a scene of sudden, violent chaos.
The shark, described as “big” by responding emergency personnel, didn’t immediately disappear. Witnesses reported it latched onto the broken surfboard, violently thrashing the remnants before vanishing beneath the waves. Civik, fueled by adrenaline, instinctively focused on escape.
He plunged his head into the water and swam with desperate speed, not knowing the shark’s location, only driven by the primal urge to distance himself from the unseen danger. The entire encounter unfolded in a blur, a terrifying sequence of events he was still struggling to piece together.
Remarkably, Civik escaped with relatively minor injuries – a graze from the shark’s teeth. His surfboard had absorbed the brunt of the attack, a crucial shield against a potentially fatal encounter. He drove himself to the hospital, incredibly, still able to walk.
Wildlife officials are analyzing DNA from Civik’s wound to determine the species of shark involved. The attack marks the first reported shark incident in California this year, occurring less than a month after a fatal shark attack in Santa Cruz County.
Despite the recent incidents, experts emphasize that shark attacks remain rare. While 2025 saw a record number of encounters, actual injuries are still infrequent, significantly lower than historical peaks like 1974. Civik, acknowledging his luck, simply stated he was “unbelievably lucky” to have survived.
