Shark! How One Surfer Survived an Attack (page 5 of 5)

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PHOTOGRAPHED BY RICK RICKMAN/LES WALKER/MARIAH TAUGER
"I was never afriad in the ocean," says Endris.
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PHOTOGRAPHED BY RICK RICKMAN/LES WALKER/MARIAH TAUGER
Joe Jansen (left) and Brian Simpson with Endris's destroyed surfboard, at the spot where they pulled him onshore.
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PHOTOGRAPHED BY RICK RICKMAN/LES WALKER/MARIAH TAUGER
Wes Williams was surfing near Endris when he saw the shark "shake him like a rag doll -- six feet in one direction, then ten in another."
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PHOTOGRAPHED BY RICK RICKMAN/LES WALKER/MARIAH TAUGER
Despite his jagged scar, Endris holds no animosity toward the shark: "I was in its domain."
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Getting On With It

Endris also signed up to head an advisory committee in Monterey for the International Shark Attack Research Fund, a group of wildlife veterinarians and marine biologists who have teamed up to design an attack-prevention system. (A portable device that uses electrical pulses to repel sharks was developed in 2002 by an Australian company, but it's not cheap, costing about $650.)

"Our idea is to create a compact, affordable system that will protect me and my friends," says Endris, "without harming the sharks. They've been on earth millions of years -- a whole lot longer than we have."

Six weeks after the attack, Endris stood at a mirror and checked out his scars. One snaked its way across his back and the other up and down his right leg. Even before he got a close look, he knew that he would return to the water. "I had to get on with it," he says. "I love the ocean too much."

That day, he climbed into his Toyota Tacoma and drove to Marina State Beach to try out a new surfboard. Though Joe Jansen now avoids the area, a handful of other surfers met Endris there.

The water was murky with algae, but rays of October sun poked through the clouds as Endris paddled his board out to the same spot where the shark had slammed into him. He scanned the surface of the bay until he spotted a huge swell building behind him, curling with white foam. It was an ideal wave, smooth and cylindrical. Jumping to his feet, Endris caught his balance and soared into the glassy tube.

From Reader's Digest - July 2008
 
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Sorry you've got a problem with religion Rajesh. Between her comment and yours you are the one that 's out of line. You're guessing with her Anglo name it's not your belief system right? Or am I reading "megalomaniac who tortures" too critically myself?

By Middle of the Road Joe, on 11/12/2009
@Carli - Joe's comment is entirely appropriate and did not attack anyone else, unlike your comment, which seems to be entirely out of character for someone supposedly worshiping an all powerful megalomaniac who tortures people not following his rules. Maybe you should stop wishing for people to get attacked by a shark and start researching your own religious doctrine. While you're at it, try working on your reading comprehension skills. Oh, and your god is a solar deity. Study that, too.

By Fogy, on 09/04/2009
Nice read. But too long

By rajesh, on 08/21/2009
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