He nearly needed to cling 5!
A Florida surfer survived a terrifying shark assault when a large man-eater sunk its enamel into his foot — and was again within the water chasing waves from Hurricane Helene just some days later.
Charley Hajek, 62 — who fittingly goes by “Gnarly Charley” — was browsing within the foamy waters off New Smyrna Seaside on Sept. 22 when he got here face-to-face with a bull shark.
“I stepped off my board, and I landed proper on a shark,” he informed SWNS. “As quickly as I stepped on it, we each freaked out.”
The storm-chasing sexagenarian felt one thing “clamp down on my ankle and foot” — and knew instantly it was an apex predator.
“My complete foot was in its mouth for possibly a second, after which it let me go,” he stated.
“It didn’t thrash or wiggle, simply bit and let go. Like a warning: don’t mess with me.”
Stoked to be alive, the growing older daredevil shortly padded again to shore, the place his leg started gushing blood.
“As quickly as I obtained to the seaside and took that first step, the blood began squirting out. That’s once I knew it was unhealthy,” he stated.
“I wrapped my surfboard leash round my leg as a tourniquet and drove myself to the hospital.”
He acquired 10 stitches and was again within the water by Sept. 27 — the day after winds from Hurricane Helene created huge waves off the coast of the Sunshine State, he stated.
“I barely had my stitches out, and I’m chasing a hurricane,” he stated. “How loopy is that? Makes for a very good story.”
Hajek then rode the waves from Oct. 11 to 13 on the heels of Hurricane Milton’s storm surge, he stated.
“I noticed tornadoes spawn proper behind the home I used to be staying at in Jensen Seaside, coconuts falling from the timber onto the roof,” he stated. “It was sort of scary, man.”
He stated he’s since seen 11 sharks and decided that browsing on the within of a jetty is probably the most harmful.
“Sharks are fairly innocent. However once more, I stepped on it, so I obtained bit. However if you go within the shark pit, that’s means gnarly,” he stated.
In the end, he stated his philosophy is to respect the ocean and respect mom nature.
“Emotionally, I needed to put the shark assault behind me. I really like chasing storms. Wherever the storm goes, I’m going,” he stated.
“You simply need to respect the ocean, respect sharks, and respect hurricanes. Be ready, not scared.”
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