Re: 07/08/2009 Paul Buckley ( South Africa )
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 6:37 pm
I heard the shark before it hit me - surfer
July 09 2009 at 06:53PM
By Craig McKune
Paul Buckley heard the shark before it hit him.
"It was like a 500-pound Rottweiler in a very bad mood.
"It sounded like a growl or a grunt - maybe from the impact. The force was incredible."
Thrown into the water from his surfboard, Buckley grabbed the shark's tail, hoping this would stop it from coming back at him. The predator remained fastened to his left thigh for a second or two, then it let go and swam out to sea.
Neoprene-coated surfer was not on the menu - just a taste - and Buckley was left to paddle a slow, prayer-filled 100m back to the beach, where he was rushed to a local doctor with a lacerated leg.
The 37-year-old from Claremont had been surfing on Tuesday at a spot called "Kakgats" at Jongensfontein, near Stilbaai, when he was attacked.
"It was a bloody big fish," said NSRI station commander Rico Menezies after examining bite marks in Buckley's surfboard on Thursday. He estimated the shark to be over three and a half metres.
The bite was about 37cm wide and nearly 3cm deep into the board, he said. The bite on Buckley's leg was "a foot wide".
"I'm almost certain it was a great white," Menezies said.
The waves had been perfect that morning. "It was brilliant," said Phil Norton who had joined Buckley and three others in the water.
"It was probably the best... We were surfing six-foot peeling perfection," he said, reverting to surf jargon. "We'd seen whales and seals - there was a lot of wildlife out there."
Norton had already caught a wave back to the beach, and only two surfers were still in the water when Buckley was attacked.
Watching from his parent's balcony, 14-year-old Pieter de Witt saw the surfer start to thrash around in the water.
De Witt rushed down to the sea where he met Buckley and Norton, while his sister brought a car down to the beach.
"The first we knew of it was when we saw Paul paddling slowly towards the beach. He paddled right onto the sand and was holding his leg," said Norton.
"We bundled him into the car and rushed him to a local doctor who sewed it shut. From there we dashed to Mossel Bay hospital where a specialist sewed it up."
According to Norton, the doctors said Buckley was lucky no flesh had been torn off and the shark's teeth hadn't ruptured an artery or torn his hamstring.
"If it had just been a little further over to the left or right, or if it had taken out a chunk it could have been much worse," Buckley said.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1 ... 506C180712
July 09 2009 at 06:53PM
By Craig McKune
Paul Buckley heard the shark before it hit him.
"It was like a 500-pound Rottweiler in a very bad mood.
"It sounded like a growl or a grunt - maybe from the impact. The force was incredible."
Thrown into the water from his surfboard, Buckley grabbed the shark's tail, hoping this would stop it from coming back at him. The predator remained fastened to his left thigh for a second or two, then it let go and swam out to sea.
Neoprene-coated surfer was not on the menu - just a taste - and Buckley was left to paddle a slow, prayer-filled 100m back to the beach, where he was rushed to a local doctor with a lacerated leg.
The 37-year-old from Claremont had been surfing on Tuesday at a spot called "Kakgats" at Jongensfontein, near Stilbaai, when he was attacked.
"It was a bloody big fish," said NSRI station commander Rico Menezies after examining bite marks in Buckley's surfboard on Thursday. He estimated the shark to be over three and a half metres.
The bite was about 37cm wide and nearly 3cm deep into the board, he said. The bite on Buckley's leg was "a foot wide".
"I'm almost certain it was a great white," Menezies said.
The waves had been perfect that morning. "It was brilliant," said Phil Norton who had joined Buckley and three others in the water.
"It was probably the best... We were surfing six-foot peeling perfection," he said, reverting to surf jargon. "We'd seen whales and seals - there was a lot of wildlife out there."
Norton had already caught a wave back to the beach, and only two surfers were still in the water when Buckley was attacked.
Watching from his parent's balcony, 14-year-old Pieter de Witt saw the surfer start to thrash around in the water.
De Witt rushed down to the sea where he met Buckley and Norton, while his sister brought a car down to the beach.
"The first we knew of it was when we saw Paul paddling slowly towards the beach. He paddled right onto the sand and was holding his leg," said Norton.
"We bundled him into the car and rushed him to a local doctor who sewed it shut. From there we dashed to Mossel Bay hospital where a specialist sewed it up."
According to Norton, the doctors said Buckley was lucky no flesh had been torn off and the shark's teeth hadn't ruptured an artery or torn his hamstring.
"If it had just been a little further over to the left or right, or if it had taken out a chunk it could have been much worse," Buckley said.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1 ... 506C180712