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Went fishing – and luckily came back alive
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by YankeeJim | February 4, 2010 at 03:19 pm
145 views | 2 Recommendations | 2 comments
The sad news today is that a kite sailor off the coast of Stuart Florida died from a shark attack.
“Man is killed in shark attack in Florida
By BRIAN SKOLOFF
The Associated Press
Thursday, February 4, 2010; 5:43 PM
STUART, Fla. -- There was blood in the water, the sharks were circling and a grievously hurt Stephen Schafer - his thigh gashed and his hand mauled - was screaming in pain by the time the lifeguard reached him.
The lifeguard pulled Schafer onto his rescue board, but his cries quieted as he drifted in and out of consciousness.
He would soon be dead, marking the first deadly shark attack in Florida in five years, and perhaps a rare instance of a lethal attack by a swarm of sharks.
Schafer, 38, was attacked Wednesday afternoon a quarter-mile off South Florida's Atlantic Coast while he was out kiteboarding - using a large kite-like sail to pull him along the surface on a board strapped to his feet. When the winds lightened and his sail dropped, the Stuart man found himself in the water, surrounded by sharks.
Lifeguard Daniel Lund, 47, spotted Schafer as he scanned the ocean with binoculars from the beach about 100 miles north of Miami. He said Schafer appeared to be in distress but wasn't flailing around. Instead, he seemed to be floating on his kite in the choppy water.
Lund paddled out, struggling through 6-foot waves. As he got close, he said, the normally turquoise-green ocean was red with blood, and he could see the shadows of perhaps two or three sharks circling Schafer, churning the crimson water, occasionally breaking the surface.
"The one thing he said is he'd been bitten by a shark," the lifeguard said
Afraid the blood would set off a feeding frenzy, Lund cradled the man's head and with one arm, began paddling back to shore as fast as he could, fighting the current and wind.”
That reminds of the time…
When I lived in Tampa Florida, it was most convenient to go fishing. All that I really had to do was to go down to my dock on Davis Island, off the coast of Tampa. When the water was moving, in or out of the bay, I stood a good chance of catching dinner. Sometimes I would catch trout. Other times redfish. And when in season, I might catch a fighting snook.
We always fished with live shrimp that I kept in a well by the dock.
Sometimes, I would get a hankering to go surf fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. I would pack up my gear and head to the Gulf shores. I avoided the popular fishing piers and opted for my special spots. One such spot was Sunset Island.
I was fishing awhile, catching fish called grunts. They make a noise like a pig. They are a pretty blue and yellow color. Usually, you don’t eat them because they are too small, though they make good bait. So, I kept a few tethered on a stringer next to my bait box with shrimp.
The sun was bright and I was wading in something that resembles Chinese egg drop soup. I could see sea urchins in there and had my eye out for jellyfish and stingrays as I didn’t want a surprise encounter.
Fish were biting, though I was not having luck catching them. Then, I looked down at my feet and felt a little stinging sensation. I was being eaten alive by a blue crab. It wasn’t that uncomfortable though I had a little cut. I kicked him away.
The tide was high and I was having fun. All of a sudden, I felt a bump that almost knocked me over. It was a shark that was apparently somewhat blind because he just bumped me. Then, I saw what he wanted. He took my grunts!
I dashed for shore and from that moment on swore that all of my fishing would be in a boat, on a dock, or on the beach.
YJ
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YankeeJim
Arlington, Virginia, United States
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 01:09 on February 5th, 2010
Lucky escape Jim!
I got stung by a jelly fish in the sea while on holiday in Greece, never been back in seawater since.
at 05:15 on February 5th, 2010
I have encoutered sting rays and ended up in the hospital for treatment. I kicked a sailfin catfish from my fishing line and drove the fin through my Nike tennis shoe and that too required surgery.