Navy Diver gets bitten in Sydney Harbour...

[The Chairman]

From Navy diver in serious condition after Sydney Harbour shark attack | The Australian

| February 11, 2009

Article from: The Australian
A NAVY diver fought off a shark after he was attacked in Sydney Harbour while taking part in anti-terror exercises.

The 31-year-old elite diver punched the shark twice as he tried to ward it off.

He was swimming on the surface of the water in Woolloomoolloo Bay near the naval headquarters at Garden Island with a fellow police diver just before 7am when the attack occurred.
Moments before the attack he reportedly saw a large dark shape beneath him.

The shark disappeared after being punched, leaving the diver with severe wounds to his right hand and thigh.

He was dragged onboard a small navy boat nearby and immediately administered first aid by the police diver and others in attendance, including the use of pressure bandages. Ambulance officers said that despite the severity of his wounds he was conscious and in "good humour".

"I wouldn't be surprised, they are very tough buggers," said Commander of the Australian Fleet Rear Admiral Nigel Coates.

"They are trained to deal with this sort of thing. We believe he punched the shark twice and it then disappeared. It was all over in a matter of seconds."

The diver was transported by ambulance to St Vincents Hospital in a critical condition.

He underwent more than two hours of surgery to stabilise his condition. He is now in intensive care. "His injuries are very, very serious," a hospital spokesman said.

Rear Admiral Coates said to his knowledge this was the first shark attack on a Navy diver in Sydney's harbour. "We have divers in Sydney Harbour almost every day."

Navy boats spent several hours scouring the bay for any sign of the shark.

All diving operations for the day were cancelled.

 

[james croft]

He did not fight off the shark. Mr. shark just thought the diver tasted a bit too salty for his tastes.

 

[deeper thoughts]

Wow these navy divers are tough

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Well he did what he was supposed to do when faced with a shark and he has lived to tell about it! I hope he has a speedy recovery!

Carolyn:shark2:

 

[zilch]

The suspect is a Bullshark. The diver has since lost his hand, and they will have to make a decision on his leg over the next few days..

 

[Jim Ernst]

Poor guy....

I wish that diver all of the best!

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Sorry to hear about that! Bulls are definitely a fish I keep my eye on. There were quite a few on the dives I did in Florida 2 weeks ago. More aggressive and territorial especially if alot of food in the water.

Carolyn:shark2:

 

[Tom Winters]

All of the beaches in Sydney, including inside Sydney Harbour, have shark nets which are well-maintained. The water is all green as befits their southerly latitude. Woolloomoolloo way on the inside is really murky with all the naval activity and city runoff. They run a big swim every year from the Opera House north of there out to the bay and back, and no one ever had any trouble. I love long swims like that, but hopping off a city quay into dark green water is not my idea of fun.
Good luck to the guy who sounds like a solid trooper. The press is calling him an "Able Seaman", which sure is not a USN term. At 31, he's got to be a chief something-or-other.
Loss of a hand won't keep him from a fine career, although whatever his nickname was before this, it's going to be something else for the rest of his life.
Then they had a second attack at Bondi Beach, which is just gorgeous. A big, wide bay. The guy hit was sitting on his surfboard, but nothing was noted about where he was in the lineup offshore.
At all of my surf spots in Hawaii, at one time or another, someone had been killed by a shark. Every spot.
I always, always kept someone seaward of me, and I sure didn't sit out there for hours waiting for the perfect wave.