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Surfer fighting for his life after attack by twelve-foot Great White at Lighthouse Beach, Port Macquarie

"His foot ripped off and basically he was bleeding everywhere."

A surfer in his forties is fighting for his life this afternoon after being hit by a suspected Great White shark at Port Macquarie, a holiday hamlet four hours north of Sydney and birthplace of the great Mick Campbell, the one-time tour contender. 

The man, who is forty-four, was hit at ten am, and suffered upper and lower leg injuries. He was transported to Port Mac hozzy for emergency surgery. 

As the surfers in the lineup paddled for shore, the shark tried to attack for a second time dispelling that hoary old myth that shark bites are a mistake.

A teenage girl who saw the attack described it as “really, really scary. I have never seen anything like it,” she told NBN. “His foot ripped off and basically he was bleeding everywhere. They were trying to talk to him, he was silent, he was frozen. They tried to tie his leg with the leg rope from the surfboard and some sticks to keep it straight.”

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Attacks by Great Whites aren’t exactly rare around Port. Three years ago, thirty-five-year-old surfer Chantelle Doyle was pulled from the jaws of a ten-foot Great White by her insanely brave husband Mark Rapley. 

“The shark was latched on to her leg. I just jumped into the water. I did what anyone would have done in that moment,” said Rapley, forgetting, perhaps, most of us are cowards in the line of fire and would’ve fled without a backward glance, soul mate or not.  

Witness Jed Toohey described the scene.

“It was unbelievable, the scream was incredible and there was splashing everywhere. Mark, her partner, got her up on the board. Mark was a hero. He started laying into the shark because it wouldn’t let go. He saved her life. He got off his board and started punching the shark. If he hadn’t put his own life at risk, it would have been strong enough to take her out to sea.”

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That year, 2020, was a wild one for Great White attacks in the area: fifteen-year-old Mani Hart-Deville at Wooli, two hours north of Port and sixty-year-old Rob Pedretti at Kingscliff, another couple of hours north.

Beaches closed etc.

More as it comes.

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18 Comments
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HaoleBoy

Looks like he is absolutely killing it. Works fishing charter, still ripping. And has a wife that surfs better than you.

Yeah_na

He’d probs still punch the fur off your face ya mutt

Yeah_na

Keg on legs is Mick Lowe
LOL
You should spend more time preening your asshole gorilla you are confusing your dingleberrys..

Sup Braj

Dude, you’re on fire today!

Hippy

He did pop Andy.

There are so many aussie stories hidden that Surfers Journal will never mine.

Yeah_na

Nah they wont because its always filtered through absolute fukn kooks like you.

Sean Connery

He has a couple Youtube clips of him and his misses venturing down south fishing and surfing. Couple savages. Worth searching.

longtomssecondcuztwiceremoved

2020+ Nick Slater at Greenmount.
2021 Rob Sanguinetti at Tuncurry.

Hope the bloke pulls through.

PacificNorthPest

Fuck the fucking sharks, kill them. Fuck the eco twat shark humpers too, dicks all of them.

Hippy

Go fishing.

Eco will survive.

Alan

You’re too fucking dumb to understand what would happen to the ocean if we wiped out the apex predators. You absolute jizz rag.

@surfads

Yeah fuck. Thoughts go out to the guy, hope he recovers. And to the crew that shepherded him in.

I’m living just up the road and have had my two closest encounters in 30 years of surfing in the last week.

Lots of solo surfs around here but they’re getting harder to justify.

Pauly Matt War-Shore

eek!

Hippy

Fish.

AI (for ever) .

I have ears he has died???

Derek Hynd's Missing Fins

Hahahhahahhaha. Nice avatar pic.

Mapski

Reminds me of the Jean-Jacques Feuchere sculpture of Satan.

Nonagon_Infinity

Fuck! Hope he recovers well. My daughter lives and surfs there at lighthouse


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