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Old 06-06-2017, 11:12 PM   #1
kon
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Shark attack in Key West

This video was posted to Liveleak today. I'm not sure if it's a new incident or not but I certainly haven't seen it before. It looks like it could have been much worse.

https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=095_1496797204
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Old 06-07-2017, 07:11 AM   #2
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Re: Shark attack in Key West

It looks very superficial, he was very lucky.

A few observations/questions:


It's unusual that no one out of three guys has a loaded gun. That shark came right to the surface with an aggressive posture. His buddies should have charged it and poked it if possible. And shot it if necessary. I know it happened fast.

What is the boat driver doing? Cut the anchor and get the boat over there FAST! If you hear 'shark bite', assume the worst and get that guy out of the water. And have a tournequit ready. Maybe no one was on the boat?

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Old 06-07-2017, 07:29 AM   #3
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Re: Shark attack in Key West

There were 3 or so people in the boat. They all looked surprised he had a bite as he was entering boat. But he or his buddies did not seem to by flagging boat down or anything either. Good reminder to double check our personal first aid kits, I'm going to add a few things like extra bandage, gauze, tourniquet I have been meaning to do for a while now.
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Old 06-07-2017, 10:59 AM   #4
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Re: Shark attack in Key West

I talked to the capt. he is a buddy of mine. The guy was rammed and not bitten. If you look at the wound- you can see it's not a bite. The guys were newbies on a charter boat btw and there were 3 divers in the water and the guy with the grouper had the shark charge him on the bottom and was pointing it out to his friends when it came up and rammed him. It appears that they all scattered upon seeing the shark- the guy with the fish dropped his gun and stuck his head out of the water and kicked backwards in a panick- it was then that he was rammed in the shin bone and the soft bare skin on top of the bone was opened right up.
the place they were diving is very sharky- usually bull sharks.
middle sambo @ 45'water
anyone with any shark experience would have had no issues
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Old 06-07-2017, 11:36 AM   #5
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Re: Shark attack in Key West

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Originally Posted by Impaler Spearguns View Post
I talked to the capt. he is a buddy of mine. The guy was rammed and not bitten. If you look at the wound- you can see it's not a bite. The guys were newbies on a charter boat btw and there were 3 divers in the water and the guy with the grouper had the shark charge him on the bottom and was pointing it out to his friends when it came up and rammed him. It appears that they all scattered upon seeing the shark- the guy with the fish dropped his gun and stuck his head out of the water and kicked backwards in a panick- it was then that he was rammed in the shin bone and the soft bare skin on top of the bone was opened right up.
the place they were diving is very sharky- usually bull sharks.
middle sambo @ 45'water
anyone with any shark experience would have had no issues
Agreed. I tell any new diver 'if you see a shark, swim toward it and yell in your snorkel. Never swim away from a shark'.

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Old 06-07-2017, 12:43 PM   #6
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Re: Shark attack in Key West

Quote:
Originally Posted by Impaler Spearguns View Post
I talked to the capt. he is a buddy of mine. The guy was rammed and not bitten. If you look at the wound- you can see it's not a bite. The guys were newbies on a charter boat btw and there were 3 divers in the water and the guy with the grouper had the shark charge him on the bottom and was pointing it out to his friends when it came up and rammed him. It appears that they all scattered upon seeing the shark- the guy with the fish dropped his gun and stuck his head out of the water and kicked backwards in a panick- it was then that he was rammed in the shin bone and the soft bare skin on top of the bone was opened right up.
the place they were diving is very sharky- usually bull sharks.
middle sambo @ 45'water
anyone with any shark experience would have had no issues
I know an impact can cause interesting wounds, but these pictures look more like a bite. This link was under the original Youtube video.

https://goo.gl/photos/vyUKpbmtg2e8ZH3A7
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Old 06-07-2017, 01:25 PM   #7
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Re: Shark attack in Key West

I saw the photos on FB sure looked like a bite.
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Old 06-07-2017, 01:56 PM   #8
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Re: Shark attack in Key West

If that is a bite, where is the other half of the bite?
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Old 06-07-2017, 05:13 PM   #9
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Re: Shark attack in Key West

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If that is a bite, where is the other half of the bite?
yeah - i agree and think about it - the shin bone is just under the skin and the skin is very soft in water - plus sharks come around alot and get very close but they tend to be almost surgical in biting only the fish- how many people you know who got bit? I know a few who got rammed though.
RYfish may be right - but I think it's a bump- just an opinion.
one thing the capt agrees with me on that btw
it is a friend of mine
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Old 06-07-2017, 05:31 PM   #10
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Re: Shark attack in Key West

Yea, I seen a couple things wrong in that scenario. IMO, the dive should've kept his cool and poked the HELL out of that shark when it came near.
The non responsiveness of the boat was concerning but then again, I didn't see and proper hand signals from the divers.
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Old 06-08-2017, 09:01 AM   #11
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Re: Shark attack in Key West

from the video , you can see the boat was anchored .
the news said he got 50 stiches from the interaction .
there is definitely a hole in his leg below the "scrape" .
Let's call it "half a bite"
he said in the Key West Citizen , that the grouper got off the spear on the initial shot ,
that is when the group of sharks showed up .
commercial yellowtail season had just closed on the 3rd .
apparently the sharks who hang behind the fleet of "powerchummers" normally there,
did not get the NOAA statement , and showed up to be fed like usual .
lacking their normal buffet , they sought out the nearest noise.
this might have been a poor selection of a spot to spear .
Personally , I've been bumped , and bitten several times , but none of the interactions have been serious since I always , WEAR A WETSUIT.
if this was a charter vessel , why does it not have the 10 inch FL numbers required ?
If this was a charter vessel , why would the Captain choose such a sharky spot ,
known for the large amount of sharks there daily ? , including the occasional tiger , great white , and makos ? the bulls are there constantly with the reef sharks .
they never leave , why did they anchor ? to save gas ?
if this was a charter why wasn't the Captain on board the vessel as required by law ?
Coast Guard regs , state the Captain is not to get off the vessel .
This highlights why .
The Captain should have put a ball on the anchor and motored over to facilitate an assist .

I saw the young Lady , Amanda ,and 2 others on board the anchored vessel .
So , there are questions , the spearo bitten said he had only been spearing for 2 years .

Got to give the Guy credit , he stayed calm , his breathing was level and steady and got himself back to the boat on his own .
It takes just under 4 minutes to get back to the boat from the time of the interaction.

watch the video , ask yourselves some questions ,
like how hard is it to spear a black grouper while wearing an orange rash guard ?

Hope he recovers well , his spirit wasn't broken , he says in the newspaper article
he will continue spearing once healed .
After any interaction , I find it takes a month to quit looking over your shoulder while
in the water , and I always have a RAY ODOR PPD in 357 in my wetsuit sleeve .
sometimes that 10 lb grouper isn't worth the trip to the emergency room.

Last edited by slowboat; 06-08-2017 at 10:38 AM.
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Old 06-08-2017, 10:57 AM   #12
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Re: Shark attack in Key West

just in case you want a ppd , since Ray Odor site no longer exists:

guys name is Cooter and has a site called huntfishsupply.com

his number is 352 279 6961 , they are $25 a piece , 3 bucks shipping out of north florida

I am not affiliated with him , bought a spare ppd in 357 from him .
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Old 06-08-2017, 02:12 PM   #13
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Re: Shark attack in Key West

I'm confused about just about every aspect of this whole thing.

I saw some new pics and I do agree it's abite though- a weird one - but it looks like a bite in some new pics i saw.

I think the captain WAs on the boat- but I don't see him in the video- it's true.
yet remember - what we have is go pro footage shot off someone's head- it's not like there was a cameraman getting the whole scene.

The dude WAS pretty calm about it - I never heard him yell at the boat for help really - so maybe the capt didn't realize he was actually bit until he was right up next to the boat.

As far as anchoring up- I never ever anchor up - so I cannot comment on that one - since I don't do it.

It's true that sambos is sharky - but I see 6 ft reef sharks and bulls- (usually just one will show up) there
- but let's not overstate the shark risks around here Lee. No need to sensationalize that aspect of this.

Middle Sambo IS sharky - compared to spots west - but lets face it - the farther you go east - the sharkier it gets and they do lots of diving off marathon - etc. and don't just get attacked.
Sambos is NOT known for makos and great whites at all (c'mon? really?)

the humps in front of maryland shoal have resident bulls - but that really has no bearing since it was a skinny 6ft reef shark that did this and the biggest reason any of this happened is because they were too scared to act correctly around sharks.
I am pro active about sharks - and i don't get bit- not by a shark I see first anyway- a few have tried - but they got a big **** you from me and my spear - or gun
I am with you on the slip on ppd in the sleeve though-.308 home made ones (2.50$ each - there is a video how to make them)
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