Speaking about shark phobias,this happened here yesterday!

• Teen 'didn't think about fear' when he helped mate
• Saw the sea had turned red
• Administered CPR on the beach

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...5977697,00.jpg 'A gentle giant ' ... Peter Edmonds (left) and Brock Curtis / Image supplied by Curtis family


BROCK Curtis's mind was clear when he saw his mate Peter Edmonds struggling in the surf.
The two 16-year-olds had taken advantage of a statewide teachers' stopwork meeting to go bodyboarding in the prized Lighthouse Beach surf break near Ballina in northern NSW, when Brock, resting on the beach, saw Peter waving his arms for help.

At that stage, he had no idea his "big mate" had been bitten on the leg by a shark and was moments away from death.

"I just wanted to get straight to him, I didn't think about fear," said Brock, from the small town of Wollongbar, 15km inland from the beach.

Brock plunged straight into the waves and headed for Peter - a school mate from Alstonville High School whom he had known for five years.

As he got closer, the sea had turned red with blood, Peter was floating face-down in the water and Brock saw a large shadow disappearing into the deep, away from Peter.

"As I headed towards him it looked like he was catching a wave and was heading back to shore," Brock said. "Then I saw him on his back with his head above the water, then he turned so he was face-down. I thought he was only joking, so I went over to him and as I flipped him over I saw his leg."

Peter had been savagely bitten twice on the left leg by a shark, which authorities have yet to identify.

Brock said he pulled Peter from the water and dragged him up the beach, dialling 000 on his mobile as he ran. Despite administering CPR - turning Peter on his side and clearing his airways - his mate died at the scene before ambulance and lifeguards arrived.

It is believed Peter died from loss of blood.

Police and lifeguards described Brock's actions in entering the water as an "extreme act of bravery". But Brock said he had not felt fear, or thought about anything other than reaching Peter in the water. He said he used the first-aid skills he had learnt at a surf survival course at school to try to revive his friend, a mate of five years.

"Peter was just the best kid," Brock said. "He was a gentle giant, six foot three (190cm)."

Peter's mother, Lisa, and father, Neil, praised Brock for his brave effort in trying to save their son.

Fighting back years, Ms Edmonds told the Ten Network last night the family was taking comfort in their Christian faith.

"He was such a loving boy, and just in the last few months he's really started to become an adult," she said. "I asked him where he was with God, and he said he was fine."

Mr Edmonds said that after seeing his son's body, he was surprised that he had died from his injuries. "We saw the bite on his leg and you wouldn't think that sort of thing would take someone," he said.

When the teenagers took to the water just before 8am, in drizzly conditions and 1m-plus waves, they had the beach to themselves.

They had a half-day off school due to a teachers stopwork meeting and they did not expect much from their outing. "The surf was average and choppy," Brock said.

The break is normally patrolled by surf lifesavers but was unguarded yesterday because it was not school holidays.

The beach's shark alarm had been sounded three times in the past summer, a relatively low frequency according to northern NSW lifeguard co-ordinator Steve Leahy. He said there had been a number of shark sightings in the region over the summer, most near Byron Bay.

"Bull sharks, white pointers and grey nurse sharks have been spotted in this area at different times," he said.

Authorities do not yet know what type of shark was involved in the attack, but one expert, Taronga Zoo's John West, said it was probably a bull shark.

Yesterday afternoon, mourners placed bunches of flowers near the beach. One had a note: "Rest in peace, fellow surfer."

I hate sharks! their big, dangerous and when we inconter them its likely in water. Where we are vulnerable, it would be better if we get to take them on in land. I'd poke at it with a ten foot pole and watch it dry to death. Damn bastards :D

Oh Damn Andre ....You trying to give me a Heart attack my Man?That really is some tragic and all to real news there.If you stop and think of the fear,You will never do anything.Its Instinct.........Thats a right good friend there but it sounds like the damage was done no matter what.Sad stuff & RIP to the dude who died doing what he loved,Hell of a way to guy.Had entire life ahead of him.Most of our Pleasures have surrounding risk's but you can not let them impede you from going forward.I consider myself very lucky...Two undertows in Long Beach and one at Crystal Pier In S.D.I was convinced I was dead for sure.....All the angle swimming was doing nothing.A couple brushes with the finned ones...A fatty of a sand shark (??) In Va Beach literally went under me.......I shit you not....Under my ass paddling out a long time ago and I thought for sure I was going to piss myself to death just by loosing so much Fluid.I was shook and doing some serious reevaluation of the recreational Interest Lol.We tried to get beyond a sand bar In Pensacola.......Might have been P.City and saw some fins slashing Ahead,breaking off,shooting forward and back.No thay were not Dophins .Call me a coward bro....F!!! that,Gotta love the Sandbars Lol.Let em' eat.Hey,I know they are there and understand the risk's........but I also respect the hell out of them :-X:-X

strange thing but true my mate paddled out into water in the north of western Australia ,down a cliff no towns near by just in the outback .
there was a guy surfing alone.My mate matt got to him and then saw a big shark go under the same fellow and he yelled shark.
The guy calmly said yeah its been here for a while now its usually here ,plenty of food for it around he doesnt even look at us.
So they stayed out.

Ive stayed out with a great white once at Flinders in Victoria but we were in very shallow water over kelp and reef and were litterally jumping off a rock to take off on . right on low tide so felt real safe as this thing was thicker through its gut than it was deep where we were, but this 3 foot fin went ripping past us about 60 feet out further in the deep :o. Two of us got it to ourselves as the rest went in.

We've had a pack of bronzies go under us near to there once too but we got out real fast as we couldnt count them there were so many.
Funny thing we walked back along the beach and a mate came in from the same break mentioned above , he had seen them too. We asked who was left out in the water and he said "Oh they're just lid riders fuk em I didnt say anything". :rolleyes: :mad: ;D :-\ !

Yet another reason not to go to Australia. Andre you're a mad man:)

I'm one of those good swimmers who gets swept out to see never to be seen again.;D Last year I kept swimming out to some rocks a good way out because that's where all the little fishies were. It was shallow enough in parts to stand but there was deep gully between the rocks.

You know that moment when your brain freezes? I saw a baby shark swim through the gully. I immediatly ducked my head under the water to start swimming after it, in a split second I grabbed back on to the rocks and hauled my idiot out the water. The sensible side of the brain kicked quickly enough to realise it was swimming out to sea, I was in it's territory, it has a mouth full of sharp teeth and I was a long way off shore, maybe there was more of them. All that shit went through my brain in a split second.

Australia and California are just two places where it's like God said "Don't go there"

Australia: Sharks, deadly snakes, huge spiders, mostly desert, killer crocodiles, various other things that will kill you.


California: Earthquakes, mudslides, wild fires, typhoons, BIGGER Great White sharks, and bunch of fucking horrible liberals



Gee, I think I'll move there :rolleyes: