Shark attack

[halbs]

Unfortunately in my home state of South Australia a shark is believed to have taken a 20 year old diver diving off of a reef at the suburban beach of Glenelg, this is within paddling distance of the last fatal attack in December of last year.This occurred yesterday 24th August, no good at all and my thoughts go out to the young blokes family and friends..

[kevin]

This taken from Sfgate.com

(10-19) 15:17 PDT BODEGA BAY -- A 20-year-old woman surfing near Bodega Bay fought off an attacking shark this morning and was hospitalized with wounds to her right leg, authorities said.

Megan Halavais of Santa Rosa was surfing at Salmon Creek Beach just north of Bodega Bay when the attack happened at 10:30 a.m.

Brit Horn, a lifeguard at Sonoma Coast State Beach, which includes Salmon Creek, witnessed the attack while he was off duty and surfing with six or seven others people in an area known as the Boardwalk near the south end of the beach.

"I heard her scream, looked over and saw a very large fin, and saw her go under water," Horn said. "Then the fin disappeared and she popped up along with her board.''

Halavais told authorities that she had been lying on her surfboard when what she believed to be a 14-foot-long, great white shark hit her from behind. The shark grabbed her by the right leg, pulled her under water and shook her, Sonoma County sheriff's deputies said.

She fought back and grabbed the shark by what she believes was its tail, and the shark let go, deputies said.

Horn and three other surfers rushed to help Halavais. She was screaming, he said, and there was a small amount of blood in the water from wounds to her right leg. She did not appear to have any life-threatening wounds, he said.

Halavais paddled back to shore, accompanied by the other surfers, who helped her to the beach and applied towels to dress the wounds.

Another surfer ran a half mile to the nearest road and drove to a phone to call 911. Bodega Bay paramedics arrived soon after, followed closely by the Sheriff's Department helicopter. Horn said Halavais never lost consciousness.

"She did very, very well at keeping her cool,'' Horn said.

He said Halavais has surfed at Salmon Creek "for a couple of years at least. I've seen her here surfing in the past, and expect to see her here in the future."

Halavais was in stable condition at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with five lacerations to the leg and was undergoing tests, hospital spokeswoman Mary Brighton Borrelli said.

The Sheriff's Department described the main bite wound as 18 inches long, running from Halavais' thigh to her calf. Park rangers recovered her surfboard, which had bite marks.

The incident took place in an area where previous shark attacks have occurred, Rude said. A shark attacked a Santa Rosa man in the same area about three years ago, Horn said. He said great white sharks are suspected in all the attacks.

"It's unusual, but not unexpected,'' Rude said of today's attack.

As a precaution, rangers, lifeguards and sheriff's deputies advised people to leave the beaches between Jenner and Bodega Bay, Rude said. State parks are closing coastline waters for six miles, from Mussel Point at Bodega Head to Coleman Beach. Beaches will be open but the waters closed for five days.

E-mail the writers at mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com and ssebastian@sfchronicle.com.

[ScottMac]

..

[DrStrange]

Oh Boy!!!! This a.m a tasty young lady (well maybe not so tasty) was yanked off her board by a leg grip of a whitey @ Salmon Creek. Bite width measured at 24 inches!!!! This is where I did my swim in with only one other person out day before yesterday (probably swam about 200 yards at least). EEEEEEeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!! She was airlifted to local hospital. No news yet beyond that she did not loose any limbs.

[DrStrange]

Ahh, just checked evening newsies on internet. No worries! It was only an 18 inch bite. I'm out there.



NOT


Give it a few days. Hopefully whitey will move on to ?greener? pastures.

[DrStrange]

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs ... 033/NEWS01

A 20-year-old Santa Rosa woman bitten Wednesday by a great white shark while surfing off the Sonoma County coast came within a centimeter of losing her leg or bleeding to death, her surgeon said.
Megan Halavais fought off the shark, beating on its tail after it pulled her under the water, but suffered bite wounds to her right thigh and calf that cut to the bone, Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital surgeon David Hardin said.
The larger, 16-centimeter laceration on her thigh came within a centimeter of severing a major artery.
"She most likely would have bled to death had that happened," Hardin said.
As it is, she should make a full recovery, although more surgery is planned Friday to clean her wounds, he said.
Halavais, a former Santa Rosa city lifeguard, swimming instructor and Santa Rosa Junior College water polo player, was "very lucky," Hardin said.
The attack left tooth marks on the bottom of her surfboard in a crescent with a 19-inch diameter, so the shark was clearly very large, Sonoma Coast State Beach Ranger Bill Walton said.
The attack prompted parks officials to close a 6-mile stretch of ocean waters from Mussel Point at Bodega Head to Coleman Beach until Monday, although the beaches will remain open.
Halavais' boyfriend, John Henry of Santa Rosa, and a half-dozen other surfers were about 100 yards off the south end of Salmon Creek Beach - the site of several past shark attacks - when they heard a loud splash and Halavais' screams.
Witnesses said they saw a dorsal fin about three feet tall circling Halavais, apparently bumping her, as she sat on her board. They estimated the shark was 12 to 18 feet long.
Henry was maybe 30 feet away and already paddling toward her. He and another surfer, David Bryant, began yelling and slapping the water, hoping to scare the shark away.
Then, as they got close, Halavais and her board, tethered by a 6- or 8-foot line, disappeared, going deep below the surface, they said at a news conference later at the hospital.
Both men said they feared the worst.
"I definitely thought she was gone," Henry said.
But Bryant said they had every intention of getting her back as they charged toward the shark, yelling, "No. No. No!"
"In my mind," Bryant said, growing emotional, "I was saying, 'You can't have her. You can't have her today.'"
When she popped back to the surface after several seconds, she was either holding the tail or beating on it as she and the shark continued to thrash in the water, witnesses said.
Then the shark swam off, and Halavais climbed onto Henry's board, apparently unaware she'd been bitten.
Halavais was helped onto her own board, scarred by huge teeth marks and its leash severed, said surfer Devin Rowley of Santa Rosa.
Bryant said Halavais' "tribe of surfers" encircled her as they headed to shore, Henry periodically pushing Halavais' board ahead, although she mostly paddled herself.
"Everybody just went to her aid immediately, and it was very touching," Henry said. "Very, very, very, very cool."
Witnesses said there was little blood, but Bryant said he could see that the flesh was displaced beneath Halavais' wet suit. As they headed for shore Bryant and Henry made plans for Bryant to run for help while Henry applied pressure to her wounds.
As they talked, Halavais gradually caught on, saying, "What? I'm cut?" and slumping with the realization.
But she got to her feet at first on shore and was a trooper throughout, Henry said.
Among the surfers were off-duty state lifeguard Brit Horn and several emergency medics, Henry said.
Bryant and another surfer took off for help once onshore, and Horn used a wet suit beanie and a rash guard to bandage Halavais' wounds.
The Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter got Halavais to Memorial within 45 minutes of the attack, which occurred shortly before 11 a.m.
Hardin, the surgeon, said Halavais was alert and talking when she arrived and laughed about how she'd told her mom she would be bitten by a shark one day.
She was able to move her right foot, and it appeared that nerve damage, if any, was minimal, he said. Besides the wound on her thigh, she had a smaller, 5-centimeter laceration on her calf, Hardin said.
He said he played Beach Boys tunes during surgery, thinking it "fitting," and spent a good deal of time flushing sand and debris' from Halavais' wounds before stitching her muscle and other tissue back together.
"We see these (shark bite wounds) about once a year," Hardin said, "but these are the largest ones I've ever treated."
Salmon Creek Beach has been the scene of shark encounters before.
In 1996, Gregg Ferry of Sunnyvale was bitten by a great white. Also in 1996, Monte Rio surfer Kennon Cahill said he repeatedly was bumped by a shark but not bitten.
In November 2002, Santa Rosa attorney Mike Casey was bitten while body surfing.
Horn said there have been at least two encounters since where surfers have said they were bumped by a shark.
Horn and others said most surfers keep the possibility of a shark attack in the back of their minds.
But, Henry said, "it's not common at all. We never expected to see a shark."[/code]

[Johnny]

If you're paranoid about sharks, check this out:

http://www.thesharkdoctor.com/

[lowrider]

Did anybody ( in OZ ) see that story on Current Affair about the guys (surfers) near Newcastle, catching, tagging & releasing juvenile White Pointers off the beach?

Lots of bait fish around at the moment; they were getting hook-ups within 5 minutes; 3m Whiteys

I especially liked the part where they paddle the bait out through the shorebreak to the gutter.

[ross]

yeah mate,
i watched it to.loved the gamefish seat rigged up to the bullbar of the 4x4 .
just shows you there are more around than most people think.hope we dont get an influx of fishos up there trying to copy em though.
ross

[Bud]

While we're discussing white pointers and bait fish...............

Is it wise to put those spiffy FCS H2's on the bottom of our boards?

Seriously, they look like shiny silver bait dangling off the bottom of the board.

Bad enough that most surfers dress up in bulky black rubber suits, flap about in the water looking and moving like the weakest injured seal in the colony.

Add those extra enticing dinner bells to your board and troll along gleefully ignorant of the possible consequences.

Chalk one up for mass marketing and corporate greed.

The surf industry is way out of control folks.

Let'm know what you think. Here's a contact email address.

admin@surfhardware.com.au

[surfhorn]

Did I ever tell you about the harbor seal who bit a hole through the blade of one of my Duck Feet?

[Bud]

I recently heard of a guy who was "mounted" by and amorous elephant seal while laying on his board.

[lowrider]

"just shows you there are more around than most people think.hope we dont get an influx of fishos up there trying to copy em though. "

Yeah, They named the spot; a cardinal sin.

I must admit, it spooked me a bit

Andy

[ScottMac]

..

[K-man]

Klamath river is great for salmon and steelhead fishing.Spent some good times a bit up river.Those fish hang around outside prior to the big push upstream...So do the mammals...and so do mr. bigbite.A true smorgasbord of fatty critters. Wouldn't surf there at this time of year under those conditions.
Of course there are approx 800 harbor seals two miles from my favorite reef... So it goes....