Re: 10/22/2010 Lucas McKaine Ransom ( California ) *** Fatal
Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:30 am
One year later, shark attack victim shares his story
Last October, Lucas Ransom, a 19-year-old UC Santa Barbara student from Riverside County, was bodyboarding with his friend Matthew Garcia at Surf Beach on Vandenberg Air Force Base when an estimated 18-foot shark attacked him and pulled him under water, mauling his leg. Once on the beach, Ransom died of blood loss. After losing his friend while in his arms, it took Garcia nine months to go back in the ocean. And now, nearly a year since the incident, Garcia is finally comfortable enough to share this harrowing tale. This is his account of the tragic event.
The day was no ordinary day. At least, it just appears that way in my mind. While the moon glowed red and shined into my balcony window, Lucas woke me up and asked me if we were still going to surf. All his stuff was already at the door, ready to go. I told him 'yes' and quickly gathered my gear and we headed out the door.
Before we could finish loading our gear Lucas noticed a black kitten following him. He made a little call to the cat and it came to him. He held the kitten in his hands and gave it a hug. Then the feline quickly disappeared into the darkness. We got on the road and cranked up some music to help pump us up for the session ahead.
We pulled up to the beach and just sat in awe. The sun had been up for about a half an hour and all we could see was massive, blue barrels up and down the entire beach. The only people around were awaiting the next train. We suited up and headed down to the beach to stretch and say a prayer before we paddled out.
Before I could even duckdive under the first wave, Lucas was already out in the lineup telling me to catch up. A huge set came in before I made it out and Luke caught the first wave of the day. He made faces at me as he zoomed by me into a rather large barrel. At this point I had finally stroked out the back and was looking for Luke. He paddled over to me with the largest smile and said, 'Dude, I could fit a Volkswagen in that barrel!"
This was the first time I had ever surfed here so I was trying to get everything dialed in before I started dropping in on these monsters. Another set came and I backed out of a few closeouts, but Lucas kept charging and didn't seem to mind them. By this point about 35 minutes had passed and Lucas was four barrels deep. Me? None.
The waves seemed to settle down and we both just waited next to each other for the next set. We were talking about how it seemed we were in a different country since there were so many barrels and no people around. Just then, I looked out to the horizon and told Lucas a set was coming. At this point, my life would change forever.
My vision went into slow motion and my brain began processing information faster than it had ever done before. My vision was clear, sounds and color were more vivid, and everything seemed like an HD movie being recorded. I heard something break the surface behind me and I glance over to my right. I see the side of a massive fish and within nano-seconds realized it was a white shark. The tail never breached the surface but I could see the gills, pectoral fin and the entire length of the body, minus the tail fin, pass me by. I remember thinking to myself, 'This thing is like three of my surfboard.' Then I heard the bones crunch.
I looked up at Lucas and he was looking at me. Everything paused for a split-second as if the shark had given us a chance to say our goodbyes. I had nothing to say but Lucas simply said, 'Help me, dude!' I looked into his eyes one last time and then he disappeared in a cloud of red.
To make matters worse, that set had no intention of slowing down. It was the biggest set of the day and the waves were breaking out further than where I was. Lucas surfaced about 20 yards from my location and got sucked over the falls of a wave entirely made up of his blood. He disappeared again and I was staring at a mountain of red/white water hurling towards me. I turned around, grasped my board tightly and let the water hit me. After I popped up from the washing machine, I looked around for any sign of Lucas and called out his name. I started to paddle in yelling at two guys on the beach to get help. All the while, I was still looking for any sign of my friend.
I was about 50 yards from shore when I see his bodyboard explode out of the water about 25 yards from me. I yelled to Lucas to swim to me, which he promptly did by taking one last big stroke. His body just dropped in the water and I saw him floating there. I instantly paddled to him at a super-human speed. I threw my board aside and grab him. I flipped him to his back and watched his face turn pale and his mouth start to foam. Then I hugged him with one arm, gave him chest compressions with the other and propped his head up with my shoulder.
I started breaststroke kicking us back to shore faster than an Olympian could doing the full stroke. I reached the beach in a matter of seconds and one of the men on shore rushed over to help me pull him out. I looked down and saw the marrow of Lucas' femur. The sight of his dismembered body will forever be stained in my mind. We dragged him up the beach and I proceeded to give him CPR for twenty minutes. At that point, I realized Lucas left us and I looked down the beach to the water and noticed not a drop of blood touched beautiful white sand.
After Lucas' paddle out I didn't touch the water for about nine months. There were too many sleepless nights to count and I never expected them to end. For a while, the site of water or the smell of salty air triggered Vietnam-like flashbacks. The worst part was that I live a block from the beach and could hear waves crashing from my bedroom window. I have recently started surfing again but I can't help but be overwhelmed with anxiety whenever I paddle out. Unless, of course, I'm on a wave because that's the only time that everything is gravy.
http://www.surfline.com
Last October, Lucas Ransom, a 19-year-old UC Santa Barbara student from Riverside County, was bodyboarding with his friend Matthew Garcia at Surf Beach on Vandenberg Air Force Base when an estimated 18-foot shark attacked him and pulled him under water, mauling his leg. Once on the beach, Ransom died of blood loss. After losing his friend while in his arms, it took Garcia nine months to go back in the ocean. And now, nearly a year since the incident, Garcia is finally comfortable enough to share this harrowing tale. This is his account of the tragic event.
The day was no ordinary day. At least, it just appears that way in my mind. While the moon glowed red and shined into my balcony window, Lucas woke me up and asked me if we were still going to surf. All his stuff was already at the door, ready to go. I told him 'yes' and quickly gathered my gear and we headed out the door.
Before we could finish loading our gear Lucas noticed a black kitten following him. He made a little call to the cat and it came to him. He held the kitten in his hands and gave it a hug. Then the feline quickly disappeared into the darkness. We got on the road and cranked up some music to help pump us up for the session ahead.
We pulled up to the beach and just sat in awe. The sun had been up for about a half an hour and all we could see was massive, blue barrels up and down the entire beach. The only people around were awaiting the next train. We suited up and headed down to the beach to stretch and say a prayer before we paddled out.
Before I could even duckdive under the first wave, Lucas was already out in the lineup telling me to catch up. A huge set came in before I made it out and Luke caught the first wave of the day. He made faces at me as he zoomed by me into a rather large barrel. At this point I had finally stroked out the back and was looking for Luke. He paddled over to me with the largest smile and said, 'Dude, I could fit a Volkswagen in that barrel!"
This was the first time I had ever surfed here so I was trying to get everything dialed in before I started dropping in on these monsters. Another set came and I backed out of a few closeouts, but Lucas kept charging and didn't seem to mind them. By this point about 35 minutes had passed and Lucas was four barrels deep. Me? None.
The waves seemed to settle down and we both just waited next to each other for the next set. We were talking about how it seemed we were in a different country since there were so many barrels and no people around. Just then, I looked out to the horizon and told Lucas a set was coming. At this point, my life would change forever.
My vision went into slow motion and my brain began processing information faster than it had ever done before. My vision was clear, sounds and color were more vivid, and everything seemed like an HD movie being recorded. I heard something break the surface behind me and I glance over to my right. I see the side of a massive fish and within nano-seconds realized it was a white shark. The tail never breached the surface but I could see the gills, pectoral fin and the entire length of the body, minus the tail fin, pass me by. I remember thinking to myself, 'This thing is like three of my surfboard.' Then I heard the bones crunch.
I looked up at Lucas and he was looking at me. Everything paused for a split-second as if the shark had given us a chance to say our goodbyes. I had nothing to say but Lucas simply said, 'Help me, dude!' I looked into his eyes one last time and then he disappeared in a cloud of red.
To make matters worse, that set had no intention of slowing down. It was the biggest set of the day and the waves were breaking out further than where I was. Lucas surfaced about 20 yards from my location and got sucked over the falls of a wave entirely made up of his blood. He disappeared again and I was staring at a mountain of red/white water hurling towards me. I turned around, grasped my board tightly and let the water hit me. After I popped up from the washing machine, I looked around for any sign of Lucas and called out his name. I started to paddle in yelling at two guys on the beach to get help. All the while, I was still looking for any sign of my friend.
I was about 50 yards from shore when I see his bodyboard explode out of the water about 25 yards from me. I yelled to Lucas to swim to me, which he promptly did by taking one last big stroke. His body just dropped in the water and I saw him floating there. I instantly paddled to him at a super-human speed. I threw my board aside and grab him. I flipped him to his back and watched his face turn pale and his mouth start to foam. Then I hugged him with one arm, gave him chest compressions with the other and propped his head up with my shoulder.
I started breaststroke kicking us back to shore faster than an Olympian could doing the full stroke. I reached the beach in a matter of seconds and one of the men on shore rushed over to help me pull him out. I looked down and saw the marrow of Lucas' femur. The sight of his dismembered body will forever be stained in my mind. We dragged him up the beach and I proceeded to give him CPR for twenty minutes. At that point, I realized Lucas left us and I looked down the beach to the water and noticed not a drop of blood touched beautiful white sand.
After Lucas' paddle out I didn't touch the water for about nine months. There were too many sleepless nights to count and I never expected them to end. For a while, the site of water or the smell of salty air triggered Vietnam-like flashbacks. The worst part was that I live a block from the beach and could hear waves crashing from my bedroom window. I have recently started surfing again but I can't help but be overwhelmed with anxiety whenever I paddle out. Unless, of course, I'm on a wave because that's the only time that everything is gravy.
http://www.surfline.com