Jim Rawlinson, a 68-year-old carpenter from Anahola, was back in the Hanalei Bay waves yesterday, and expecting to rip again today, even after a shark took a bite out of his board there Monday afternoon.

In fact, he continued to surf for at least an hour after the attack, which had him ending up on the back of the shark that bit his board, he said yesterday morning.

When the shark hit his board, the board went up in the air and Rawlinson went into the water where he ended up smack on the back of the tiger shark, he said.

While on the shark’s back, he decided it would probably be a good idea to detach himself from the board, which was still in the shark’s mouth, he said.

“It was relatively calm at that point,” he said.

So, he took off his board leash from his ankle and put some distance between himself and the shark, estimated to be around 14 feet long.

Rawlinson then swam from the point surf break to a reef area nearer to shore, recalling that deep-water sharks don’t routinely patrol shallower waters.

He turned around, saw his board floating in the water, swam to retrieve it and never saw the shark again, he said.

Rather than counting his blessings and making a beeline to shore, he stayed out in the water for around another hour, buoyed by other surfers around him, he said.

Rawlinson, who has been surfing for 50 years, said the incident won’t keep him out of the water.

“I don’t want fear to hold me back from doing what I’m doing,” said Rawlinson, adding that he will continue surfing “as long as I live and can.”

story via honoluluadvertiser.com

A group of fishermen were delighted when they caught a shark in the warm waters off Australia’s east coast.

So imagine their surprise when there was a bigger tug and they realised their catch was being swallowed by an even bigger fish.

This giant, weighing one and a quarter tonnes and measuring 20ft long, was caught off the north coast of New South Wales and is thought to be at least 40 years old.

Vic Hislop, who runs a shark museum in Queensland, was so excited by news of the catch that he bought the shark, which died as it was hauled to shore.

‘It’s a magnificent specimen, that’s for sure,’ said Mr Hislop. ‘I’m planning to freeze it and then put it on display at the shark museum.’

Some species of hammerheads are on the global endangered list but they are not renowned for attacking humans, unlike the man-eating great white shark.

What might be a warning for swimmers to exercise caution about where they chose to swim is Mr Hislop’s comment to Brisbane’s Courier Mail that ‘while this one is huge, it’s not the biggest one I’ve seen’.

Sharks are known to feed at dawn and dusk, so people are advised to avoid the ocean at those times to further reduce their small chance of a shark attack.

Hammerheads, which are found in warm waters around the world, get their name from the shape of their heads, which are flattened and extend sideways.

This is thought to help them move in close to their prey and to find food on the sea bed.

While they are not notorious for killing humans, the International Shark Attack file lists them as seventh among sharks that pose a danger to people, the most dangerous being the great white.

In recent years there have been 33 reported hammerhead attacks on humans, but none have been fatal.

story via dailymail

Surfer Brendan Denton, 35, survived a shark attack at a Port Alfred beach.

Surfer Brendan Denton, 35, survived a shark attack at a Port Alfred beach yesterday.

All the beaches in the area have been closed until further notice.

Denton was surfing at East Beach at about 10am yesterday when he felt a tug at his feet and realised it was a shark.

“I tried to fight the shark off, but it became (more) aggressive and started dragging me by the feet under the water,” Denton said.

When he released the leash attaching his ankle to the surfboard, the shark made off with the board, but only briefly.

While Denton was trying to make it back to shore, his surfboard resurfaced a few metres away and he used it to paddle to the beach.
His friend and other surfers, who had heard his screams and seen the splashing, helped him to get to a doctor.

Port Alfred police spokesperson Mali Govender said Denton’s injuries looked serious.

As he was wheeled into theatre for surgery, she told him she could see his feet. He replied by saying he could not feel them.

Before this, paramedics on the scene had said Denton may need to have the tendons on his feet and on the insides of both ankles re-attached.

Govender described the water at East Beach as “very murky”, saying sharks were usually found in water like that.

Juan Pretorius of the National Sea Rescue Institute said initial indications showed it was a bronze shark or a Zambezi bull shark that had attacked Denton, but they would wait for experts to investigate the bite marks.

original story via iol.co.za