A yacht crew member has relived the moment he was bitten by a 1.5-metre shark after jumping into the water to make sure the reef conditions were safe for a group of waiting tourists.
Ryan Bowring, 25, was bitten twice on his right buttock and left hip near Hardy Reef, about 50km north-east of Queensland’s Hamilton Island on March 25 after jumping off the 42-metre luxury vessel at about 12.30pm.
The Tasmanian-born man has been left with 75 stitches, after suffering from wounds up to four centimetres deep and 10 centimetres wide.
‘Out of nowhere it just felt like I was crash-tackled by a big rugby player or something,’ he told 9News.
But despite the attack, Mr Bowring has urged against culling sharks and plans to dive at the coral reef once he has fully recovered.
Yacht crew member Ryan Bowring (pictured) has recalled the time he was bitten by a 1.5-metre shark in an attack that left him with 75 stitches
The 25-year-old was bitten twice on his right buttock and twice on his left hip near Hardy Reef (pictured)
The Tasmanian born man was four-centimetre deep, ten-centimetre long wounds
Mr Bowring, who works for Southern Cross Sailing Adventures, underwent surgery and received blood transfusions and rehabilitation at Mackay Hospital, after he was airlifted by critical care paramedics from the popular reef at 1.45pm.
The 25-year-old told rescue crews how the suspected bronze whaler shark had ‘a couple of goes at him’.
‘It didn’t take me too long to realise it was a shark on the other end of me,’ he said.
Nearly three weeks after the attack, Mr Bowring has bravely returned to the pristine waters where the animal nearly took his life.
He travelled three hours through rough waters, where waves reached two to three metres high, while still recovering from his surgery.
‘I love the water too much to be worried about the odd shark here and there or the fact that it might happen it’s the risk you take if you want to do the things you love,’ he said.
The shark attack is one of many in Australia in the past seven months and has continued the debate on the effectiveness of drum lines – a trap used to capture large sharks using baited hooks.
But Mr Bowring insists using drum lines to address the shark attacks is ‘just crazy’.
‘They don’t need to be here and we should be doing everything we can to help one of the apex predators of the ocean,’ he said.
Despite the attack, Mr Bowring (pictured) has bravely returned to the pristine waters where the shark nearly took his life
He underwent surgery, received blood transfusions and rehabilitation at Mackay Hospital
The Queensland opposition is calling for more shark control equipment to be placed in the Whitsundays.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said people simply need to be ‘shark-wise’.
Victorian man Daniel Christidis, 33, died in November after being attacked at Cid Harbour during a trip with friends and colleagues.
That incident followed separate attacks – also at Cid Harbour – on Tasmanian woman Justine Barwick and Victorian 12-year-old Hannah Papps within just 24 hours in September.
There were 26 shark deaths in Australia between 2007-2018, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Hardy Reef is a popular tourist destination with ideal conditions for diving and snorkelling, but takes hours to reach via boat.
Mr Bowring has urged against the culling of sharks by the installation of drumlines despite the spate of attacks
There were 26 shark deaths in Australia between 2007-2018, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics