Re: 03/18/2015 - Ken Grasing - Hawaii
Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 3:27 pm
Shark bite victim describes attack at Hapuna Beach
By Web Staff, khon2. Published: March 20, 2015, 3:31 pm
The man who was bitten by a shark at Hapuna Beach spoke about his experience Friday.
Ken Grasing, 58, of Overland Park, Kansas, was on the Big Island vacationing with his family.
He had been snorkeling Wednesday with his sons, Danny and Mike, and was standing about 100 feet from shore when it happened.
“The water around me was about four or five feet deep and I was looking out to sea, away from shore, and this black cloud appeared and I wasn’t sure what it was. The shape moved towards me quickly and it materialized into a 10-12 foot tiger shark,” he said. “It all happened very rapidly. The shark bit my left hand.”
Grasing spoke from Queen’s Medical Center, where he was flown for treatment for the shark bite, plus a laceration to his thigh.
He said the experience was surreal, and he knew what he had to do to survive.
“I’d heard that you should hit the shark in the face, but it’s very difficult to hit a shark in the face because there’s a lot of teeth there and they’re sharp and it’s moving fast and it’s happening very quickly, but I did hit it on the side of the head,” he recalled. “Fortunately, either it didn’t like what it tasted or it didn’t seem quite right, so I was really at it’s mercy.”
But the shark never returned, nor did it attack any other swimmers.
Hawaii Island police say Grasing was assisted to shore and taken to North Hawaii Community Hospital before being flown to Honolulu. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Grasing says the experience did not ruin his trip or impression of the islands.
“It’s just going to be a bump in the road for me and the excellent team here just sewed up my hand and I think it’s going to be fine,” he said, but admitted, “I don’t know if I’m ever going to snorkel again.”
Hapuna Beach has since been reopened after the incident.
Source: khon2
By Web Staff, khon2. Published: March 20, 2015, 3:31 pm
The man who was bitten by a shark at Hapuna Beach spoke about his experience Friday.
Ken Grasing, 58, of Overland Park, Kansas, was on the Big Island vacationing with his family.
He had been snorkeling Wednesday with his sons, Danny and Mike, and was standing about 100 feet from shore when it happened.
“The water around me was about four or five feet deep and I was looking out to sea, away from shore, and this black cloud appeared and I wasn’t sure what it was. The shape moved towards me quickly and it materialized into a 10-12 foot tiger shark,” he said. “It all happened very rapidly. The shark bit my left hand.”
Grasing spoke from Queen’s Medical Center, where he was flown for treatment for the shark bite, plus a laceration to his thigh.
He said the experience was surreal, and he knew what he had to do to survive.
“I’d heard that you should hit the shark in the face, but it’s very difficult to hit a shark in the face because there’s a lot of teeth there and they’re sharp and it’s moving fast and it’s happening very quickly, but I did hit it on the side of the head,” he recalled. “Fortunately, either it didn’t like what it tasted or it didn’t seem quite right, so I was really at it’s mercy.”
But the shark never returned, nor did it attack any other swimmers.
Hawaii Island police say Grasing was assisted to shore and taken to North Hawaii Community Hospital before being flown to Honolulu. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Grasing says the experience did not ruin his trip or impression of the islands.
“It’s just going to be a bump in the road for me and the excellent team here just sewed up my hand and I think it’s going to be fine,” he said, but admitted, “I don’t know if I’m ever going to snorkel again.”
Hapuna Beach has since been reopened after the incident.
Source: khon2