7 minute read
A LUCKY ESCAPE
Jason Lammers is glad to be back in the water after a close encounter with a great white shark at Jeffreys Bay. By Cherelle Leong
JEFFREYS BAY, also known as JBay, is famous for its perfect waves, especially during the winter months. Cold fronts usher in long-range, long-period swells that push in from the southwest Arctic Ocean and up the east coast of South Africa. The typography of Jeffreys Bay allows swell to bend into the bay as it refracts off Cape St Francis and various rocky points along the coastline, resulting in some of the most perfect ridable waves on the planet. When the surf is on, surfers can be seen suiting up and paddling out from before sunrise, bobbing on their boards at first light, eagerly waiting for the next wave.
Jason Lammers, a Cape Town resident, has been surfing most of his life and was in the middle of his annual pilgrimage to this little surf mecca. The winter of 2021 was a particularly good one for surfing, with no international surf contests due to Covid-19 and plenty of waves to go around. On the morning of 14 July 2021, Jason decided to head out early at about 6.30am, armed with his green short board, at a surf spot called The Point. Jason was in the water with two other friends who were both on their longboards. They’d been sitting on the backline for less than two minutes when Jason spotted a wave and started to paddle for it. Midstroke he suddenly felt a massive impact from below and was flung into the water. He felt no pain to indicate he’d been bitten but scrambled back onto his board, immediately noticing the semi-circle gashes on it. There was no doubt he’d just had an encounter with a fairly large shark or, as surfers would call it, a ‘sizeable Johnny’. It was an unnerving realisation that made him feel hugely vulnerable. What if the shark came back? He called to his friends that they should paddle for the beach. The three friends huddled their boards side by side as they paddled swiftly to shore, with Jason’s short board in the middle. It was fortunate that it was high tide so they could paddle over the dark jagged volcanic rocks onto the beach. The moments it took them to get to land were filled with anxiety as they positively identified the great white shark that was following them all the way to the rocks.
Jason is tended to while EMS is en route.
Safely on shore, Jason looked down and noticed blood streaming from a gaping hole above his knee. He reached back and felt his shredded wetsuit and knew he was going to need at least a few stitches. Spotting his wife, who had been watching the scene unfold from the shore, he ran up to her to assure her that he was okay. Jason couldn’t see the full extent of his injuries and his wife insisted he lie down so that they could try to stop the bleeding. His dog’s leash was used as a tourniquet. Then, when the adrenalin began to wear off, things started to get fuzzy for Jason.
Jason didn’t realise the full extent of his injuries at the time.
It was about that time that Station 2 (Bakoven) Sea Rescue volunteer Russel Goodman arrived. He’d been on a surf holiday himself for the past week, staying at a nearby house. They had been preparing to drive back to Cape Town when his friend, who had been watching the surfing, rushed back inside to tell Russel there’d been a shark-bite incident. The two of them immediately got in the car and drove down to the parking lot, less than two minutes away. On seeing Jason lying on his side in the parking lot, Russel’s Sea Rescue training kicked in. Despite Jason’s comments that he wasn’t in pain, there was a lot of blood and stopping the bleeding was Russel’s first priority. He asked bystanders to fetch the Sea Rescue shark-bite kit positioned near the beach access point. They brought the kit and also called NSRI Jeffreys Bay’s emergency number. This was about 7am. Russel cut away parts of Jason’s wetsuit and started packing the wound with gauze. While the momentum of the impact had thrown Jason off his board and presumably prevented the shark from clamping down on him, he hadn’t escaped the bite altogether, as evidenced by the deep puncture wounds and lacerations on his torso. His knee had presumably been caught up in the jaws as the shark thrashed about resulting in the second bite wound.
In the meantime, Jeffreys Bay station commander Paul van Jaarsveld activated his crew and requested immediate assistance from Emergency Medical Services, who confirmed they were on their way. While the momentum of the impact had thrown Jason off his board and presumably prevented the shark from clamping down on him, he hadn’t escaped the bite altogether, as evidenced by the deep puncture wounds and lacerations on his torso. As Russel worked to pack and strap the wounds, he was intent on keeping Jason calm and conscious. Still not in any great level of pain, Jason at that stage still thought his injuries were minor and didn’t want to make a scene. But the concerned expressions of those around him indicated he’d had a lucky escape. Russel managed to keep Jason distracted with surfing talk and a few jokes, while working to stop the bleeding and wrap the wounds. At 7.14am, multiple ambulances and para- medics arrived and took over primary care, setting up a drip, checking the wounds and stabilising Jason for transportation to hospital. Paul arrived shortly afterwards. Not the kind of start to a day he expected after a very quiet season and working a late night, but certainly
a very memorable first call as recently elected station commander. He remarked afterwards that even though it was a bad situation, several things aligned perfectly that day: Jason’s friends escorting him out of the water; Russel, a trained NSRI crew member, being nearby; and the EMS, located down the road, responding quickly.
While Jeffreys Bay is a popular and world-renowned surf spot, and various species of sharks are often sighted, actual sharkbite incidents are a very rare occurrence. The only fatal shark incident on record in Jeffreys Bay shook the community on 11 October 2013, when beloved local swimmer, diver and ocean lover Burgert van der Westhuizen was killed by a great white shark.
All coastal Sea Rescue stations are now equipped with specialised shark-bite kits, and crew are trained in applying the specific medical resources. After the shark incident in 2013, the Supertubes Surfing Foundation had assisted NSRI to position shark-bite kits at Supertubes, Upper Point and Lower Point, which are the most frequented surf spots of Jeffreys Bay. There is also an additional shark-bite kit at the station, which is located directly in front of a surf zone called Kitchen Windows. Station 37 (Jeffreys Bay) keeps its shark-bite kits in wooden boxes with a combination lock (to reduce vandalism and theft) at these spots for fast access in case a shark-bite incident happens. A bystander must simply call the local NSRI emergency number on the box to get the code.
The call taker, usually a duty coxswain or the station commander or deputy, will then activate EMS and coordinate the operation from that point onward. The people on the scene can use the kit to apply immediate first aid. This is one example of Sea Rescue’s proactive approach to saving lives on South African waters. In this particular incident, it saved valuable time by providing Russel with the essential medical resources he needed to initiate proper early treatment before the emergency medical services arrived. After having surgery to stitch up and repair his wounds, Jason has made a full recovery. A month later he was already back surfing and recently visited Russel at the Bakoven base in Cape Town to share their experiences of the incident. In retelling the story, Jason shares that while he loves the ocean and has been a surfer for most of his life, he’s always been wary of sharks.
The incident happened so quickly and without warning, in an area he’d surfed in many times before. He was fortunate that the board took the brunt of the bite, and that the momentum from the impact aided his escape from more severe injuries.
He’s very grateful he lives to surf again.
