Divers Spear Repels Great White Attack

**Resqdivemedic** · 10-05-2006, 02:24 PM

This was emailed to me. Great story.

Diver's spear repels great white attack
October 02, 2006 Edition 1

Natasha Prince

A professional diver from Strandfontein (South Africa) has told how he
speared a shark in its nose as it swam towards him with its jaws wide
open along the False Bay coast at the weekend.

Joseph Johnston, 36, said he and a group of divers had been spearfishing
around Miller's Point - between Rumbly Bay and Castle Rock - on Saturday
afternoon when a shark approached him.

Johnston, a fire department training officer and a rescue diver, said the group had been about 300m from the shore and about to move to another reef.

"We often see sharks and they never bother us, but this one was heading
straight for me," he said.

When the shark was about two metres away from Johnston it had opened its
jaws.

Johnston said he had instinctively grabbed his speargun, aimed and
fired.

"I hit it in the nose and it turned and headed towards Louis."

Louis Simpson of Ottery was a about 2m away. "It moved underneath me -
it was definitely a great white, it could've been at least four metres,"
Simpson said.

The shark moved vigorously in the water, causing the top of the
7mm-diameter spear to break off. It swam away with the point stuck in
its nose.

Simpson said the shark's ap-pearance had been unexpected because the
group had used camouflage suits, so that they could not be mistaken for
seals and had boogie boards, so there was no fish blood in the water.

"We got everyone out of the water and called the shark spotters to
notify them about the injured animal," Johnston said.

Yvonne Kamp, co-ordinator of the shark-spotting programme, said Johnston
and his group had been lucky.

Spear fishermen often spotted sharks because they ventured deep into the
water.

"We are hoping that, particularly at this time, people are going to
report sharks spotted from the shore and in the water," she said

A shark was spotted in Fish Hoek bay yesterday.

Johnston said he had been lucky that visibility was good, so that he was
able to spot the shark from quite a distance.

The encounter has not put Johnston off his hobby. He was back in the
water yesterday.

Last week, a huge great white shark, measuring about 4.5 metres was
spotted off Fish Hoek beach. Great white sharks appear to be following
their spring migration inshore into False Bay, according to experts.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610020609.html

**glynneco** · 10-05-2006, 07:43 PM

Like the VW commercials, "Holy........!" Had to hit that one just right. If I were him I would buy a lottery ticket. He is very lucky. Nice to read he was right back in the water!