Moses Felipe is lucky to be here to tell his story after encountering a shark during a surf session at Nimitz Beach.

"I heard a crunch. I thought I hit a reef or something like that but when I turned around there was the head and it was brown, round and blunt-shaped and I knew what it was,? said Felipe."

The Pearl City resident said a shark- believed to be a 6 to 8 foot tiger- bit his board, coming within inches of his left foot. The shark?s teeth punctured both sides of his board near the skeg.

Felipe said he felt his board jerk, causing him to fall off his board. Felipe said he was most concerned about his son who trailed behind.

"All I see is him fall off the board and I tail flap the water and at that point I had to rush in towards my dad," said Cameron Felipe, Moses? son.

"I just kept calm; everything happened in slow motion," said Felipe.

Felipe said he got back onto his board and paddled with his son to shore.

"As soon as I touched sand and seen my son was safe, I said thank God we made it home and I just laid on the beach," said Felipe.

The 58-year-old is reluctant to say when he may get back into the ocean, mainly because he doesn't know when he will feel ready.

"It's still on my mind. It's too early to tell (whether or not I'll get back in the ocean). I hope soon, though, because it?s awfully hot and the waves are nice," said Felipe.