Shark left its mark, but Fort Pierce surfer undaunted
JASON NUTTLE jason.nuttle@scripps.com
Dennis Macy prepares to go surfing at Fort Pierce Inlet State Park on Tuesday, one day after a shark grazed him at New Smyrna Beach. JASON NUTTLE jason.nuttle@scripps.com
Shark bites cover Dennis Macy's torso. Macy, 52, of Fort Pierce, was nipped by a 5-foot shark while surfing in New Smyrna Beach on M
By LISA RIDDLE
lisa.riddle@scripps.com
September 13, 2006
FORT PIERCE — Dennis Macy of Fort Pierce spent 20 minutes surfing after a shark's teeth pierced the left lower side of his torso Monday in New Smyrna Beach.
"I felt lightning wouldn't strike twice," said Macy, 52, who made no attempt to move away from New Smyrna Beach County Park. "Maybe I've got a little reckless abandon about me."
While paddling out, he felt a burning sensation on his side after he saw what he thought was a 5-foot shark leap out from the water beside his board. At first, he assumed the encounter was just a sideswipe — his first physical contact with a shark in his 39 years of surfing.
But his surfing pals soon alerted him that the marks on his side were clearly those of shark teeth. He said he figured the large amount of bait fish in the area where they surfed was the likely attractor.
"I thought the shark just roughed up my skin after he slammed me. I could feel my skin kind of pricked up, but I knew I wasn't bleeding really bad, so I kept on surfing," Macy recalled Tuesday. "If he would have bit me, it would have been bad news. This is the best possible shark-hit story."
He has some advice for those surfing in bait-infested waters.
"When those northeasterlies blow in, then the bait fish come and sharks follow them in to feed. They're not after you, they just want the food, but you might get in the way," he said before heading out to surf again at Fort Pierce Inlet Park. "I just want to say, it's just by the grace of God that I was as fortunate as I was and made it out of there with just some teeth marks."
http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/local_news/ar ... 69,00.html
09/11/2006 Dennis Macy (Florida)
Shark Attack Survivors News Archive for Shark Attacks in 2006.
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