Hawaii: Surfer bitten by shark at beach; says 'came out of nowhere'

[webfact]

Surfer bitten by shark at beach; says 'came out of nowhere' 
JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER, Associated Press

 

HONOLULU (AP) — A surfer says he's grateful to be recovering in a Maui hospital after a shark bit him — even though the attack forced him and his wife to postpone their honeymoon.

 

Federico Jaime was surfing Friday at a beach about two blocks from his Paia home when he felt a shark chomp down on his left arm, he recalled Monday from his room at Maui Memorial Medical Center.

 

"It just came out of nowhere," he said. "I saw the shark right in my face. It grabbed my arm— my left arm. It was really violent."

 

He knew he had been bitten. "I could see my arm was pretty much destroyed," he said. "I hit it with my hands and my legs. I don't know what I did."

 

Then, he said, he felt something pull on his left leg. At the time, he didn't realize the shark had bit him a second time.

 

Jaime, who supposed to leave for a Tahiti honeymoon on Saturday, started screaming. Nearby surfers helped get him to shore. One of them used a surfboard leash as tourniquet.

 

Professional surfer Matt Meola was on the beach when he saw the surfers suddenly paddle toward Jaime, who he recognized as a regular at Hookipa Beach Park.

 

"I just ran down with my phone. I saw that he was probably going to survive," Meola said. "I probably wouldn't have filmed if he was dying. But I thought he was going to be OK so I started filming."

 

Meola continued filming as Jaime calmly rinsed in a shower and as paramedics arrived "freakishly fast" and whisked him into an ambulance.

"He was pretty excited to see the footage I got," Meola said.

 

Jaime said with a laugh that he watched it "a thousand times." It's surreal to watch, he said: "I'm really lucky. I'm super positive."

 

The 5-foot reef shark bit Jaime when he was about 50 yards from shore at a surf spot known as "H-Poko," according to the Maui Fire Department.

 

He knows that October accounts for the greatest number of Hawaii shark bites. University of Hawaii researchers say this may be because female tiger sharks migrate south from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to give birth. An influx of hungry pupping sharks may boost the likelihood of a bad encounter with a human.

 

The attack won't diminish his passion for surfing, said Jaime, 36, who moved to Maui from Argentina about six years ago.

 

After three-hours of surgery on Friday, Jaime can move all his fingers and can feel his forearm muscle working. But he'll need another surgery on Wednesday to repair a tendon, he said.

 

He and his wife — married for about a year — will go on their honeymoon when he's feeling better.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-10-25

[Pib]

Yeap, shark attacks occasionally happen even in Hawaii.  When you swim around in the ocean anywhere in the world you become part of the food chain.

[mania]

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as paramedics arrived "freakishly fast" and whisked him into an ambulance.

 

 

Always good to hear about efficient emergency services

[canuckamuck]

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'Hawaii: Surfer bitten by shark at beach; says 'came out of nowhere'

 

This is quite concerning. I mean if this is true, then we aren't going to be safe anywhere.

[JHolmesJr]

Sharks….give them an inch and they take a foot.

[monkey4u]

3 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

 

This is quite concerning. I mean if this is true, then we aren't going to be safe anywhere.

I have not heard of a shark attack in a home pool or the toilet yet 

[canuckamuck]

1 hour ago, monkey4u said:

I have not heard of a shark attack in a home pool or the toilet yet 

Yet!

[williamgeorgeallen]

they are becoming more clever and attacking from beneath which i suspect they now know is our blind spot.

 

[bokningar]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Surfer bitten by shark at beach; says 'came out of nowhere' 

I'm quite sure it came from the sea 

[stevenl]

Shoddy reporting, connecting a reef shark bite to tiger sharks.

[thaibeachlovers]

The sad thing is that they will probably try and kill the sharks. We are invading their territory and complaining when it doesn't work out well.

 

In Australia the authorities want to put up shark nets, but the residents don't want them! I'm boggled.

[sanemax]

1 hour ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

they are becoming more clever and attacking from beneath which i suspect they now know is our blind spot.

 

 

   Have the sharks  given up parachuting in  attacks ?

[williamgeorgeallen]

1 minute ago, sanemax said:

 

   Have the sharks  given up parachuting in  attacks ?

had not considered that angle, thats another blind spot to worry about.

[stevenl]

27 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The sad thing is that they will probably try and kill the sharks. We are invading their territory and complaining when it doesn't work out well.

 

In Australia the authorities want to put up shark nets, but the residents don't want them! I'm boggled.

Because there are many unintended and unwelcome side effects.

[khundon]

9 hours ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

they are becoming more clever and attacking from beneath which i suspect they now know is our blind spot.

 

It's also where the water is, beneath the swimmer.

When they start attacking from the air, then you really need to start worrying.

 

[Scott]

Troll post removed.  

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, stevenl said:

Because there are many unintended and unwelcome side effects.

OK, don't have nets. Just don't complain if going into THEIR territory and it doesn't work out well.

[Americano555]

On 10/25/2016 at 7:35 PM, thaibeachlovers said:

The sad thing is that they will probably try and kill the sharks. We are invading their territory and complaining when it doesn't work out well.

 

In Australia the authorities want to put up shark nets, but the residents don't want them! I'm boggled.

No they will not try to kill the shark. Only if it kills someone. The shark is the Polynesian God ---so to speak.

[jerojero]

Yes I think he might survive or possibly bleed to death, but what the heck, let me get this video for my YouTube post.