"So heavy…his parents are in shock."
A surfer in this twenties, Joe Hoffman, has been hit by a shark at Crescent Head, an old-timer’s sorta point, although very iconic, historical etc, five hours north of Sydney.
Usual scene.
Surfer being carried out of the water. Siren. An ambulance. A chopper landing on a golf course, paramedics, crowds, iPhones poised to snatch vision of a severely injured man, wondering how the hell his life just changed, if he’s going to live to see his family again.
The shaper of Hoffman’s boards, Mitchell Rae, posted on Instagram,
“I just spoke with his dad and from all accounts it’s a very nasty bite to his bicep. The first people that got to him were doctors by Providence and they tourniquet his arm with a leg rope immediately. he’s been evacuated to John Hunter at Newcastle now. So heavy.   i’m feeling quite numb as I’ve known Joe since he was a baby and his parents are in shock.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ8PVu5nt7F/
Real sharky on the east coast at the moment and right in the middle of an out of season north-east swell. A healthy stock of whales migrating north for the winter, football-field sized schools of salmon, and a predator responsible for, what, how many dead surfers now, and protected since 1999.
Twelve peopled killed almost solely by Whites in 2020, four of ’em surfers. RIP Andrew Sharpe, RIP Rob Pedretti, RIP Mani Hart-Deville, RIP Nick Slater.
In May this year, Mark Sanguinetti, who was fifty-nine and from Newport Beach in Sydney, died on the beach at Tuncurry, just south of Crescent, after being hit by a fifteen-foot Great White.
He’d gone on a little surf trip with three of his pals.
Details are pretty scarce right now, although it ain’t a secret that Great Whites frequent the area.
Around the same time, BeachGrit writer, commenter of note, Surf Ads, a couple of hours south, fled the surf when another surfer was bumped by a shark of considerable girth and unknown intent.
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That’s a solid chomp. Poor kid.
Those eye stickers make his board look like a big fish. Sharks eat fish. Black and white stripes it seems would let sharks know you’re not something to eat. Sea snakes are the only thing that have patterns like that.
They aren’t the shark eyes stickers. They’re a logo/symbol of sorts for Mitchell Rae Surfboards. He’s a been around a long time. Is very well known for making Bali guns and very finely shaped boards.
Didn’t know, support your local shaper. Nobody’s fault but the shark.
how about , if you surf where you know there are sharks , you , are taking the risk?
True. Much respect for local shapers and felt bad about mentioning his eye stickers. I would cover them up myself.
it’s really interesting over here in OZ , as the Whale populations are coming back……20 years ago the annual east coast migration of whales was below a 1000, now it’s approaching 20,000 +….so the eco systems are being re-established , and of course the sharks are part of the eco system……..the real big increase is the tripling of surfers/ocean users , and remote beaches are now also full of us ……we the invasive species , LOL!
Yea different over here, nobody calls for the killing of sharks when a surfer gets killed. I guess because the environmental movement has been going on since the sixties and it’s pretty deep seated in society.
I’m trying to understand the attitudes in Au compared to Europe. I always though it must be like France or something. Never realized you have a bunch of people that rival the backwater areas of the Ozarks.
just found out , the attack was a bull shark …..ask people in Reunion Island…..they took out all the reef sharks for shark fins for Honk Kong…..then the tigers and Bulls took over…..bulls are way more rad than GWS’s.
What a mess Reunion is. Must be devastating for their tourism. Makes sense it was a bull. Seems like whites bite people on the thigh every time
Been more shark deaths in 2021 in Aus than deaths from Covid. Compare the responses
He certainly gets a lot of mediocre comments featured by judges that make the WSL ones seem credible
23 years of research, tracking fish…an industry with much govt. grant money invested. Don’t get me wrong as an avid ocean user I have concern for all aquatic life… about time to get serious and thresh out a rational plan of response to increasing attacks… i hope the kid pulls through!
Scary, lots of fish around at the moment.
Aren’t you supposed to put the shark eyes on the bottom of your board though?
Question is – how many deaths are the public going to put up with before a cull is back on the cards?
A pair of 7 year old Twins with blonde hair and blue eyes taken by a monster Great White are needed as the posterchildren for the cull.
Certainly not a middle aged contributor of banal stories full of yesterdays nobodies. to a website full of sik fuks
1st point dont call it cull(everyone hates the thought of killing things as they discuss the issues of the day while eating their beautiful steak for dinner) call it shark management program,