Hammerhead shark stalks paddleboarder during 83-mile trek across open ocean, wild video shows

That’s de-fin-itely terrifying.

A Florida woman kept her cool as a hammerhead shark closely followed behind her paddleboarding excursion in the middle of the sea.

Malea Tribble of Fort Lauderdale was competing Monday in the Crossing For Cystic Fibrosis event — an 83-mile paddle race from Bimini in the Bahamas to Lake Worth Beach, Florida — when the giant fish began stalking her.

She was about halfway across the Gulf Stream — nearly 40 miles from Florida — when the hammerhead made its presence known.

“I initially felt a few taps on the bottom of my board, but I dismissed it, thinking I picked up some seaweed on my fin,” Tribble told Fox 35.

Anxiety-inducing video captured the moment a dorsal fin pops up behind Tribble’s board.

The hunter makes a sharp turn to continue trailing the racer and slowly follows her as she inches across the open water.

The shark maintained Tribble’s pace as it floated beneath her before it made its way toward her relay partner, who was only a few feet ahead.

Luckily for both racers, Tribble’s husband Rick was following the pair on their journey from the safety of a boat and was able to shelter the two after he “calmly and safely” guided them away from the shark.

Rick was the first one who spotted the massive dorsal fin break the surface, according to Tribble.

“Based on his reaction, I knew immediately that it was a shark. I didn’t know how big or where exactly it was,” she said.

Despite the frightening realization, Tribble appeared unbothered as the mega fish — which can weigh an average of 500 pounds — stalked her.

“Big one? It’s following me,” she can be heard saying in the video without showing any fear on her face.

She said she didn’t realize how big the shark was or how close it had been to her board until she watched the video hours later.

“I was surprised that it was bigger and much closer than I initially thought,” Tribble said. “At one point in the video, he’s completely under my board. I also noticed how quick and sleek the movements were.  The shark was seemingly just curious what was in his house.”

“I never knew I had it in me to be that calm. Just crazy to think about it all after the fact.”

Though the encounter would be enough for many to quit the race, Tribble and her partner waited until the shark was out of sight and hopped back on their boards to finish the race.

Tribble — a three-time event participant and experienced paddleboarder — said the scary experience was a great reflection of the Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis’s message: to be “Bold in the Face of Fear.”

“I faced a huge fear of mine, and came out stronger than I ever thought I would be, and in reality, it was not as scary as I anticipated. I hope people and especially our CF warriors see this video as courageous and strong, like they are each and every day!” Tribble said.

Travis Suit, founder and executive for The Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis event, reminded paddleboarders that humans “are visitors when we are in the ocean, it’s really their home, so it’s to be expected.”