Cape Cod surfer whose paddle board was bit by a shark says ‘I count my blessings’

A surfer whose paddleboard was bit by a shark in Wellfleet on Wednesday says he’s grateful he didn’t lose his arm during the attack.

Cleveland Bigelow, 69, emerged from the water unscathed except for a small cut on his leg where he hit the board. He told WCVB the experience was “definitely scary.”

“There’s my board. There’s the teeth,” Bigelow told WCVB.

He also said his first thought was to warn kids nearby who were “learning (to surf) for the first time on foam boards” and “get them out of the water.”

Although he was alarmed by the the encounter, Bigelow said it wouldn’t stop him from going back in the water.

“I count my blessings from God because when I’m paddling, if I had been still prone and paddling and it bit there, I probably wouldn’t have an arm,” he said.

After being closed for several hours after the biting incident, Marconi Beach reopened for swimming around 2 p.m. Wednesday.