Paddling into the crystal clear waters she had no idea she was walking into every swimmer's nightmare -dozens of sharks collecting off the coast of Marina Del Rey, near Los Angeles, California.
Before she knew it, she was surrounded by dozens of Leopard sharks - and had to make a dash for the shore.
The dramatic episode was captured on film by a traffic helicopter from a local news show last month.
The KTLA helicopter had been in the skies following news stories and providing traffic updates for the Los Angeles television station.
In almost comic scenes, it catches the moments she suddenly spots the array of fins and realising her predicament she sprints for the beach.
Distinctively marked with dark brown spots on a silvery grey background, they are known to grow up to seven feet in length.
In hindsight the swimmer can reassure herself that the leopard sharks posed little danger to humans.
The International Shark Attack File has a single report of an incident involving a human and a leopard shark. However the incident did not reportedly cause any significant damage to the victim, and no bite was involved. Regardless of their timid nature, this swimmer just appeared to be ecstatic to escape from what she may have thought were the apparent jaws of death.
The Leopard sharks, which tend to hunt in groups, were probably migrating along the coast. They usually feed on molluscs and, crustaceans and small fish on the seafloor.
Nevertheless on a coast where only last April a man was attacked and killed by a Great White Shark as he swam in a triathlon 150 metres off shore, it must have been a terrifying experience.
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