Power Kite Forum

Florida kite surfer killed by sharks

lad - 4-2-2010 at 06:12 AM

Kite surfer killed by multiple shark attack in Florida

"A man was killed by sharks in a rare fatal attack this afternoon in the waters off Stuart, authorities said.

Stephen Howard Schafer, 38, of Stuart was kite surfing south of Stuart Beach about 4:15 p.m. when the sharks attacked him, according to Bureau Chief Doug Killane of Martin County Fire-Rescue and Martin County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Rhonda Irons.

A lifeguard through his binoculars spotted the man floating about a quarter-mile offshore in an unguarded stretch of ocean, Irons said. The lifeguard paddled to him on a rescue board, pulled the man away from the sharks and carried him back to shore.

Rescue workers gave the man CPR before paramedics brought him to Martin Memorial Hospital, where he died...."

Kamikuza - 4-2-2010 at 06:20 AM

Poor bugger ... best wishes to his family and friends. What a crap way to go ...

... what kind of sharks? Bet it was Bull Sharks, vicious bastards ...

acampbell - 4-2-2010 at 07:22 AM

Yeah it's all over the news here but details are sketchy. It was noted however that it was the first fatal attack in the region in 125 years (or some number like that). I want to know more about the lifeguard that paddled into the middle of a "pack of swarming sharks" to pull the guy out.

lad - 4-2-2010 at 08:14 AM

I'm waiting for the Global Warming angle in there somewhere...

acampbell - 4-2-2010 at 08:32 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by lad
I'm waiting for the Global Warming angle in there somewhere...


Prolly El Nino

Scudley - 4-2-2010 at 08:57 AM

The story I read about it said the first thoughts were it was probably young great whites. They occasionally go south to warmer water. The other man eating sharks in the area tend to go south or deep in the winter as they prefer warmer water. If it was a bull, tiger, or hammerhead then there is a global warming angle.
S

revpaul - 4-2-2010 at 10:59 AM

my bet is Bull shark.
a while back(vacationing during christmas break) i was at Jupiter beach (florida) with a friend who had lived near by when he was younger. as we were approaching the beach he looked at the people swimming under/near a wharf and stated that a wharf is not a good place to be swimming and especially at that particular time of the year. he explained that it was the season for Bull sharks to be around and a wharf is where they like to visit because of the fishermen fishing off the wharf iirc. we were walking along beach and he stopped at some non-desript point on the beach and he said he was surfing there and was knocked off his board by a Bull shark.
i can't recall if i asked him how he knew what kind of shark it was that did the deed.
was an interesting eye opener. i've since heard that most shark attacks happen in two to three feet of water. another eye opener.

flyjump - 4-2-2010 at 01:00 PM

I'm glad there's no sharks on land

flexiblade - 4-2-2010 at 05:08 PM

Just giant eight legged sand crabs that'll eat your eyes out - sorry that be the drugs speaking.

Kamikuza - 4-2-2010 at 06:32 PM

You too might have seen the Discovery show I saw recently about sharks ... Shark Expert Guy was standing probably waist deep in water with hordes of Bull sharks milling around his and the reporter and the camera man's legs. "We're perfectly safe", he said "so long as we don't act like pray; thrash around or bleed or whatnot" then in the middle of the interview, one of the sharks grabs the guy by the calf muscle and tries to drag him into deeper water for a snack :shocked2:
The rest of the show was him trying to figure out why the shark had behaved that way and titillating the viewers with promises of showing the entire, bloody and unedited footage of the attack ...

Turns out Bull Sharks and just arseholes. They like sneaking up rivers looking for the buffet too.

Experts rule out 'great white' in Florida shark attack

lad - 6-2-2010 at 10:30 AM

Experts rule out 'great white' in Florida shark attack

"....Our investigation definitively indicates it was not a great white shark,” George Burgess, director of shark research at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said on Friday.

Instead, he said, an examination of the victim’s wounds suggests that the attacking shark was eight to nine feet long and was more than likely a bull shark or tiger shark.

He said that although the lifeguard who attempted to rescue the kiteboarder saw several sharks nearby, only one shark bit the man. According to officials, there was a very deep and fatal bite to his thigh, a second bite to his buttocks, and a defensive wound to his hand...."

Houston AirHead - 7-2-2010 at 08:41 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by flyjump
I'm glad there's no sharks on land


Ahmen to that brother.

Insect0man - 7-2-2010 at 08:44 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by flyjump
I'm glad there's no sharks on land


{Knock knock knock....}

Candygram.

InvertedForce - 7-2-2010 at 04:14 PM

HAHAHAHA

lad - 7-2-2010 at 05:46 PM

"candygram"

That really dates you (and me!) :ticking: unless you saw it on some nostalgia channel! :yes:

Insect0man - 7-2-2010 at 11:47 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by lad
unless you saw it on some nostalgia channel!


Nope saw it when it was LIVE! From New York.... or at least 1st run if not really live.