And they had no assurance that the animal would leave the area.
The sinking kayak represented more than damaged equipment.
It had been their transportation, their resting place, and their only physical separation from the water.
Without it, the father and son would have to rely on their own ability to swim.
There was also the problem of time.
Waiting offshore could increase their exposure to changing ocean conditions.
But beginning a long swim meant committing to a physically demanding escape without knowing whether help would arrive.
The decision had to be made with incomplete information.
They could see the coastline, but visibility did not make it close.
They knew they needed to reach land, but the route required crossing a substantial distance of open water.
And the shark's continued presence around the kayak made the prospect of remaining nearby especially frightening.
Eventually, the situation left them with little practical choice.
They abandoned the damaged vessel.
The kayak that had brought them out to watch whales was no longer capable of taking them back.
Daniel and Tristan began swimming toward shore.
Behind them, the boat remained in the water.
And the shark was still interacting with it.
Chapter 6: A Mile of Open Water
Once Daniel and Tristan began swimming, the nature of the emergency changed.
The immediate problem was no longer how to remain aboard a damaged kayak.
It was how to cover approximately one mile of ocean without the protection or support of a functioning vessel.
They had to keep moving.
The shoreline was their destination, but reaching it would take time.
Every movement through the water required energy.
Unlike a kayak, which can glide between paddle strokes, swimming demands repeated physical effort to maintain forward progress.
For a teenager and his father who had just experienced a frightening animal encounter, that effort came under extraordinary pressure.
The distance was also difficult to judge.
Land may appear relatively close across open water, particularly when buildings, trees, or shoreline features remain visible.
But a mile is more than 5,000 feet.
Even experienced swimmers can require considerable time to cover that distance in the ocean.
Daniel and Tristan would ultimately spend approximately 35 minutes swimming before reaching shore.
During that period, they had to continue without knowing whether the shark would approach them again.
The sound of impacts against the kayak added to the uncertainty.
Behind them, they could still hear the shark making contact with the abandoned boat.
That detail made the escape especially disturbing.
The shark had not simply vanished from the scene as soon as the father and son began swimming.
The animal was still close enough to the kayak for its movements to produce sounds they could hear.
The reported account does not establish that the shark followed the swimmers toward shore.
Nor does it describe another bite directed at either person.
The sounds indicated continued interaction with the kayak, not necessarily pursuit of the father and son.
But from their position in the water, Daniel and Tristan could not treat the situation as safe.