Fatal shark attack

[ricki]

Some information is still coming in. The accident didn't happen at Bathtub Reef but a couple of miles north almost due east of the Causeway on to the south end of Hutchinson Island at the public beach. I understand quite a few riders were off Ft. Pierce Inlet to the north, mainly on 9 m kites in fairly steady 15 to 25 mph conditions from the N to NNW. Looking north from Jupiter on the livecam, the sky was clear as was the case on radar around 4 pm. So, there is nothing to suggest weather was involved in putting his kite on the water, i.e. stalled in an offshore wind shift. Some of us may have seen Steve at the Jupiter event on Saturday. He was shooting pictures and playing around with SUP gear.


New information:

"MARTIN COUNTY, FL-- A man encircled by several sharks was pulled from the water Wednesday afternoon off Stuart Beach.

Lifeguard Daniel Lund noticed 38-year old Stephen Schafer, who was apparently kite boarding, in trouble about a quarter-mile offshore.

When the lifeguard paddled out to him on his rescue board, there was blood in the water and Schafer was screaming that he'd been bitten by a shark.

Lund put Schafer on his rescue board and returned to shore.

He had what appeared to be an 8 inch to 10 inch shark bite on his right thigh, and investigators saw "numerous teeth marks" on his backside.

During the trip back to shore, Schafer was talking to Lund though "eventually stopped," according to a report from the Martin County Sheriff's Office.

Schafer later died at Martin Memorial Medical Center.

Several thousands of sharks have been spotted just off shore because of migration.

Several Palm Beach County beaches were closed due to shark sightings last week.

Including Wednesday’s fatal attack, there have been about 14 deaths in Florida attributed to sharks, according to records provided by University of Florida Museum of Natural History."
http://www.wptv.com/mostpopular/stor...ZRimK0mRw.cspx