Being attacked by a shark is a surfer’s worst nightmare. It’s something we try not to think about when we’re enjoying the waves on a warm sunny day, but it’s always in the back of our minds. Well, this nightmare turned into reality for Jeff Horton, a 25-year-old former boxer who was surfing the Pacific waters off the coast of Kauai.
Horton was out surfing at Pila’a Beach with several of his friends when the incident occurred. After spending a couple hours hitting the waves, Horton took a short break to catch his breath. As Horton straddled his board in the cool coastal waters, he noticed an sea creature approaching. At first, he assumed it was a stingray since they were fairly common in the area. It wasn’t until the creature came closer to the surface when the realized it was actually a shark and not a stingray.
With the shark fast approaching, Horton lifted his leg out of the water to avoid being bitten. The full-sized tiger shark missed Horton’s leg and instead took a bite out of his board (see image to the right). This force of the shark’s bite tossed Horton off his board, at which point he grabbed the shark’s fin and began punching it in the face. “I finally got one nice punch into the eye,” said Horton. After landing nearly a dozen blows, some of which hit the shark’s eyes, the shark let go of Horton’s board and retreated towards deeper waters. Horton then paddled back to the shore where onlookers congratulated him on his one-on-one match with the ocean’s fiercest animal.
In a statement made to the local news station, Horton said that he has no plans to stop surfing; however, he will retire the shark-bitten surfboard as a collectible trophy for his wall. As you can see in the image posted above, Horton’s yellow surfboard not features a pretty impressive shark bite.
So, this begs the question — did Horton do the right thing when the shark approached? Absolutely. Most experts recommend surfers, swimmers and beach-goers to punch the shark in its eyes during an attach. This triggers and instinctual reaction in sharks to release their bite. With that said, sharks can cover their eyes with a thin piece of skin for protection. In order to make the shark release their grip, you must punch them directly in the eye without this piece of protective skin.