Bondi Rescue lifeguard Kobi Graham suffered a hideous wipe out at Cape Solander mid afternoon on Sunday May 30. Kobi took off on a slabbing 6-8ft bomb and kind of nose dived, free falling head first into the reef at “Ours”.

For those that don’t know “Ours” is a notorious big wave surf spot just outside the entrance to Botany Bay. The wave comes out of deep water before literally exploding on a shallow barnacle encrusted rock ledge no more than 10 metres in front of the sheer cliff face. Kobi fractured two vertebrae, meaning he broke his neck in layman’s terms.

Fellow Bronte surfer and good friend John “Bones” Dwyer helped Kobi onto a sled and then coastalwatch photographer Billy Morris drove them around to Kurnell beach on a jet ski and promptly called an ambulance.

Sharks are most likely to attack surfers and other unsuspecting swimmers in shallow water, on Sundays, during new moons and especially in August, according to a study released Thursday just in time for summer.

Young surfers in black and white bathing suits are most vulnerable toshark attacks or bites, the University of Florida study found.

It based its conclusions on observations and statistics gathered over a 50-year period in Florida’s Volusia County, known as the “shark attack capital of the world.”

“Human, shark and environmental factors combine to create a perfect storm of favorable conditions in Volusia County for attacks, particularly near Ponce Inlet between Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach,” said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida.