https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xWLddlTthm4
Just saw dat!
EDIT Scare ree
Fanning considered “fine dining” by the locals
LUCKY!!!
Shark patrol???
That was crazy!
He’ll be excused if he can’t focus on his next heat.
edit: They split the win between the two finalists and cancelled the remainder of the contest. Can only imagine the PTSD he must be feeling!
edit 2: now I can. Both finalists broke down while trying be interviewed on the beach. What a heavy thing. Sorry for my joke.
It was crazy but was it a shark “attack”? I don’t know enough about shark behavior, but this appears different from the attacks I have heard described. There were two sharks here, and yet both Mick and his board emerged unscathed, only casualty was the leash and Mick’s nerves (and the rest of our nerves too). Mick clearly took a blow that knocked him off his board, that was the scariest moment for me. Says he got a few punches in too, good on yer Mick!
They say there were 2 sharks… It was hard to tell from the video.
If so, that’s the 2nd video I’ve seen of 2 sharks attacking 1 surfer at J-Bay.
Interesting…
Either way, watching that video made me want to give Mick a big hug.
Glad he’s OK.
one dorsal fin appears, and right behind it another, larger one appears, hence the 2 shark call
That second fin was the same shark’s pectoral fin, way to narrow for a dorsal fin. Not certain if that was an attack or the shark was curious and snagged his leash. If one of them wants you, he’s rarely going to miss.
I also believe that to be true.
EDIT: It’s the upper lobe of the tail fin. You can just make out the ‘‘notch’’ near the tip.
Based on the size of the fin…the shark musta been big!
Only one shark, First fin is dorsal fin…the picture above is the same shark showing his tail fin (notice the tail notch at the top). This shark is stuck in Micks leash and frantically trying to get away. You will see later in the clip that Mick is pulled down and under as the shark feels the presure and freaks out…hauls ass away with Micks leash probably caught in it’s mouth of side fins. Leash finally breaks, gets bitten, of shark skin abrasion bust it. …I am the Shark Whisper…
As mentioned above…The water is fairly clear…sharks don’t miss when it comes to eating, especially when two legs are hanging there. By the looks of the pectoral and tail fin the shark is approximately 8 or 9 ft.
Hey Bill, we hooked about a 12 ft hammerhead a few days ago off of a very close and local bank…a very impressive creature, and the first one of those I have seen locally since about 1986 or so. it’s shaping up to being a strange summer for sure.
I agree. That does look like the subterminal notch. Media making more out of this than it was, as usual. Still frightening if it’s you in that situation.
This seems like the most likely description of the event, after reviewing the video several times. Mick described being pulled under by his leash, which also fits. Scary nevertheless.
Speaking of dorsal fins… That shark has a very upright looking fin. Not too much rake either from the looks of it.
I was watching live. Pretty scary to see him fall off the board then go out of view because that wave came in front of him.
Yep, Single fin wins at J-Bay.
Bravo, Barry !
Jay, I had an encounter with a Hammer Head, in 1975, while Ab diving off South Bird. I never saw the shark, but my diving partner, an experienced Coast Guard diver, just about filled his shorts ! ! ! He said that when I was up to my waist, in an Ab hole, the Hammer Head made two passes near my exposed legs. He said it was 10 to 12 feet long. We cleared out pronto. Never dived there again.
Speaking of large hammerhead sharks Bill and Resinhead, Here’s one caught off my local a few years ago.
boat harbour at the bottom of my street
^ I don’t know the circumstances leading up to these sharks being caught, but it makes me sad to see these beautiful animals killed like this. If they’re being caught only for people’s amusement then shame on those people. If they’re being caught by accident then the people catching them need to think of a way to avoid it.
Many species of shark are endangered. They need protection. If you walk into the Sumatran jungle you could get eaten by a tiger. This doesn’t give us the right to go in there and kill tigers for fun.
Sorry to get all political on this. I don’t want to take anything away from the terrifying experience Mick Fanning has just had. I just think slaughtering sharks is a bad idea. We exist in their environment and we should respect them. I have had two close encounters with sharks and both times I was left trembling for a few days afterwards. Rather than wish death on those animals my experiences only cemented my respect for them.