Just when you thought it was safe for Fonzie to jump the shark or go back in the water…
October 13, 2011 – Seaside, Oregon
An Oregon man surfed on more than just his board Monday – he actually stood atop a thrashing Great White shark for several terrifying seconds.
Seaside, OR — On October 10, 2011 Doug Niblack was surfing ‘The Cove’ at Seaside, Oregon. It was 3:00 PM and he had been on the water about 2 hours. Air and water temperatures were estimated in the low 50s and 60s Fahrenheit, respectively. It was raining and the sky was overcast with an onshore breeze of 5 – 10 mph. There was a 6 foot swell at about 16 seconds over a sandy ocean floor 10 – 12 feet deep. Water visibility was 5 – 10 feet with a ‘red tide’ present. A deep water channel was 40 – 50 feet from his location. Salmon are currently present in the area and one pinniped was observed 5 – 10 minutes following the attack. Although there had been up to 15 surfers in the water, all but two had gone ashore prior to the attack. Niblack reported the following; “I was sitting on my board, legs astraddle, for 5 – 10 minutes. I paddled over to another location near the point break and sat up. The other surfers were about 20 yards from me and closer to the beach. It seemed like my board was struck from below or hit something, very forceful. It tossed me up in the air and I landed on my knees on what at first I thought was a rock. I stood up and then saw a dorsal fin, about 2 feet high, in front of me (facing the tail)and then a tail, about 8 – 10 feet behind the dorsal fin. The tail began moving from side to side as the shark moved away. It was then that I realized I was on the back of a shark. I jumped off to my left side. The shark started moving away but struck my surfboard with its dorsal fin and apparently hooked my leash as I began to be pulled thru the water, along with my board. I traveled about 10 feet, when the leash went slack. I got on my surfboard and went directly to the beach. Jake Marks had witnessed the entire incident and joined me in my quick ride to the beach. The shark’s coloration was a very dark charcoal grey to black.” The causal species of this attack is a White Shark, 16 – 18 feet in length, based on coloration and size estimates provided by the victim. This is the fourth confirmed unprovoked shark attack for 2011 from the Pacific Coast of North America. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.
Doug Niblack was surfing off the coast of Seaside, Ore., when his board hit what he initially thought was a rock. But when he looked down, he saw a dorsal fin and soon realized he was directly on top of the world’s most fearsome shark. Then, the beast’s tail began thrashing and Niblack jumped off and paddled to shore.
“It was pretty terrifying just seeing the shape emerge out of nothing and just being under me,” he told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “And the fin coming out of the water. It was just like the movies.”
Jake Marks, an off-duty Coast Guard officer who was nearby, said he saw Niblack suddenly standing up, with water churning around him. Although he didn’t see the shark, he did see a large shape swimming off between them just beneath the surface.
“I have no reason to doubt there was a shark out there,” said Marks. “With the damage to his board, the way he was yelling and trembling afterwards — there is no other explanation for that.”
Ralph Collier, president of the Shark Research Committee in Canoga Park, Calif., and director of the Global Shark Attack File in Princeton, N.J., told the AP such encounters are extremely rare, but not unprecedented.
Niblack said he was standing on the shark for as long as four seconds before it swam away, at first pulling his surfboard, which was tethered to his ankle.
“I’m just screaming bloody murder,” he said. “I’m just yelling, ‘Shark!’ I thought for sure I was gone.
“There was a moment there when everything was going on, I just kind of made my peace,” he added. “I honestly thought I was going to die. Then paddling back in, I was praying the whole time. Like, ‘Don’t let it be following me.’”
South Beach State Park, OR — On October 20, 2011 Fox News in Newport, Oregon reported the following; “A great white shark bit a huge chunk out of a surfboard while its rider was catching a wave off the coast of South Beach State Park in Newport, Oregon. ‘All the sudden I saw a two-foot fin coming out of the water and it lifted up my friend in the air,’ said Ron Clifford, who was in the water near the surfer who was attacked . ‘I was scared for my life. I’ve never seen anything like that. It was like witnessing an almost murder.’ The surfer, Bobby Gumm, made it to shore unharmed, but his friends said he was shaken up by what had happened. The shark bit 23 inches off his board. He and his friends were thankful they all made it to shore.” This is the second authenticated unprovoked shark attack from Oregon in 10 days and the 5th for the Pacific Coast of North America this year. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.
Source: http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/pacific_coast_shark_news.htm
