Liam O'Brien was surfing alone at a break near Burleigh Heads on Queensland's Gold Coast in March 2023. It was early morning — 5:30 a.m. — and he was the only person in the water. He had paddled out further than usual, chasing a swell that was breaking beyond the sandbar. At approximately 5:45 a.m., a bull shark struck his board from below, sending him into the water. The shark's teeth grazed his left calf, tearing his wetsuit and the skin beneath.
Underwater Prayer
Liam was tumbled by the wave and found himself momentarily submerged. The salt water burned his wound. He could see the grey shape circling below. In that moment — no time for theological precision — he thought three words: "God, help me." Not a prayer he had rehearsed. Liam had not attended church since childhood. His mother was a believer. He was not. But underwater, with blood in the water and a shark ten metres below, the three words came without thought.
The Dolphins That Came from Nowhere
When Liam surfaced and grabbed his board, the shark was still visible beneath the surface. Then he heard the sound — a series of clicks and splashes that he recognised instantly. A pod of approximately eight bottlenose dolphins appeared from the south, moving fast. They formed a circle around Liam, swimming in a tight pattern between him and the shark. He could see them below the surface, their bodies creating a barrier. The shark did not approach again. The dolphins stayed for approximately twenty minutes, until another surfer arrived and helped Liam to shore.
The Surfer Who Started Going to Church
Liam received twelve stitches at Gold Coast University Hospital. The wound was superficial — the shark had grazed, not bitten. But the dolphins' behaviour was what stayed with him. Marine biologists he contacted later said that while dolphins are known to protect humans from sharks in rare cases, the timing — appearing within seconds of his underwater prayer — was remarkable. His mother, when he told her, said simply: "I've been praying for you every morning for twenty-seven years. God just sent His answer with fins." Liam attended his mother's church the following Sunday. He continued going. He told the pastor: "I didn't find God in a church. I found Him in the ocean at 5:45 a.m., surrounded by dolphins who had better theology than I did."