The mothers of Aussie surfers Mick Fanning and Julian Wilson have shared a relieved chuckle after telling the nation they are grateful the boys are coming home "with all their bits".
Fanning's mother Elizabeth Osborne has offered a very public thank you to Nola Wilson, whose son bravely paddled towards Fanning in the moments after he was attacked by a great white during a competition in South Africa.
"Thank you to your family and especially to Julian for being such a hero and caring about what was happening to my son," Ms Osborne told Ms Wilson during a live cross on the Nine Network.
"We have been friends for quite a while and this will just cement a very, very close friendship."
Mates and rivals Fanning and Wilson are due to return to Australia on Tuesday after the terrifying encounter during the final of the J-Bay Open at Jeffreys Bay.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will recommend Wilson for a bravery award for fearlessly swimming towards Fanning when he realised the three-time world champion was in mortal danger.
Wilson's mother says the gratitude and pride she and Fanning's mum feel is overwhelming.
"All we've got to do is be so grateful that they're coming home with all their bits," Ms Wilson laughed.
"Of course I'm always proud of Julian, but, you know, that's just his nature. He would have been so concerned for Mick that it wouldn't have even entered his head to do anything else.
"They've always been friends and I guess they will be friends for life now."
Both mums said they were satisfied with the efforts of competition organisers to ensure the area was safe for the surfers.
They said all surfers knew sharks posed a risk - at home or abroad - including hot spots like Jeffreys Bay.
"Obviously nobody told the shark that it was off limits for the day," Ms Wilson chuckled.
"Every surfer knows they're there. It's just part and parcel of the whole thing that they love. Maybe next time we can put a sign up on the point (saying): 'Excuse me, this is a world title. Keep away or you'll find yourself on the television'."
The surfers are expected to front a press conference in Sydney before heading home to Queensland late on Tuesday.
Surfing Australia chief executive Andrew Stark, a close friend of Fanning, said there was only so much organisers could do to guard against sharks.
"They had the water safety craft out there and they were doing surveillance from the air and that sort of thing, but these are really fast-moving sharks and they can come into an area very quickly and really under the radar," he told the Nine Network.
Mr Stark said South Africa was "a pretty sharky place" with a long history of attacks.
"We are all so relieved that Mick is okay and hats off to Julian. What a warrior instinct to do what he did."
He said he was sure Fanning would surf again, pointing out he was still in the running for a fourth world title.
"Absolutely. I think in the heat of the moment, when he was coming to terms with it, his statements were more around the fact of the value of life, and that he wouldn't mind if he didn't get back in," Mr Stark said.
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