Ama_May_June_2024

Canoe Alley 

to my right and just saw the body and dorsal fin. At that moment, I felt oddly calm. I could see its gray coloring with faint stripes and immediately knew it was a tiger shark. Its sandpaper-like texture was interesting. My knee was also on the side of the shark, so in an instant, I tried to shove the shark away from me. I pulled my legs in and kicked it as hard as I could with both feet. When I realized it had released my board, I pulled my leash and hopped back on. I started paddling as fast as I could toward shore, yelling “shark!” By the time I got to the beach, the lifeguards knew something was up because everyone was paddling in. I was still in shock, but somehow, I was holding it together. When I got home, the story already hit the news. My phone was flooded with texts and calls. I was touched by how many people cared about me and were checking if I had been injured. Three days later there was a small, clean left breaking off the Sandbar reef. I faced my fears and got back into the water. I caught some enjoyable inside waves, and about 20 minutes into my session I paddled out to the peak and thought about what happened, then rode a wave to inside Sandbar. That was the only outside set I saw the entire hour. It may sound silly, but at that moment it felt like a peace offering from the ocean. Although my experience was terrifying, it hasn’t stopped me from going back into the ocean. I think for many of us, being in the ocean is vital to our mental health. My stress and worries step aside when I talk with my friends in the lineup and ride waves. We share the ocean with sharks. It’s always been that way. I’ve been told it’s been decades since anyone was attacked in the Waikīkī area. I’d like to think that I took one for the team and there won’t be any more attacks for decades to come. ■

Surfing With Sharks

Sharing the details of my close call with an aggressive eight-foot ger shark, and the peace o ering I received from the ocean. By Matt White

➳ We’ve all thought about it when there is a long lull between sets. You’re sitting all by yourself and hear an errant splash nearby. You get the ‘shark vibes’ and your senses pick up. On the day of the attack, I had no such feelings. It was March 4, an unlikely west wrap hit town. When I paddled out that afternoon, the waves were pumping. A set had just come through and I knew I had about 5 or 10 minutes before the next one. The initial hit shook my board and I had a brief moment of confusion. I looked back to my right to see what had caused the sudden lurch and saw a head clamped on the back of my board. My eyes traced a line from the head along the long body to the tail, and I realized it was a shark. A big one. If you’re in the water a lot, you’ve strategized what you would do if attacked by a shark. My plan has always been to punch the shark in the nose. But as soon as I started to enact this plan, the shark shook my board violently and I fell forward. I had fallen half off my board and was desperately trying to hold. The shark shook my board like it was a twig in the water and the next thing I knew, I was in the water. I was lying on the side of the shark in ‘punch it!’ mode, but I looked

MAY / JUNE 2024 | AMA 27

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