Shark attacks surfer
Exhilarated, he paddled back toward Rocha. Then he angled his board toward the beach and caught the shoulder of the wave at a steep incline and rode it all the way to shore before disappearing in the crashing foam. Staring out at the horizon, he saw a swell of ocean rise to form a perfect wave and began paddling to its peak. It didn’t take long for Medici to catch the wave of his dreams. As soon as they set up their beach umbrellas, Medici skipped toward the water like a child, kicking up sand as he bounded into the surf. The next morning, Medici and Rocha woke up early, ate a light breakfast, and headed back to Newcomb Hollow. Catch the big one.” They surfed until nightfall, floating in the ocean and watching the sun, with its orange and pink hues, dip below the steep cliffs behind the beach. “The waves run in patterns two small waves followed by a bigger one. “You need to understand the rhythm of the ocean,” Medici instructed. Rocha was still a beginner, but he had a patient teacher he watched as Medici showed him where to place his hands in order to balance himself. Today, the conditions were ideal, and they were excited to be back.Īs soon as his boogie board touched the water, Medici put on a show for his young friend, performing flips and 360-degree spins.
Still, they liked Newcomb Hollow because it was relatively deserted, except for the occasional member of the close-knit surfing community, who had welcomed them with a smile.
They had visited the site once before, but the conditions had been too choppy for a day of wave riding. After checking in, they grabbed their gear and headed for nearby Newcomb Hollow Beach. The sun had just started to set when they pulled into a motel along Route 6A in Wellfleet. Medici had recently asked Rocha’s sister, Emily, to marry him, and Rocha was thrilled his friend would soon become family. Stuck in bumper-to-bumper Friday-afternoon traffic, they searched for Jack Johnson songs on the radio and caught up on the week, chatting about work, school, and life. Moments later, the two friends climbed into Medici’s black Nissan Altima and began the long trek to the outer edge of Cape Cod. Just as he was gathering his board, wetsuit, and a fresh set of clothes, he heard a knock on the front door. When the final school bell rang, releasing students like a pack of greyhounds at the track, Rocha hopped onto his motorcycle and raced home. The message came from Arthur Medici, a 26-year-old college student from Brazil who attended Rocha’s church and had known him for years. Go home and grab your stuff and be ready because I’m coming to your house.”
The Florida county in which Nielson was surfing and bitten averages nine bites per year, which seems high but, remember, there are millions of people out there in the water each year. It's important to put into context how rare shark bites are. His prognosis is excellent and I anticipate a very rapid, excellent recovery for him," said Haaris Mir, medical director of burn and reconstructive centers of America at Kendall Regional Medical Center. RELATED: Florida woman records close encounter with gator while paddleboardingĪfter extensive reconstructive surgeries, he's now recovering at home, and using a wheelchair and walker to get around. Cruz had to be airlifted to a hospital where he spent 11 days. His injuries were so severe, with lacerations to both legs, tissue and muscle damage and a severed Achilles. I couldn't see anything," said 15-year-old Lucas Cruz. "I looked in the water and all I saw was red. Shark bites like Nielson's are extremely rare, but just last month, another teen in the Sunshine State was bitten by a bull shark while lobster fishing with his family.