Chandler Moore is a pretty accomplished surfer for a kid. Even the most seasoned and experienced surfer couldn't possibly be ready for what happened to the young boy, however. In July 2020, Chandler was enjoying great weather and even better waves at New Smyrna Beach with his dad, Shaun, a former professional wakeboarder. Suddenly, the child, who was 7-years-old at the time was knocked off his surfboard.
Chandler and Shaun initially thought it was a fish that knocked him off the board. They went about their day, completely unaware of what they'd just encountered. When they looked at GoPro footage of the incident, they were shocked by what they saw. It wasn't a fish but a blacktip shark that knocked the young boy off the surfboard. Shaun and Chandler weren't even the ones to discover it. Their Instagram followers clued them in after they shared the footage. It was the family's first encounter with a shark despite the prevalence of sharks in their area of Florida.
Chandler Moore is a 7-year-old surfer. He's pretty good, but he's also still learning the ropes from his dad, former professional wakeboarder Shaun Moore. The two regularly get time in at New Smyrna Beach in Florida.
Over Thanksgiving weekend, Shaun and Chandler hit the waves. They were enjoying the beautiful weather and surf when Chandler got knocked off his surfboard. It was only about 15 minutes into their run.
"Chandler caught a wave — I typically push him into the wave and then I stand in the water [while] he paddles back to me — so I noticed on that wave that he fell off the side of the board kinda awkwardly," Shaun explained to People. He was surprised at Chandler's reaction. "And I said, ‘Hey what happened?'"
"He’s like, ‘I saw some fish and something bumped me and knocked me off the board,'" Shaun said, recalling Chandler's explanation. "But we kept surfing. We didn’t think anything of it, and we stayed out for another 15 minutes or so."
Shaun had mounted a GoPro camera on the surfboard. It's something that he and Chandler do for fun and to see how he's progressing. So when the father-son duo got back on dry land, Shaun uploaded the footage to his phone.
He shared the footage on his Instagram stories. He couldn't see it in great detail because of the glare from the sun, and he didn't give it a second thought. At the time, he notice the detail that his followers were able to see.
"A couple of people thought they saw something kinda funny in the video, so we slowed the video down and paused it and were like, 'Oh my gosh, there’s a shark!'" Shaun said. Shaun and Chandler were pretty shocked at the discovery. "At that point, we were already done surfing for the night and were like, 'Oh my gosh, we dodged a bullet there.'"
The footage is quite surprising because until it's slowed down, it's hard to tell what knocks Chandler off the board. "We felt really lucky that Chandler didn’t end up having to get stitches or anything like that," Shaun acknowledged. "It was a first for both of us."
"I was thinking that it was just a fish that hit me. … I was so surprised [that it was a shark]," Chandler said of the experience. It won't scare him away from surfing, however. "No, because it already happened, and we weren’t going in the water again."
Shaun says that sharks aren't uncommon at New Smyrna Beach. It's sometimes referred to as the "Shark Attack Capital of the World." National Geographic estimates that roughly 1 out of 25 shark attacks worldwide occur there.
"We already kinda knew the dangers that existed," Shaun explained. "Statistically, it’s pretty bad but there were hundreds of people in the water that day. I don’t think anyone else had this kind of encounter. Of course, you always want to stay safe. We always heed the warnings of Volusia County lifeguards and Beach Patrol."
Shaun also agrees that the experience doesn't make him or Chandler want to surf there any less. "I think he’s got some of my genes," Shaun joked. "I have a little bit of that daredevil blood in me and I think he gets that from me also."
It turns out that surfing isn't the only adrenaline rush that young Chandler enjoys. "He’s always dragging me on roller coasters," Shaun explained proudly, adding, "He’s our little extreme sports addict."
"He’s not scared, it’s not gonna keep him from surfing. He wants to get back out there," Shaun noted. We're not sure what mom has to say about the matter. Shaun's advice for anyone who is scared? "I would just say look out and be careful. And good luck!"
