Shark smashes e-foil board near Bundaberg, Australian rider escapes unharmed

Dave Seymour was hit by a shark while e-foiling off Bundaberg and made it back to the beach unharmed, turning what could have been a far worse collision into a lucky escape. The borrowed carbon board came away with deep tooth marks and punctures, clear evidence that the strike was direct, not a distant sighting.

The contact happened during a session near Moore Park Beach, with video and screenshots from the ride showing the board and foil setup being struck. The Inertia described the animal as a six- to 10-foot shark, while later coverage put the possible size at about three metres. Seymour said on Sunrise that he believed the shark may have mistaken the craft for something else, and news.com.au and 7NEWS both described the rider as being blindsided before he escaped without a scratch.

The Courier-Mail placed Seymour near Claude Dooley Park about 10:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning, riding a mate’s motor-assisted FoilDrive board when the shark came up from below. Nine.com.au said he was testing out a mate’s new hydrofoil board at the time, adding that an expert viewed the animal as potentially a three-metre shark. The board itself told the story after the hit, with the damage visible on the borrowed carbon deck.

The Bundaberg encounter lands as a blunt safety reminder for e-foilers because the sport’s quiet glide can cut the usual warnings riders get from louder craft. A powered foil session can put a rider close to wildlife with little time to react, so launch-spot choice, local conditions and attention to animal activity matter as much as speed or range. After any impact, even one that ends without injury, the foil, board and mounting hardware need a close check for hidden damage before the next run.

Bundaberg already sits inside a wider shark-management picture. Bundaberg Regional Council said in a June 9, 2025 post that two Bundaberg Region beaches had been shortlisted for shark safety upgrades under the Shark Control Program, and Queensland Government material says that program began in 1962 after a spate of fatal shark attacks off Queensland beaches. That history is why a single strike at Moore Park Beach drew immediate attention well beyond one rider’s narrow escape.