Shark Attack Vilancoulos

Herewith a recount of the events surrounding the shark attack.
It was on the third morning of our stay at Villa Mar near Vilancoulos, that our local skipper cut the throttles after the one and a half hour drive. The time was about 06h45 and the conditions were perfect we were all prepared and ready for a long day out at sea.
We circled around for awhile and soon found a pinnacle coming up to 15m. We chugged up current and found a steep drop off to 37m with loads of fish activity.
We decided that our first drift should be approx 200m, just enough time to get settled before reaching the upwelling.

I always make a point of being very organized on the boat, mainly so that I can be the first in the water. This has more than often resulted in boating fish whilst my buddies are still getting themselves sorted out. This happened twice on the previous two days.
My float line uncoiled I loaded my gun and started relaxing whilst dropping my flasher to about 12m relax breathe. I look up and see Rob Allen sliding into the water about 25 – 30m away from me, just out of my visibility.

I become aware of the usual indicator fish and start hearing reef, time to go. I descend through the surgeons and into a loose school of baitfish which suddenly opens to reveal a nice sized Kakaap. I wait, take a look around for other gamefish--- nothing, turn back to the Kakaap which has moved into my range. A quick forward line up and shot and the fish is solidly attached to my spear. I know the shot is good but I have to drop my gun to get back to the surface. With the floatline running through my fingers I notice a large exited Zambezi shark come into view. On reaching the surface I immediately call Rob for assistance.

I start pulling up my fish, hard and fast. In order for me to stay on the surface I’m finning strongly obviously keeping a good lookout for the shark.
I look up again see Rob is about 5m from me, look down again and see the shark reappear below my rapidly ascending fish. The shark, about 15m away turns upward swims right past my fish and rushes towards me. In a flash the shark was onto me, its mouth open it charged into my legs all I could do was pull in my legs. The shark bit down and got hold of my Left foot. I was being shaken around violently. Suddenly the shark let go and returned into the depths. I knew that I was in trouble after calling the boat and swimming towards it. My foot was not reacting.

Filled with adrenalin I climb into the boat and pull of my badly damaged fin and booty.
Blood everywhere, a gapping wound spanning the top of my foot from ankle bone to ankle bone blood pumping out in rhythm with my elevated pulse.

Thankfully my experienced buddies were able to control the situation and maintain calm on the blood covered boat. My foot was very tightly bound and elevated, gear was recovered, including my fish and the long ride home began.

This must have been the worst hour and half I have ever had to endure.

Back at the lodge, after having been stretchered off the boat. Mandy, the manageress who is also a nurse took a look. I needed to get proper medical treatment as soon as possible. Vilancoulos hospital was closed for the day for election campaigning. This is when I remembered my DAN membership taken many years ago. My wife phoned them and they responded by sending out a Lear jet with two doctors to casevac me.

During the painful wait Mandy cleaned and dressed the wound and we all had a bit of time to reflect.

The first call to DAN was made after 09h00, the plane landed at 13h00 and my buddies handed me into the professional care of the medics and crew and I succumbed to blissful morphine induced sleep.

I arrived at the casualty section of Sunninghill clinic at 17h30 and was immediately prepared for theatre. 1 ½ hours of reconstructive microsurgery were needed to reconnect tendons and close things up.

I was kept in hospital until Friday (admission was Monday) and had further exploratory surgery to remove dead tissue. I was released wearing a cast hobbling around on crutches.

The doctor’s prognosis is that physically I should recover fully besides feeling on the top of my toes.

Now as I Recover these events have replayed themselves in my mind over and over again.

I am Taking Serious Strain!

Right now I don’t know if and when Im going to dive again but I have at least six weeks for my mind to heal before the cast comes of.



As I end this report I wish to thank and acknowledge the following;

DAN without whom I don’t know how I would have gotten back.
Erla, my wife who has suffered through this ordeal as much as I have….. Only without the physical injury
Mandy……You were brilliant
My dive buddies, Rob Allen, Allen Potter, Fraser Bray and Peter?
Relatives, friends, Buddies Collegues for their support and best wishes.

Hi Mark,

Some would say you were lucky to save the foot; I say you were unlucky that it happened at all!!!

Could you please clarify something, was there anything on your fins which may have flashed or did the fins have any second colour to them. The reason I ask is that a number of years ago Gyula got a set of the charteuse Cress Gara fins. They were great for game fish, but ha abruptly stopped wearing them when a zambie bit one of his blades (if I remember correctly he was also swimming to the surface).

I hope you heal soon and are terrorising the Moz fish sooner than later.

Look on the bright side - statistically you are safe for the rest of your life!

Cheers

Hi Mark,

Glad to hear you're exepcted to make a full recovery.

I had a similar experience 18 months ago on Protea, but looking at your situation I only now realise how lucky I was at the time.

I was diving to 30m and looking for Kaakap or Amberjack when something hit my foot. I looked down to see my foot in the mouth of a 2.5m Zambie. I immediately kicked down on his eye with my right foot at which it let go and bolted off.

I realised that I was possibly in serious trouble, dropped my weightbelt and started swimming up in a controlled way so not to burn up more O2 than I could being that deep down. I got to the surface and then assessed the "damage". Luckily I was not injured.

On recollection I could apply a few things I had noticed about shark behaviour. I never saw the shark that hit me, common with many encounters (notice I hesitate to call this an attack as I believe it was a territorial dispute or plain beligerence). It stalked me from behind. But I doubt that this was a predation, as when I kicked it, the animal vamoosed.

It was a "teenager", a smallish male Zambi of about 2.5m. Could be hormonal imbalances in teenagers that could make them do stupid, impulsive things. We have genarally always had problems with the smaller ones rather than the big ones, even amongst other species.

Sharks also try and incapacitate their target and the bite on the foot = a bite on the peduncle of a fish, i.e. loss of mobility.

What counted in my favour was that the shark hit my foot from behind at a right angle to my legs, and unlike fish, our ankles have a large range of motion. It literally knocked my foot out of its mouth and basically only held my by its gums. The directions of the scratches on my footpockets confirm this. This I attribute purely to incredible luck on my part and inexperience on the Shark's.

Although a nice war story, I brushed it off as not so serious, but after your experience I have a lot more to be thankful of than I gave credit for.

Joe has also had a Zambie come at him totally disregarding the fish he had shot. Luckily we all dive with reel guns and he was able to use this as a weapon and it bore the brunt of the encounter.

I really, really, really hate floatlines and now even have another reason to advocate the use of reel guns. although only very experienced spearos should consider reel guns when hunting big, powerful fish or when diving deep.

Lastly, you mention DAN and the speed with which they got you to 1st class medical attention. This is what really saved your foot and most probably your life. Shark's teeth have some horrible bacteria that could quickly have caused septiceamia and placed you in mortal danger. Any diver, especially those that go to Moz etc, not a member of DAN should have their heads examined.

Hi Mark

Very glad to hear that the doc reckons you will have a full recovery. Hope it comes right quickly.

Rich Bruno lets put DAN on the list for SAUFF to discuss in our meeting in a weeks time. Perhaps we can negotiate a deal for all SAUFF registered divers and help to market this product as it is clearly a must for all spearo's. I am covered on mt meducal aid but have since found it that if I do not advise them that I am off on a trip then I am not covered!?!?!

Cheers
Garrick

I have never heard of DAN but it definitely sounds like a plan!

Just to note:

I was diving that exact same reef out off Vilanculos in 2007 November time with some friends of mine. I had a very similar experience where I shot a rubber lips in 14m water. Almost as soon as i pulled of the shot a +-2,5m Zambi pulled in from now where completely interseted in the fish. In my inexperience I thought it wise to pull the fish up away from the gapping jaws ever time the shark went in at the fish. Little did I know that I was effectively decreasing the distance between me and the hungry shark. I only realized this when it was to late. The fish was just below my fins and my kicking had become more erratic, It was then that I noticed that the fast moving shark was struggling to differentiate between my flashing carbon fins and the fish. Istrated to panic and expected the worst. By sheer chance one of my friends saw the commotion and swam in to put a loaded gun between me and the shark. I got the fish out but i lost the battle. I was rattled and felt stupid for putting myself in that position over a fish.

2 Days later I shot 2 golden kingy with a double up shot and 2 zambi's raced in from now where, I learned from my previous experince and simply let the fish down with my reel while I swam to the surface, I called the boat, got on and then only started to retrieve my fish. One was still on the spear the other was being ravaged by the sharks. I felt alot smarter and was definately not worth another hairy experience.

Another note on sharks.
In the last 3 dives I've had here in East London We have seen 2 Great Whites approx 3,5m. One in 10m of water and the other in 4m in the white water while looking for cracker. Seems there are alot of them now, the second time I actually stopped diving, being a bit freaked out. I was'nt aware that they were so common here. We have seen 7 of them just this year here.

Hi Mark.

For sure I dont know where those guys are getting their info that the species should be protected. In fact Since I started diving 2 years ago I have seen an exact equal amount of pignose to great whites. And I have been in the water more than a couple of times when one of my diving buddies had seen a white that I had'nt. Especially worrying since as you said, in this part of the country you have to be willing to, and obviously become comfortable in bad viz... Otherwise we just would not get to dive. Makes me wonder how many times we get "eyed out" without even knowing it.