Author Topic: Shark Attack At Crystal Beach, Texas  (Read 3159 times)

Night Wing

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Shark Attack At Crystal Beach, Texas
« on: August 10, 2018, 05:02:01 AM »
One of the places I sup surfed in 2017, because of its small but consistent waves; was Crystal Beach, Texas on the Bolivar Peninsula. I haven't been down there so far in 2018 because the place has been without any real waves to sup surf this year.

Yesterday a male beach goer was in the water in the gut around the 2nd sand bar enjoying the 87 degrees F water temperature when he felt a bump. Then a few seconds later, he got bit by a large shark right above his knee on his thigh. You can read about it at the link below and there is a graphic picture of the bite wound.

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/08/09/breaking-texas-beachgoer-bitten-by-shark-rushed-to-hospital.html

Judging from the teeth marks from the wound, it looks to me to be a bite from either a large bull or blacktip shark which are a quite common in the waters off of Bolivar. I'm guessing the shark was around 6' in length.

So the next time I venture out to sup surf the waves at Crystal Beach, which has three good sup surfing beaches (Sunrise, Bluewater, Crystal), I'll have to pay attention and keep alert for any dark shark shapes prowling the guts between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd sand bars.

BTW, the link to these beaches, which have streaming webcams, can be seen at the links below.

https://www.bolivarpeninsulatexas.com/Webcams/Sunrise-Beach

https://www.bolivarpeninsulatexas.com/Webcams/Bluewater-Beach

https://www.bolivarpeninsulatexas.com/Webcams/Crystal-Beach-Surf
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CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

Wetstuff

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Re: Shark Attack At Crystal Beach, Texas
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2018, 05:49:51 AM »
Eeeech!  Those will make some toothy scars...   

Jim


Night ...I kinda take exception to "enjoying the 87 degrees F water".   That's like being here today with 1000% humidity.  More eeeech!
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Night Wing

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Re: Shark Attack At Crystal Beach, Texas
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2018, 07:26:43 AM »
Eeeech!  Those will make some toothy scars...   

Jim

Night ...I kinda take exception to "enjoying the 87 degrees F water".   That's like being here today with 1000% humidity.  More eeeech!

Jim. Haven't you ever heard the old saying, "Women LOVE scars on a man".   8)  I've had eleven major medical procedures and I can tell you, my wife loves those scars on me from all of those medical procedures if you get my drift.   ;D

As for the 87 degrees F water temperature, at this time of the year (almost mid August), the water temperature is usually at  89 degrees F, but we've had a lot of Saharan sand in the air which has made its way from Africa on the upper level winds across the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico oceans. With all the Saharan sand in the upper air levels helping to block some of the sunlight, our water temperature is a "cool" 87 degrees F at the moment.

When we had a severe drought a few years back, the air temperature was between 104-107 degrees F everyday from July till the end of
August. Combined with the humidity and dew point, we had heat indexes of between 112-115 degrees F everyday for those two months. This gave us beach water temperatures of 92 degrees F or more.

With the beach water temperature of 92 degrees F, the sharks (bull, blacktips) keep their distance since they prefer the cooler water offshore a few miles from the beach. With the beach water temperature at 87 degrees F, the sharks are coming close to the beach now. So close, they're scraping their bellies in 2' of water depth right off the beach.

So when it comes to beach water temperature, one has to take the good with the bad so to speak. Where I sup surf and others prone surf, we get to pick our poison.   ;)

On a more serious note, I'm more concerned about flesh eating bacteria (Necrotizing Fasciitis) in the beach water than I am about sharks at this time of the year because of the high beach water temperature.
Blue Planet Duke: 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 Liters (2 Dukes)
Sup Sports Hammer: 8'11" x 31" x 4" @ 140 Liters
SUP Sports One World: 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 Liters
CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

Wetstuff

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Re: Shark Attack At Crystal Beach, Texas
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2018, 09:23:43 AM »
Sounds brutal down there Night.  You're right to pay attention to Vibrio. I didn't realize there were different strains 'till I read this piece.  "CDC: Vibriosis causes about 80,000 illnesses and 100 deaths each year in the United States." (in the piece below)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-resident-dies-after-coming-into-contact-with-a-flesh-eating-bacteria/2018/07/19/cb497bee-8b51-11e8-85ae-511bc1146b0b_story.html?utm_term=.9948e1413ffe

We had some poor bastard here a couple of years ago at my beach town who was closing the condo to head to his condo in Phoenix for the winter.  He was cleaning the bottom of his boat, either Friday or Saturday, before he hauled it for storage  ..'took a fever that evening ..they ended up airlifting him to Hopkins on Sunday  ..he was ready for the crematorium Tuesday. 

I kited bayside in shelly, brackish water for over a decade cutting my feet regularly...  When your # is up, eh?!

Jim
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Night Wing

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Re: Shark Attack At Crystal Beach, Texas
« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2018, 06:06:36 PM »
A little follow up on this attack.

After the individual was transported to the John Sealy Hospital at Galveston, his bite wound was treated (stitched up and given antibiotics) and after an examination of the bite marks on his thigh, it was determined he was bit by a bull shark.
Blue Planet Duke: 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 Liters (2 Dukes)
Sup Sports Hammer: 8'11" x 31" x 4" @ 140 Liters
SUP Sports One World: 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 Liters
CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

eastbound

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Re: Shark Attack At Crystal Beach, Texas
« Reply #5 on: August 22, 2018, 06:15:22 AM »
yep the microbes'll get you long before a shark will--and take care especially when the water is particularly warm

up here the cold chases aways crowds (and their garbage) and microbes---water quality diff btwn august and jan is obvious
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Night Wing

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Re: Shark Attack At Crystal Beach, Texas
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2018, 07:36:50 PM »
An edit to the edit.

Seems the fellow who got bit by the bull shark is having another more serious consequence. He is now battling "flesh eating bacteria" which he contracted from the bite wounds on his thigh and the bacteria is overpowering the antibiotics he is taking.

It seems at this time of the year with our water so warm (87-89 degrees F), the flesh eating bacteria is definitely in the water off of the Bolivar Peninsula around the Crystal Beach area.

From looking at my streaming webcams this afternoon, nobody is in the water.
Blue Planet Duke: 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 Liters (2 Dukes)
Sup Sports Hammer: 8'11" x 31" x 4" @ 140 Liters
SUP Sports One World: 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 Liters
CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

eDUBz

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Re: Shark Attack At Crystal Beach, Texas
« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2018, 08:26:23 PM »
That’s Scary! When we were in Texas earlier this month we were going to go to
The coast but never made it. That flesh eating disease is scary stuff.
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eDUBz

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Re: Shark Attack At Crystal Beach, Texas
« Reply #8 on: August 22, 2018, 08:31:52 PM »
double post
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supthecreek

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Re: Shark Attack At Crystal Beach, Texas
« Reply #9 on: August 23, 2018, 04:31:48 AM »
Jeeze NW... I'll take our GW's over flesh eating bacteria, that about as creepy as it gets. :-\

Night Wing

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Re: Shark Attack At Crystal Beach, Texas
« Reply #10 on: August 23, 2018, 01:18:52 PM »
Jeeze NW... I'll take our GW's over flesh eating bacteria, that about as creepy as it gets. :-\

This guy made the national news............again.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2018/08/23/texas-man-bitten-by-shark-has-flesh-eating-bacteria-related-to-attack.html

I know my shark teeth and those bite marks are similar to only two sharks which are quite common in our surf, a bull and a blacktip. And this guy got bit by a bull shark.

Bull sharks are unpredictable. This is what makes bull sharks so dangerous. Great whites are not as unpredictable as bull sharks. GW's usually circle around an object and then the gradually close the circle distance.

Our bull sharks don't circle. They will swim around in no particular fashion and they don't need to be real close to you, but all of a sudden, they will swim toward you as fast as a bullet and when they reach you, they bite.

Before I got into sup, from 2003 to 2016, I was an avid saltwater kayak fisherman. I had been out in the Gulf of Mexico targeting 22"-29" spanish mackerel and I was about one mile offshore from the beach keeping close to a bait ball of  4" finger mullet since smacks love finger mullet. This is the only time I have ever had an encounter with bull shark since it is a stockily built shark. Blacktips are sleek sharks although not as sleek as blue sharks.

I could see the shark's fin about 50 yards to port side from me. Then I noticed it's fin was coming straight at my yak. When it got to my Ocean Kayak Scupper Pro TW sit on top kayak (which I bought in 2004 and sold it in 2016), it opened it's mouth to bite my yak about 2' from where my seat was with me in the seat.

But I was ready for this shark. Sharks are vulnerable in two areas. One is their eyes and the second is their gill slits. I had already got my Werner all carbon 220cm length paddle at the ready and when bull shark opened it's mouth, I thrust the end of my kayak paddle blade as hard as I could into the shark's gill slits and I knocked the shark for a loop. I imagine it felt some pain in it's gill slits. There was a big splash of water with white foam and the bull shark disappeared.

I didn't hang around either. I got all of my gear put up in the kayak as fast as I could and I paddled back to the beach as fast as I could. Learning a good lesson from that encounter, from then on when I went fishing from my kayak offshore out in the Gulf of Mexico, I always took along a shark bangstick with a 12 gauge powerhead.........just in case. As the old saying goes; "Chance favors the prepared mind". BTW, I never had to use the bangstick after purchasing it. Once I sold my kayak in 2016, the bangstick went with the person who bought my kayak from me.

When I go sup surfing, I always make sure I don't have any cuts or abrasions on my body which is the pathway for the flesh eating bacteria to enter. If I have a cut, I don't care how small the cut is, I don't go sup surfing. I stay home. If I do get a cut somehow while I'm sup surfing, I go back to my truck, bathe the cut in 90% rubbing alcohol which I carry with me, clean and load up my gear and head for home. Once home, I clean the cut again and watch the cut like like a hawk watches a mouse.

If a person contracts this nasty bacteria, they can be dead in 72 hours. It's that aggressive. If people do survive from this bacteria without any complications, they're lucky. Usually contracting this bacteria comes with a price. And that price is, amputation of a body part to give someone a permanent reminder never to take this bacteria "lightly" again.
Blue Planet Duke: 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 Liters (2 Dukes)
Sup Sports Hammer: 8'11" x 31" x 4" @ 140 Liters
SUP Sports One World: 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 Liters
CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

 


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