Central Coast shark survivor: ‘I don’t know if I can tell mum’
A BRITISH doctor mauled by shark on the Central Coast has described how he punched it in the face as it circled around for a second attack.
NSW
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A BRITISH doctor mauled by shark on the Central Coast has described how he punched it in the face as it circled around for a second attack.
Charlie Fry, 25, was surfing with two mates at Avoca Beach when a shark bit his arm and shoulder after he missed a wave just after 4pm yesterday.
“I felt a smack on my right shoulder and when I turned around the shark breach and I saw its jaw and teeth coming at me,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
“I just punched it with my left hand and shouted out to my mates and paddled so hard back to shore.
“It was terrifying but it only lasted five seconds. I’ll get to tell the story for the rest of my life.”
Mr Fry, who works as a doctor at Gosford Hospital, has been in Australia for two months and says he is worried about having to tell his mum about the attack.
“Geez I don’t know if I can tell mum, she might kill me,” he said.
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“I’ve just got here and I’ve already been attacked.
“People keep asking me what shark it was but I have no idea. All I know is that it was big and scary.”
The young doctor and his mates were able to assess that the wounds were not life threatening and he opted for a mate to drive him to hospital rather than take an ambulance.
“We were able to tell the bite wasn’t that bad but it goes from my elbow up to the top of my shoulder so it could have been much worse,” he said.
“They are bandaged up now so you can’t see much of it but they kind of go in a semicircle at both ends.
“It was just easier if a mate took me to the hospital.”
A Department of Primary Industries assessment will determine when either beach will reopen.
It is not the first time a surfer has been attacked at the popular surf spot.
In October 2014, junior star Kirra-Belle Olsson was attacked by a shark in almost an identical position along the beach. Olsson recovered fully from her injuries.
Mr Fry’s near miss comes after a horror summer in 2015 which led to dozens of attacks and the death of Japanese national Tadashi Nakahara who was killed by a great white shark while surfing Ballina.
The State Government launched a shark management strategy in response which has significantly reduced the number of shark attacks in NSW.
A Central Coast Council spokeswoman said the man had been surfing about 20m offshore when he was knocked off his board and “felt something” impact him. He got back on his board and paddled ashore.
“He is going to be fine,” she said.
Lifeguards suspected a combination of warm ocean water, the location of the surfer in a deep channel, and “a lot of fish” in the area had attracted the shark closer to shore.