A Jeffreys Bay kayaker has described how he used his oars to try to beat off the shark - which was bigger than his kayak - that killed a local swimmer on Friday. But it wouldn’t let go and kept coming back for more.
The shock attack at Lower Point, at Albatross Beach, has rocked the town and the broader surfing community, which hails Jeffreys Bay as one of the five most famous surf spots in the world. The Kouga Municipality has closed all Jeffreys Bay beaches as a result of the attack.
Although the name of the dead man had not yet been released last night, it was ascertained that he was a local “elderly man” who swam there every day. One resident said the victim was wearing a blue bathing cap, and was snorkelling when he was attacked.
The victim was well-known at the surfing paradise for loving the outdoors and the ocean. He was married.
Kayaker Terry Olivier, who tried to retrieve the body, said he was out on his sea kayak paddling from the Kabeljou side lower down the Point when he saw the man lying face-down in the water.
He saw the shark, which was “longer than my kayak”. He believed it was a great white.
“I tried to retrieve the body but the shark wouldn’t let go. I hit it with my oars, but it kept coming back for more bites,” he said.
Allison Kuhl, of the Supertubes Surfing Foundation, said her son Zach had witnessed the attack while helping with a beach clean-up.
He and his friend saw the man enter the water and her son said to his friend that he had a bad feeling that “the man should not go in”.
“The next thing, he saw a shark lifting the man up and down out the water, and there was blood everywhere.”
After being alerted to the attack, Kuhl raced to the beach where several people had gathered.
“Through the binoculars I could see that there was blood everywhere. I have seen fins in the water before, but this time you could see a lot of the shark’s body. I could also see the man’s blue swimming cap.”
She said Olivier had told her when he realised there was nothing more he could do at the attack scene, he paddled “back as fast as he could as he was also in great danger”.
Kuhl added that her son, who loved sharks, had been left traumatised.
“What struck me is that shark attacks normally occur in murky water, but today was crystal clear.”
Other witnesses said that when the NSRI raced to the scene, they had to circle the man’s remains on Jet Skis to keep the birds at bay while they got a body bag.
“We are all in shock,” resident Paul van Jaarsveld said. “I was about to get in the water to shoot a fish for lunch.”
NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon confirmed that two sea rescue craft and the SAPS had responded to the incident.
The remains were handed to the police and the Forensic Pathology Services, he said.
“It appears, according to eye-witness reports, that the as-yet unidentified male victim had been snorkelling at the time of the incident,” Lambinon added.
According to some witnesses, the shark was mistaken for two sharks because the distance between tail and back fin was so long.
The local Christian Surfers South Africa group decided to postpone their scheduled surf and skate events in Jeffreys Bay scheduled for today until November 9. - Saturday Argus