Watch: Spinner Shark Knocks Florida Paddleboarder Into Water

JUPITER, FL — A Florida man out enjoying sun and surf Thursday afternoon got a little more than he bargained for when a spinner shark shot out of the water, hit his board and knocked him off.

The close encounter took place offshore of Jupiter Beach during Trinidad’s lunchbreak, a YouTube posting of the incident explained. The video shows Trinidad's jaw drop just before the shark hit his board, catapulting him into the ocean.

Trinidad's YouTube page indicates he is an avid paddelboarder, who often takes a camera along when he hits the waves. Considering his hobby of choice, he reportedly has had more than one encounter with sharks off Florida's shores. None, however, appear to have been as close as Thursday's, which he described as “cool.”

“As soon as I saw that big beautiful animal jumping next to me, everything went into slow motion,” ABC quoted him as saying.

Trinidad was quite aware of the dangers the encounter posed.

“I didn’t want to be on top of it and think I was a fish,” he told the news station.

Spinner sharks are found in waters throughout Florida and are often confused with blacktip sharks, the University of Florida’s Museum of Natural History reports on its website. This type of shark has been implicated in “13 unprovoked attacks on humans resulting in no fatalities,” the museum reported. These sharks grow to a maximum of 9.8 feet and can weigh nearly 200 pounds, but the average size is about 6.4 feet, the museum noted.

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It is unclear just how big the spinner Trinidad encountered was, but it was large enough to knock him right off the board and into the water.

Florida leads the nation and the world in the number of unprovoked shark attacks reported annually. Last year, there were 30 confirmed unprovoked attacks in the Sunshine State. North Carolina and South Carolina tied for second place in the country after Florida with eight confirmed attacks each.

George Burgess, the director of the International Shark Attack File, which is part of the Florida Museum of National History on the UF campus, explains: “Sharks plus humans equals attacks. As our population continues to rapidly grow and shark populations slowly recover, we’re going to see more interactions.

While Florida’s 2015 attacks added up to 30, that number didn’t break the state’s record. The record high was 37, recorded in 2000. Brevard County once again led the state with eight attacks, followed closely by Volusia County with seven.

Although the number of shark attacks is rising, Burgess said the likelihood of being attacked remains low. Spiders, dogs and lightning killed more people than sharks last year, according to Burgess.

“Shark attacks in general are really a nonentity when we think of causes of mortality involved with humans,” Burgess said in a previous interview. “It’s a lot more dangerous driving to the beach.”

YouTube screenshot from Maximo Trinidad