Margaret River surfers on edge after shark attack on prized home ‘safe’ break at Boat Ramps, Gnarabup

The Margaret River surf community is on edge after Monday’s shark attack on a 24-year-old NSW man at the popular Boat Ramps break off Gnarabup. The young surfer’s narrow escape from a great white also took place at what local surfers considered the safest break in the big wave region. Numerous surfers told the Times the attack had sparked great unease and even reignited talks of culling the feared ocean predators. There was also dissatisfaction with WA’s shark response, with a beach siren at Gnarabup not triggered until an hour after Monday’s incident and after beaches across the region were closed. The incident unfolded just before 9am in windy conditions when the surfer, understood to be from Ballina, NSW, was surfing alone 500m from shore when the great white lunged at him. The man took a serious bite to his right thigh and was forced to fend off the shark before paddling closer to shore. Those who were at the nearby White Elephant Cafe when the man swam himself to shore praised the surfer’s calmness under pressure, noting he used the leg rope from his board to tourniquet the deep wound while still in the water. Surfers were doubtful the man would have survived without the quick action, though he was “bloody lucky it wasn’t worse,” one onlooker said. The attack survivor was also lucky a visiting nurse was nearby and administered first aid. The man was helped by a friend to a waiting vehicle and taken to Margaret River Hospital and then on to Bunbury Hospital via ambulance where he underwent surgery. Margaret River Boardriders’ Kalani Ord told the Times local surfers were “really shaken”. “It’s frightening because we’ve grown somewhat accustomed to hearing about shark encounters up the coast, but this time it hit too close to home,” he said. “We all surf there and have loved ones who do too. “The mood among us now is a mixture of trepidation and unease. “It is a harsh reminder of the risks we take doing what we love.” Those sentiments were echoed by veteran surfer Tony Breen, who owns The Common Bistro near the attack site. “This one hits way harder than any of the others,” he said. “The false security blanket has been ripped off. “I’m not going to be able to calm my nerves when I’m out the back anymore by telling myself ‘at least I’m not at Gracetown’.” Other surfers lauded the bravery of the survivor and keeping calm under intense pressure. White Elephant Cafe owner Alex Brooks, a keen surfer who was on-site after the incident, said it was more important than ever that surfers watched out for each other. “This one is very close to home and challenges the self-propagated belief or the false sense of security that they don’t exist, let alone attack, in Prevelly,” Mr Brooks said. “At the end of the day, we share the water with these creatures and you tell yourself what you need to so as to feel safe, albeit more often than not that’s false.” Margaret River Recreational Surfers committee member Bec Sheedy-Ryan said first-aid and ocean safety training was more crucial than ever and reiterated calls for State Government funding. The attack was the second at a South West beach in 36 hours and one of a series of incidents this year. In the hours after the Gnarabup attack, DPRID revealed it had received a report a snorkeller was bitten by a wobbegong shark at The Lagoon in Yallingup on Saturday morning. Dunsborough man Richard Stubbs, 77, was bitten on the foot about 8am. “I was very frightened … really didn’t know what to do, it was instantaneous,” Mr Stubbs told 7News. “All of a sudden something hit me, hit my leg hard … and I was like ‘what’s that’.” A week earlier, Albany man Keiron Benson was forced to fight for his life after a shark as “big as his boat” lunged at him while spearfishing near Coral Bay.