A bite 'with the force of a baseball bat': Brevard surfer recalls 2003 shark attack
Damien Share is a pretty typical 55-year-old Brevard resident. He moved to the Space Coast in 1989 and began surfing as soon as he arrived, working as a lifeguard for the county and then for the state at Sebastian Inlet until 2002. Now he works as a professional trainer, mainly working with athletes dealing with chronic movement issues and working to help them healthily continue their sport.
But there's something that sets him apart from most Space Coast residents: A little over 21 years ago, while out surfing with some friends, he was attacked by a shark.
The shark ― a 7-foot tiger shark, he recalled ― was feeding nearby while Share and his friend were surfing. It ended up biting Share's forearm, an injury that required more than 40 sutures but hasn't stopped him from frequenting Brevard's beaches since.
Here's what he remembers about that day.
What was that day like?
Damien: On the evening of April 9, 2003, I was surfing with my friends off of 3rd Avenue in Melbourne Beach. If anyone remembers the day, it was a classic “evening glass off” ― waves were shoulder-high, (breaking) left and right, and bait was running, so birds were diving and fish (were) jumping. Just a ton of activity in the water besides the surfers.
I had just exchanged a few waves with (my friend) Zack Bareford when a rather large splash was caused by a 7-foot tiger shark ripping through the bait right between us as we were paddling back out after a pair of rights. It looked to me like the feeding shark was heading right for my friend, and without thinking twice about the consequences, I slapped the water a bit with my next two strokes, intent on distracting it from my friend. Well, that plan worked out really well, as it left him alone.
What was the bite like?
Damien: When Tigers swim through bait, sometimes they will just shake their heads, jaws agape to wound any fish that have the misfortune of being too close. Well, as it turned out, I was the recipient of one of those opened-mouth head-shaking strikes, and the sharp, serrated teeth opened up my forearm as it struck me with what felt like the force of a baseball bat.
I could not believe what just happened. Looking down at the three-inch-by-six-inch hole in my arm, I remember exactly the thoughts that went through my mind. First one was, “I’m not going to be able to surf for a while!” And the other was, “I'm going to have to have a doctor fix this,” as I realized this was not a home remedy type of injury.
The next thing I did was get Zack's attention. (I said) “Hey man, I’m bit!” Followed by his disbelief: “What?! What bit you?” "That shark," I replied. “Let me see," he said, and I watched the color drain from his face as I lifted my arm to show him the fresh red wound. “Catch this next wave!” he commanded, and I did.
What was recovery like?
Damien: We rode that wave right up onto the sand together. I lifted my arm and reached for a stranger's towel left on the beach, helping myself to it for its compression potential as I attempted to control the bleeding. When I got to (State Road) A1A, the first passing car saw me standing with my arm in the air and stopped to see what was up. It was (an) old friend ... Todd Parker. After requesting that he dig out an old Mexican blanket from the back of his truck to keep me warm and prevent shock, I hopped in and he gave me a ride to the ER.
World traveling surfer and trauma surgeon Dr. Don Wagner was on duty, and we exchanged surf stories while he performed over 40 sutures.
Do you feel safe going in the water now?
Damien: With over 10,000 hours of surfing under my belt at that point, I could not wait to get back in the water, but I followed the doctor's orders and stayed dry for seven weeks. I still love surfing, still love the water. The only thing I do different is when I see sharks now, I don’t slap the water, and while I will still warn my fellow surfers when I see danger, I'm not willing to actively distract sharks anymore. It’s common sense and I'm not sure why I felt it was okay that time.
I feel very fortunate to have had such a good recovery and am grateful for all of my experiences in and around the surf.
Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at [email protected]. X: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida surfer looks back on shark bite 21 years later