Re: 12/01/2006 Zak Golebiowski (Australia)
Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 8:49 pm
Great white shark attack can't stop Zac Golebiowski from surfing
By TREVOR PADDENBURG From: The Sunday Times January 23, 2010 7:00PM GUTSY: Zac Golebiowski lost his right leg to a great white shark in Esperance when he was 15. Now he is back in the water and planning a body surfing trip to Bali. Picture: Lincoln Baker Source: PerthNow
A GUTSY WA surfer who lost a leg in a shark attack is planning a body-boarding trip to Bali.
Zac Golebiowski was just 15 when a great white chomped off his right leg above the knee while he was surfing at Wharton Beach, 60km from Esperance, in 2006.
though he may never stand on a surfboard again, Zac has turned to bodyboarding for his "ocean fix".
Feeding his addiction is no mean feat and the trip to Indonesia will take some doing.
Zac relies on mates to drive him to the beach, where he walks on his prosthetic leg and crutches to the water's edge. He then removes his artificial leg, manoeuvres into the shallows, puts a flipper on his left foot and paddles out into the waves.
"It's not easy, but I always knew I'd be back in the water - right from day one I knew I wanted to surf again," Zac said. "Sharks are always on my mind when I'm in the water, but they say lightning never strikes twice and I just try not to think about it."
Amazingly, Zac - who moved from Esperance to Margaret River for the surfing lifestyle - is philosophical about the attack that almost cost him his life, revealing that he wished the shark had swallowed his leg instead of spitting it out (the leg washed up on the beach three days later), so that the animal would have "at least got some enjoyment out of it".
He also wished the shark had taken his left leg rather than right, so driving a car wouldn't be so difficult.
Zac survived the attack in December 2006 only because his brother, Sam, then 18, and mate Joe Redman, 15, pulled him on to a surfboard and paddled him to shore.
He barely got a glimpse of the shark, estimated to be 3-4m long, but remembers the horrific moment as he lay on the surfboard and saw his leg was "just gone".sThe Sunday Times joined the brave 18-year-old as he hit the waves in Margaret River this week, three years after his right leg was chomped off above the knee when a 3-4m predator attacked while he was surfing at Wharton Beach, 60km from Esperance.
Although he may never stand on a surfboard again, Zac said he turned to bodyboarding for his "ocean fix".
And while he is still haunted by the attack and "jumps at shadows" during a surf, the teenager says he has put the horrifying mauling behind him and is even planning on surfing in Bali next month.
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/great-w ... 5822829728
By TREVOR PADDENBURG From: The Sunday Times January 23, 2010 7:00PM GUTSY: Zac Golebiowski lost his right leg to a great white shark in Esperance when he was 15. Now he is back in the water and planning a body surfing trip to Bali. Picture: Lincoln Baker Source: PerthNow
A GUTSY WA surfer who lost a leg in a shark attack is planning a body-boarding trip to Bali.
Zac Golebiowski was just 15 when a great white chomped off his right leg above the knee while he was surfing at Wharton Beach, 60km from Esperance, in 2006.
though he may never stand on a surfboard again, Zac has turned to bodyboarding for his "ocean fix".
Feeding his addiction is no mean feat and the trip to Indonesia will take some doing.
Zac relies on mates to drive him to the beach, where he walks on his prosthetic leg and crutches to the water's edge. He then removes his artificial leg, manoeuvres into the shallows, puts a flipper on his left foot and paddles out into the waves.
"It's not easy, but I always knew I'd be back in the water - right from day one I knew I wanted to surf again," Zac said. "Sharks are always on my mind when I'm in the water, but they say lightning never strikes twice and I just try not to think about it."
Amazingly, Zac - who moved from Esperance to Margaret River for the surfing lifestyle - is philosophical about the attack that almost cost him his life, revealing that he wished the shark had swallowed his leg instead of spitting it out (the leg washed up on the beach three days later), so that the animal would have "at least got some enjoyment out of it".
He also wished the shark had taken his left leg rather than right, so driving a car wouldn't be so difficult.
Zac survived the attack in December 2006 only because his brother, Sam, then 18, and mate Joe Redman, 15, pulled him on to a surfboard and paddled him to shore.
He barely got a glimpse of the shark, estimated to be 3-4m long, but remembers the horrific moment as he lay on the surfboard and saw his leg was "just gone".sThe Sunday Times joined the brave 18-year-old as he hit the waves in Margaret River this week, three years after his right leg was chomped off above the knee when a 3-4m predator attacked while he was surfing at Wharton Beach, 60km from Esperance.
Although he may never stand on a surfboard again, Zac said he turned to bodyboarding for his "ocean fix".
And while he is still haunted by the attack and "jumps at shadows" during a surf, the teenager says he has put the horrifying mauling behind him and is even planning on surfing in Bali next month.
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/great-w ... 5822829728