Shark Concerns

Founder of the Shark Spotters and its chairman Greg Bertish was quoted by the Cape Times today that the meeting would "look into what happened and how matters could be improved".

Part of this would be to determine why the siren failed - it apparently tripped the electricity - at a crucial moment in the shark warning procedure, and whether there was the possibility of getting funding for a backup alarm.

Witnesses claim that the shark was sighted 10 minutes before the attack on Matthew Smithers, 20, a UCT student from Durban, but surfers struggled to find anyone to raise the alarm.

One of the first to spot the shark in deep water off the backline was one of the surfers who helped Smithers to shore, Brendan 'Jock' Kannemeyer: "I thought it was a whale at first. I mentioned this to Jules (Julian Pringle) and paddled into a wave that didn't get me very far. As the wave faded out I headed back out a little and then saw what was clearly a big Great White shark, the white belly giving it away as I cruised through a wave about 10 metres in front of me."

The Shark Spotters Black Flag was flying, which meant poor visibility, but the shark had not been spotted by the Boyes Drive spotter or anyone ashore. Consensus is that spotting conditions were tough. The distance from the Boyes Drive spotting station to the backline in front of the Pavilion, where the bite occurred, is about a kilometre away (see above picture on a clear day). Visibility was poor, the water was murky and a solid 4-5' swell was breaking far out.

However, concerns have been voiced about when exactly the siren went off, and the time lapse between the sighting and the attack.

An unnamed witness quoted on Wavescape said he was in the water with Smithers when he was attacked, and had immediately gone ashore to raise the alarm. However, he could not find the Shark Spotter on duty.

Before the attack, Kannemeyer had rushed ashore on his SUP, warning people. "I stopped about 20 metres from the shore and kneeling on my SUP, looked back and around, checking that everyone was heading in. Jules then came past me laying down on his SUP saying there had been an attack."

They went back to help a brave SUP rider Matthew Kabot who was bringing to shore the badly injured surfer, who had been hit into the air before the bite, which fortunately had ended in the shark getting a "mouthful of fins and board".

Meanwhile, the siren had been activated after Shark Spotters staff on duty were found (above photo shows the station at Koeel Bay), but it did not work. Greg Bertish told the Cape Times: "When the siren was activated, it tripped the whole toilet block. It went 'Bwaa' and died."

By the time the siren went off properly, Smithers was apparently already receiving medical assistance on the shore.

The witness, quoted by his friend Brett Williams on Wavescape, said: "Ten minutes before the attack a guy on a SUP went in to try a sound the alarm because he said he may have seen a shark. When I had finally made it to the beach (after the attack) and made my way to try and sound the alarm, the SUP guy still had not found anyone and said he didn't know where the Shark Spotter staff were at."

"If the SUP guy had found the Shark Spotters earlier, and sounded the alarm, this attack might have been avoided."

Despite the complications, great teamwork and couragerous responses limited the danger. Three SUP riders have been singled out for their brave actions: Kannemeyer, Pringle and Kabot.