Shark Stories

yorkessurfer's picture
yorkessurfer started the topic in Monday, 29 Oct 2012 at 12:11am

A few interesting stories on shark attacks and near misses on the Shark Shield report so I thought I would start this thread. Don't want to trivialize the subject as people have had their lives taken or changed forever by what can happen. I thought it might serve as an educational purpose by hearing others experiences so we may all learn from them and hopefully avoid it happening to us.

One of them was a mate of mine named Hazey.
He had been surfing at Castles, a notoriously sharky wave in the bay at Cactus.
Several hundred metres offshore the wave breaks before reforming into Inside Castles making a long left with several sections. The wave has been the scene of several attacks and near misses over the years including the local known as "Sharkbait" who had been attacked more than once.
Gerry Lopez is another who came very close to being attacked out there and vowed to never surf Cactus again after his near miss.
Well Hazey was surfing out the back with another bloke named Steve when out of the blue he was launched into the air still on his board by a huge force from below.
A shark had rammed him with a direct hit straight up into the air! In a moment it was gone but soon returned to the stunned Hazey and started biting him and his board. Hazey instinctively put his arms out to protect himself but both his arms ended up in its mouth. As the jaws closed down his arms could have easily been severed, but several teeth on the sharks lower jaw had become dislodged and imbedded in the board leaving his upper arms with massive injuries, but the vital inner arms where major arteries run were not majorly damaged. This probably saved his life.
By this time Steve had reacted and in a rush of adrenalin and pure ballsy courage he threw himself onto the sharks back and started gouging at the sharks eyeballs, eventually feeling one pop and the shark departed.
Steve got the two surfboards together and got himself and Hazey on and started the long paddle to shore.
Then they were both thrown into the air as the shark rammed them a third time before disappearing again. They continued to make their way closer to shore and the shark nudged them again. Steve told me he thought he really must of pissed it off when he popped its eye.
Finally they we're just a metre from shore when the shark made its fifth and final appearance. It beelined towards them and the shore while they stood in waist deep water with their boards. The sharks mouth was just rapidly opening and closing like one of those wind up sets of false teeth. The boys separated and put their hands on either side of it's body and held it on a 90 degree angle to the beach as they made the final steps to the safety of the sand.
Hazey was rushed to Ceduna hospital and then flown to Adelaide for micro surgery on his shredded arms.
Steve ended up receiving a bravery award and they both sold their story to 60 minutes and made $50,000 each out of it!
It was quite a story!

happyasS's picture
happyasS's picture
happyasS Sunday, 27 Jul 2014 at 1:18pm

Hi Southey, sounds like your pretty fired up and I agree with you in many respects but I also think that the very fact that the ideological can live up to their own ideals is a testament to how much of a lucky country we are. We are not one people with a single purpose. We don't live a country where human tragedy or war ravages us, we have no famine crisis, poverty is very low...so its not surprising that those with ideals get to live their own choices, and similarly the complacent masses also have the time to sit and watch tv from the comfort of their lounge chairs. Idealists come in many forms, some will fight for our human rights, others will fight for nature, others for religious beliefs. Its all a mix of human consciousness that makes us who we are.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Sunday, 27 Jul 2014 at 1:59pm

I agree HappyasS , it's truly a testament to how great our country is that a significant percentage of our population can plot our demise whilst we subsidise the threat through welfare benefits...Advance Australia Fair.

prothero's picture
prothero's picture
prothero Sunday, 27 Jul 2014 at 4:38pm

......as I said previously i was circled by a large white whilst diving, after it checked me out and swam in towards me I swam as fast has I could towards it when it got to about a metre I blew bubbles from my reg into its face and it veered off, more circle works and in it came again ( x 2).....I kept my eyes on it and I wasnt acting like prey.......may not work for every shark but it definitely worked for me, harder to watch them when youre on a board....but anything that buys you more time is good

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Sunday, 27 Jul 2014 at 6:05pm

If you're ever in that situation again try making the Shaka sign with your hand and place it gently on the beast's nose, it should go straight to sleep. A friend of a friend of mine did it to a Cape buffalo that was standing in the middle of a road in the Territory - Bam! Out like a light .
Legendary bloke apparently, he also got attacked by a croc which gained him a bit of notoriety as you'd imagine. He ended up moving to New York and falling in love with the female journalist that was sent out to interview him in Oz. I bet he created quite a stir over there amongst those straight laced Americans !

trippergreenfeet's picture
trippergreenfeet's picture
trippergreenfeet Sunday, 27 Jul 2014 at 6:15pm
Blowin wrote:

If you're ever in that situation again try making the Shaka sign with your hand and place it gently on the beast's nose, it should go straight to sleep. A friend of a friend of mine did it to a Cape buffalo that was standing in the middle of a road in the Territory - Bam! Out like a light .
Legendary bloke apparently, he also got attacked by a croc which gained him a bit of notoriety as you'd imagine. He ended up moving to New York and falling in love with the female journalist that was sent out to interview him in Oz. I bet he created quite a stir over there amongst those straight laced Americans !

Duz he like big knives...if so, I think I read a story about him, might've made a movie about him too!

prothero's picture
prothero's picture
prothero Sunday, 27 Jul 2014 at 11:00pm

yeh Blowin I heard about that guy, the shaka worked a treat, but the woman got a bit board with it

fartpaddler's picture
fartpaddler's picture
fartpaddler Tuesday, 31 Mar 2015 at 5:18pm

ha! tops

trippergreenfeet's picture
trippergreenfeet's picture
trippergreenfeet Saturday, 4 Jul 2015 at 4:01pm

Another lovely day for surf and an even better day to get knocked off my board by a bronzie.

Surfed down past Cliffs today...paddling back out after a wave...a 3' bronzie goes streaking past in the wave face as I'm going over it...little bastard does a U turn and hits my board from underneath...i lashed out with my fist and clouted the little prick. Left a small ding for his trouble.

This comes a few weeks after a mate and i were circled by a shark in the 8-10' range at the same spot.

caml's picture
caml's picture
caml Saturday, 4 Jul 2015 at 5:31pm

Tgf wheres that area you surfed at ? That's the same name as a wave near where im at

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Saturday, 4 Jul 2015 at 6:14pm

Caml , your spot is way better. TGF's cliffs is around Victor Harbour area.

lenny67's picture
lenny67's picture
lenny67 Saturday, 4 Jul 2015 at 7:28pm

Hey there, been awhile...the events in Ballina and Byron since Paul Wilcox's death in Sept 2014' are on my mind a lot. I emailed all councils in that area on 25th August 2014' with my data that i've spent the last couple years collating, with a clear warning that they were 'hot'. In that time, 2 weeks after that email, Paul died RIP, same leg as me. Then Tadashi RIP on Feb 9th 2015' So now it's Matt Lee with the same MO as the two before him. Quick legrope thinking (like me) saved Matt's life, and i'm so glad I didn't have to add him in black on my shark attack file.

The same MO that Zac Young had in late Nov 2013' 200kms (less I think, as the crow flies) south of Ballina. So what I have found out since I last posted here, (didn't go well from memory) is a document called The Great White Recovery Plan by CSIRO and Barry Bruce which was legislated in 1997' Its easy to find in PDF format from Googs. Page 35 is quite interesting. So in that 18 years with a breeding cycle every 3 years we can now see the if we protect one species it will proliferate. This is showing itself in the shark attack data I have.

I guess I don't wana add fuel to this fire like last time. The 'dumb' shark was a personal observation as I am compromised. It doesn't know any better. So here we are. Its less than every 50 days now for a fatal or a maiming. Im in touch with Chris Blowes, its hard for him. Same with Sean Pollard, did you guys know he not only lost his hands to 2 Great Whites, and an arm...he was also kneecapped. He cannot speak of it, or them. Google Jesse Aborgast to see how much one life is totally ruined. Or David Peltier.

So, opinions on this would be nice...ya gota read the whole GWRP twice to understand it, and its connection to so called marine parks. Take it all in then go back to that graph in that other thread. I understand now that i've read this document 'why' we are a rapidly growing club. Its helped me recover...

Off I go to play guitar with mate, no booze..can't go there now. Load up on nerve drugs so I can play in peace. Have a good night fellas and be kind to a battered old surfer please..

Glen Folkard aka Lenny.
Shark Attack Survivor-Investigator.
Australian Shark Attacks File.

delete links if needed mods..

www.australiansharkattacksfile.com
www.lennystattoo.com

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Saturday, 4 Jul 2015 at 7:46pm

Good ink work Glen, the Satan fish is interesting.

uplift's picture
uplift's picture
uplift Saturday, 4 Jul 2015 at 8:33pm

'Surfed down past Cliffs today'

'Tgf wheres that area you surfed at ? That's the same name as a wave near where im at'

'Caml , your spot is way better. TGF's cliffs is around Victor Harbour area.'

OMG!!! For fucks sake, you fucking dimwits!!!??? Draw a fucking map why don't you!!! Idiots!!! I will not stand by and let soufl'e fight a lone battle to save not only future generations of shredders and too hard chargers, but formerly hidden, secret spots that he will inevitably return to (wiv a boat), to shred and charge too hard!!! Save them former secrets from being over run by hordes of not so hard chargers and shredders. Its a simple fucking request. Thermless has learned a valuable lesson in surf spot secrecy keeping, and you three stooges would do well to follow suit. Again how fucking hard is it to use swillnut jabber to conceal the former secret spots. Again, for example:

'I didn't surf up before the plains last year... fuck knows what I did'

'Fgt, I know that urea that you didn't surf at... and that's not the same urea that ended up in the hand basin'

llama, your urea is shit, Fgt's urea is in loser basin...'

Ta...

Anyway, soufl'e has been busy, and after a few miscalculations and wrong turn offs, has found a really, reallllllly, realllllllllllly privied, privied really, really, really old guy, and saved the secrets for future too hard charging and shredding (wiv a boat) missions... as well as helping future generations of too hard charging shredders. He is leading the fight, the hard fight to save the western frontier!!!!

Ta...

davetherave's picture
davetherave's picture
davetherave Saturday, 4 Jul 2015 at 10:30pm

just read an uplifting book called, Secret Surf Spots, dont know who wrote it and dont know where it was. Only a very short book, but very uplifting.

uplift's picture
uplift's picture
uplift Saturday, 4 Jul 2015 at 10:49pm

Perhaps I was too late in educating thermless?

Ta???...

davetherave's picture
davetherave's picture
davetherave Saturday, 4 Jul 2015 at 10:54pm

maybe, just maybe, but we'll keep that a secret eh!!!!

wellymon's picture
wellymon's picture
wellymon Saturday, 4 Jul 2015 at 11:29pm

:P

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Monday, 9 Jan 2017 at 8:48am

Shark Cannabilism -Jeezus no way way was this Huge Hammerhead off Exmouth going let go of his catch ..bit him clean in half
SMH

fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21 Monday, 9 Jan 2017 at 12:35pm

Here you go udo...bit bigger than the one you looked at.............an oldie but still a goodie.........

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Monday, 9 Jan 2017 at 12:43pm

Bull shark attack!

How's the way it charges at him like a fired up Pitbull? Thank fuck for the speargun.

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Monday, 9 Jan 2017 at 12:55pm

So much much for the Shark repelling Camo wetsuit

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Monday, 9 Jan 2017 at 1:06pm

Good point.

simba's picture
simba's picture
simba Monday, 9 Jan 2017 at 4:13pm

apparently a guy was bitten on the hand this morning at balian in bali.....not too bad but another one.

drodders's picture
drodders's picture
drodders Monday, 9 Jan 2017 at 4:54pm

In September this year, on a clear Sunday morning with about 3m of SE Swell and a light NW wind, I was surfing my local South Swell magnet beach break in the Illawarra everything was perfect. I was sitting about 150 – 200m off shore, no one else out and I was on my Webster 7’6” DS. I had paddled out just on sunrise at about 6:25. At about 7:20 after I had caught about half a dozen waves, I had just got back to my spot and through the really clear water, I thought I had seen a really large shark down to my right, but swimming north to my left, so I laid down on my board stuck my face in the water and watched a very big shark (for me), guessing 3.5 to 4 metres and a metre wide swim off beyond my vision.
The weird part was my reaction, I didn’t really feel anything, and stayed in the water till just after 8 am, my brain just said I bet that happens all the time. I regularly surf alone in winter early in the morning; I do get the heebee jeebies from time to time, and have bolted from the water when I have seen a large shark at the same spot years ago, but not this time.
I also don’t believe that we can “feel” sharks, a predator that capable would not give of signals humans could pick up, otherwise it would never get food. However I do believe our amazing minds put things together, such as activity in the water, light levels, shadows on the periphery, stories from the past and make great calculations that tell us to get the hell out of Dodge. In this case, maybe I’m lucky my gut was right, it had just swam away. It scares me more now than it did at the time.

lostdoggy's picture
lostdoggy's picture
lostdoggy Monday, 9 Jan 2017 at 5:12pm

Also that Spearfisherman was looking straight at that shark. So eyeing it off didn't seem to help. Got more than he bargained for but.

Nice story Drodders.

linez's picture
linez's picture
linez Monday, 9 Jan 2017 at 9:21pm

Any details on the Balian incident?

blindboy's picture
blindboy's picture
blindboy Monday, 9 Jan 2017 at 10:11pm
linez's picture
linez's picture
linez Monday, 9 Jan 2017 at 11:15pm

Haha well that's not so bad...although given the at times filthy water up there I would be more worried about infection

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Tuesday, 10 Jan 2017 at 6:13am

Drodders you're a mad man

Hako o hakonde ni-biki no inu's picture
Hako o hakonde ni-biki no inu's picture
Hako o hakonde ... Tuesday, 10 Jan 2017 at 7:25am

Pretty much on the mark drodder, never heard of an attack where the shark was seen prior to attacking.

Distracted's picture
Distracted's picture
Distracted Tuesday, 10 Jan 2017 at 10:16am

Hako, there was a horrific story in one of the surfing mags a few years ago about the surfer killed north (?) of Perth a few years ago. Two mates surfing an isolated beach, clear water, a big 4m+ white came up, circled them a couple times. They watched it and then it circled back and just took one of them. Devastating for the family and totally traumatic for the mate.

Since reading that I've wondered if the best approach is to sit still when a shark swims up, or just do the mad panic back to the beach.

Hako o hakonde ni-biki no inu's picture
Hako o hakonde ni-biki no inu's picture
Hako o hakonde ... Tuesday, 10 Jan 2017 at 10:40am

If a shark circled me I don't think I would be weighing up my best option, I would be petrified and unable to move or in in a mad panic screaming like a little girl, either way it would not be a choice :-)) hope I don't find out.

AndyM's picture
AndyM's picture
AndyM Tuesday, 10 Jan 2017 at 10:53am

I think the best option would be to swim towards it underwater while screaming and yelling.

I also think that a realistic response would be to freeze up and sit there in a spreading brown cloud.

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Tuesday, 10 Jan 2017 at 11:22am

Distracted, I remember that story.
It was two young guys and yeah as you say it was in fairly shallow crystal clear water.
How farking scary would it be just watching it circle you. Absolutely horrific situation. You just can't imagine the fear

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Wednesday, 11 Jan 2017 at 12:46pm

Newcastle area including Hawkes nest going nuts on the dorsal app today.

chook's picture
chook's picture
chook Wednesday, 11 Jan 2017 at 1:59pm

did you go out goofy?
what are we meant to do with this info?
i was at treachery beach a few weeks ago, all by myself, hoping that someone else would paddle out. checked the shark tagging site that afternoon....great white at treachery that morning.
after the surf, i went for a snorkel with the GF at a nearby beach and there were no fish around, GF insisted that a shark must have scared them off and wanted to get out of the water. turns out she was right.

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Wednesday, 11 Jan 2017 at 2:20pm

A couple old chaps down Sheepdogs way had a large Thresher shark jump into there boat on the weekend......took him home and ate him.

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Wednesday, 11 Jan 2017 at 2:34pm

No chook I'm in a different state.
I posted it because someone wrote in to swellnet the other day asking about the waves north of Newcastle and Craig and Stu both warned him to be aware of sharks when surfing around there.
I was a bit shocked at the time as I didn't know about its reputation and the juvenile shark nursery there.

mk1's picture
mk1's picture
mk1 Wednesday, 11 Jan 2017 at 2:35pm

I don't look at that app as don't really want to know/have it influence me.

chin's picture
chin's picture
chin Wednesday, 11 Jan 2017 at 2:39pm

If you click on that Balian attack news story now it has been edited to say the injury was to the guy's hand. There's been a few similar incidents there now. Place gives me the creeps, wet season the river flows straight into the surf, cold silty slimey water. Sharks jumping close to the line up a few years ago when I was there. Don't wear anything shiny on your hands like watch or rings

simba's picture
simba's picture
simba Wednesday, 11 Jan 2017 at 7:44pm

this is the latest and boy do those tagged shaks get around

https://www.facebook.com/tagforlife/posts/2207408236150098

fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21 Wednesday, 25 Jan 2017 at 5:28pm

This kid will always have a story to tell.....and photos to prove it

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-25/photos-show-10-year-old-surfing-ov...

tonybarber's picture
tonybarber's picture
tonybarber Wednesday, 25 Jan 2017 at 10:21pm

Great story, good photo and now we know why women live longer then men.

truebluebasher's picture
truebluebasher's picture
truebluebasher Saturday, 18 Feb 2017 at 1:00pm

Saturday 17/Feb 2017 (am).
Port Hinchinbrook 'Cardwell' Qld
Male youth bitten by either Bull/Tiger Shark
Severe injuries to upper leg/thigh/torso
Rescue Helicotper on route to Cairns Hospital

Dean Mc's picture
Dean Mc's picture
Dean Mc Sunday, 26 Feb 2017 at 8:11pm

I had to exit the two foot surf I was enjoying with the kids on Saturday afternoon (shallow wading at the new GWS nursury), as a pod of dolphins started to circle a school of fish out a bit. they were circling clockwise with a few sea birds diving in. A large dolphin parked himself slowly in front all the people wading whilst this was happening. Knowing what we do now, we got the kids out and watched the herding from the beach and a set wave come in with a large dolphin surfing it directly down the face, then 90 degree turning with a thrust of it's tail towards an older guy in chest deep water. The dophin was clearly a 2.5 meter White Pointer as the tail was a vertical shark tail. The shark was motoring across the face and turned out to sea just before it hit the guy's legs. He did not see the shark at all. I have seen dolphins stalling still in front of us surfing and possibly pre warning of a shark around. The shark surfed the wave in a similar style as a dolphin, however it was more nose down when coming in directly to shore.

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Sunday, 26 Feb 2017 at 7:17pm

Far out that's intense

Qsup's picture
Qsup's picture
Qsup Monday, 1 Jan 2018 at 4:06pm

On a surfing safari around Aus in late 1974 we spent a couple of weeks in Cactus where we had numerous sightings of Pointers both in the breaks and off the jetty at Point Sinclair. One day was surfing Caves and paddled back up to the point of the break after the other half dozen guys had caught rides on the 4-6ft break. Sitting on my board waiting for a set it raised its fin about 50 ft out heading directly for me. First reaction was turn and paddle for shore but after a few paddles realised me/shark/shore too far away and stopped paddling keeping all limbs out of the water. Hard to gauge the next few seconds or maybe minutes but a set came in and caught a long ride and kicked out wondering if I had really seen this big mother. Anyway my brother by then was back out to the point of the break so decided to paddle back out to warn him. Paddling back out at Caves deep water out to the left and around 40ft parallel it came up again and again no blow and bloody big! Well paddled up to him and told him of the sightings and pointed to area of last sighting at which point it came up again and we all looked at each other and removed all limbs from the water. Next it came up around 6ft away and it was huge we figure around 5-6 metres and it kept going....yeah we all got out then. Anyway talking to a couple of guys on the beach they said at the same time a couple of 6ft sharks cruised along the beach side of the reef so it was one of those days! Still wonder if the fact I stopped paddling stopped it attacking or it was just curious but not a day I will ever forget!

MidWestMonger's picture
MidWestMonger's picture
MidWestMonger Wednesday, 3 Jan 2018 at 4:14pm

I went for an early at south point years ago. Grey day, very inconsistent 3-4 ft swell with long lulls of nothing. 3 of us out so quite cruisey. The others got onto some and i had to dive under one as I choose to sit inside and wait my turn. As Im about to duckdive half a bucket of water is thrown over me from the channel (dark water). No time to ponder, I complete the duckdive and scan the channel. Nothing. I look back at the rocks on my left and a medium size seal with wide open eyes is looking at me. 'that explains the water' I tell myself. I tell the other guy 'see that seal'. 'Yeah, he's been around a bit lately, real friendly'. I noticed the 2 guys at huzza leave the water. I think why share lefts with 2 guys when theres an empty peak there. I paddle to it across the channel. Catch a couple and think its not that good and go in. At the top of the stairs I see another guy has left south point point for huzza. Im thinking I should go back out to south point but no got stuff to do. Leave the bay at 8:15. Later that day I see the guy at south point was killed by a shark. Everyone I saw suiting up in the carpark is on the news being interviewed. I believe the bucket of water was the beast turning late as the seal went under me. I saw nothing at the time it occurred to me later. The seal was using the 3 of us as a human shield. When there was only one in that shield the shark decided to remove the shield. Dolphins acting weird, decent size fish jumping out the water, seals being superfriendly, salmon schooling... I have dozens of get outta the water triggers now. Sometime it looks so good but you know somethings not right. Just get 3 waves, that constitutes a surf and get the f outta there and go home knowing you tried but something wasnt right.

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Wednesday, 3 Jan 2018 at 5:36pm

That’s heavy

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Wednesday, 2 Jan 2019 at 7:53am

Tip of the iceberg.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/four-large-sharks-caught-on-the-nsw-...

Never go in the water on the Nth coast of NSW.....way too many sharks.

It’s probably not even a good idea to lay on your towel any less than 10m above the high tide line.