Kauai Shark Attack Gives Surfer Scare

[La_Serpiente]

Kauai Shark Attack Gives Surfer Scare

A surfer had his board nipped by a shark at a Kauai beach Tuesday morning, according to officials.

It happened at about 7:45 a.m. at Kalihiwai Bay.

Bruce Orth, 51, was sitting on his board waiting for waves when he saw the shadow of a shark come up under him and then latch on to the railing of his surfboard.

"He came straight up and latched onto the side of the board. I'm looking straight down at this thing and I thought the head looked like a foot-and-a-half across. And I thought get this thing off my board. So, I pounded on it and kind of had to push it off," Orth said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibsys/20040317/lo_kitv/2054494

[Dookus]

1. eeep!

I was in Hawaii about 10 years ago, at Little Makena beach on Maui. I was walking up on the cliffs with my then-bf and he points to the water and says "Look! Dolphins!"

I look down and where he saw two dorsal fins, I saw one dorsal and one tailfin. Then a bunch of blood spreading in the water. It was a great white eating a sea turtle.

About an hour later, a diver was attacked at the same beach - but he managed to escape with minor injuries - he stabbed the shark in the nose with his knife.

Luckily, this all occurred the day AFTER I spent about two hours snorkeling by myself far offshore looking for turtles. I found a sick one bobbing on the surface (there's some bacterial infection that's doing great damage to them) and I spent about 20 minutes bobbing next to him, just watching him. Had I seen the shark attack prior to that, there's no way I'd be just hanging out on the surface next to a sick turtle.

[MidwestTransplant]

3. The could have thought he hit the jackpot and found

2 sick turtles. ;)

[La_Serpiente]

4. If there are a lot of sea turtles in the area

then more sharks would likely be in the area.

The best thing to do when you are attacked by a shark is to hit it in the nose or in that general area. Panicking is not an option.

And that Makena beach you are talking about? The environmentalists here have been trying to fight development near it. We will find out in a week whether we are successful or not (the county council is voting on the zoning soon).

[MuseRider]

7. Good luck with that.

2 years ago diving off the Big Island we helped collect Cowries. They were trying to prove the harm from all the development. There were dead Cowries everywhere and they think it was from the fertilizer running off the golf courses. Beautiful animals and they were dying by the thousands.

[MuseRider]

2. Yikes!

I scuba dive so I do not worry too much about sharks but if I was a surfer I would. Damn!

[Dookus]

5. Same here...

I dive in Monterey Bay alot - plenty of sharks, but I've never seen one. Surfers are MUCH more likely to get attacked.

Even diving, I HATE being at the surface - I like to get in, and get down as fast as possible.

[MuseRider]

6. Yes, that surface stuff

makes me nervous when I know the sharks are there. You have never seen one in Monterey Bay? I would have thought different. I have seen lots of sharks, some really close but they don't seem to care much about divers. Never a problem. Only time I have ever had a problem was when I was attacked by 2 remoras of all things! SO do you dive in the sea weed? That must be a trip.

[Dookus]

8. heheh

we call it "kelp", but yes, we dive in it. It's easy, actually, and it can be really beautiful.

No, I've never seen a shark in Monterey. I've seen 'em in Cozumel and Australia, but nothing very big.

I WAS diving once in Big Sur when a large Great White went by, but I didn't see it. The other divers did, though.