A surfer has survived an attack by an “8ft shark” — his second run in with an apex predator at the same beach.
Cole Taschman was riding waves at Bathtub Beach in Martin County, Florida, with mates when he spotted the shark, believed to be a tiger or bull shark, lurking behind him.
The surfer, who runs Cole Tashy Charters, reckoned the beast was a whopping seven or eight feet long, WPTV reports, and recalled the moment he saw it biting his leg.
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Cole said: “I looked behind me and he was he kind of was just like, on the back of me.
(Image: Cole Taschman)
“I just looked and I saw last-second him kind of going under and then he just kind of moved towards the side. I could kind of see his silhouette.”
He caught a wave into shore where his mates and a food truck operator used surfboard leashes to stem the bleeding, chasing to drive to the hospital, rather than wait for emergency services.
Cole said that he “blacked out” from his injuries, and that his girlfriend, Ana, continued to slap him so he wouldn’t pass out from shock or blood loss.
(Image: Cole Taschman)
He added: “And Zach [his friend] is driving like a madman trying to get me to the hospital. He’s dumping water on may head. They kept me awake, so thank god.
Cole damaged three tendons, which required two surgeries, and he needed 93 stitches.
Surprisingly, this is not his first shark attack at the Bathtub Beach. He was attacked previously while surfing in 2013, however says “there’s no comparison” between the two.
(Image: Getty Images/Image Source)
He said: “The first one was a tiny little reef pup.”
“It’s like comparing an Olympic athlete to a high school athlete like, you know, the amount of trauma. It’s so hectic how much worse this one was.”
Bathtub Beach around 150 miles south of New Smyrna Beach, which is considered shark bite capital of the world.
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