"I am OK Dad"

The shark, believed to be a large great white, bit Smithers across the top of his legs, and he suffered a deep laceration to the back of his left thigh. Witnesses say that he was assisted to shore by Stand Up paddleboarders. One person who assisted in getting him to shore, Brendan 'Jock' Kannermeyer, ripped off a leg rope and used it as a tournique to stem the bleeding while paddling him to shore.

Greg Bertish, founder of the Shark Spotters, told Cape Talk radio that the shark was spotted moments before the attack, and the alarm protocol had swung into action when the incident occurred, but that the alarm only went off after he was brought ashore.

A black flag for poor visibility was in place.

Dave Jones of the Empire Cafe, who runs the @Muizenberg Twitter account, tweeted: "Luckiest boy alive. Gets munched by a proper big shark and gets to phone his dad and say he's OK. Hope for a speedy recovery!"

Gregg Oelofse of the City of Cape Town said the surfer had bad lacerations on his leg, but had phoned his dad in Durban to say he was okay.

Graeme Lipschitz aka @Wallfish said "Sheesh, it's been years since a shark attack @Muizenberg. Not getting in for poor visibility for a while."

The attack took place in murkyish but very good surfing conditions, with a solid 4' SSW groundswell filling in the bay, and brushed by light offshores.

The City of Cape Town announced that Muizenberg beach was closed until further notice.

According to the Shark Spotters, the bite took place in front of the Muizenberg pavilion at 2pm and that the young man was in a stable condition.