Shark attacks are extremely rare at Pacifica State Beach, Calif., but one kayaker who ignored all warning signs continued paddling until he found his boat lifted up out of the water by an 11-foot great white shark on Tuesday. Micah Flansburg was fishing about 100 yards off land when the attack happened.

"It was almost instantly, the shark came and it hit the bottom of the boat, lifted the boat up, and grabbed ahold of it and just started shaking the whole boat, and I'm just hanging onto this thing," said Fransburg, who was fortunate enough to reach shore without a scratch.

The attack happened around 3:30 p.m., when his father-in law, Ross Webber, spotted the shark shaking the kayak around in the air for an estimated 10 seconds. The teeth of great white sharks are lined with up to 300 serrated triangular teeth arranged in several rows.

"It was intense. It was just like the Discovery Channel where you see the eyes roll to the back of the head and the pink gums and his teeth bared," said Fransburg.

The Pacifica police believe it was a juvenile white shark, based on the locality and size; great white sharks are usually 15 to 20 feet in length, a size comparable to a school bus, and 5,000 lbs. in weight. The beach was not shut down, and surfers were allowed to continue riding waves as police felt the attack was far enough that it wouldn't pose a threat to beachgoers.

The tan kayak was left with large bite marks, as the shark must've mistaken it for a sea lion. According to National Geographic, the shark's main prey includes sea lions, seals, small-toothed whales, and even sea turtles.

These sharks are the ultimate sea hunters, with an exceptional sense of smell; they also have organs that can sense the tiny electromagnetic fields generated by animals, or in this case, a kayak. Great whites can detect one drop of blood in 25 gallons of water and even at the smallest amounts, can sense blood from up to three miles away.

The great whites are the largest predatory fish on Earth and can swim up to 15 miles per hour and, if the hunt calls for it, the shark can leave the water completely in order to attack briefly out of water, similar to a beached whale

According to the Shark Research Committee, there are 108 authenticated cases of shark attacks reported on the Pacific Coast of North America since 1963. To put it into perspective, there are 100 or more shark attacks worldwide, and at least one-third to one-half are attributed to great whites. A majority of these attacks are not fatal, however, and recent research has actually found that great whites are naturally curious. This "sample biting" type of attack involves the immediate release of their victims, as sharks do not prefer to prey on humans as a food source.

What's more, almost half of all attack victims are divers, 38 percent are surfers, 11 percent are swimmers, and only five percent are kayakers, making Fransburg's attack and survival an even rarer occurrence.

"In California, the sea lions have come back and we've got this eco system that is returning to health," David Helvarg, president of the Blue Frontier Campaign, told HuffPost Live. "The white shark is its top predator. It's a sign of health in the eco system but problematic for the recreational water user."