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Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Florida surfer filmed being headbutted by airborne SHARK while trying to catch a wave
A seasoned surfer off the Florida coast was abruptly knocked off his board when a shark suddenly launched out of the ocean, and struck him in the head. Darren Kaye, 51, of Winter Park, was surfing off the coast of New Smyrna Beach - an inlet northeast of Orlando - earlier this month, staying alert after spotting sharks near the shore and witnessing several recent attacks at the popular surf spot, WFTV 9 News reported. Though he kept a close eye on the water, Kaye never thought to look to the air - until, in a split second, a spinner shark burst out from underneath the surface and headbutted him off his board. 'I have a scar on the side of my elbow from being hit by a car and that's what it felt like,' Kaye told WFTV. 'It felt like getting hit by a car. It was really strong and powerful,' he added. 'They're all muscle, you know.' Early on the evening of June 20, Kaye was sitting on his surfboard, gently bobbing with the waves at the popular surf spot that has been nicknamed the 'Shark Bite Capital of the World,' according to visit New Smyrna Beach. While paddling into the waves on a board commonly known as a 'fish,' something bizarre happened. In a wild moment caught on camera, a spinner shark - named for its signature spinning leaps during feeding - suddenly erupted from the water in front of Kaye. 'Kind of ironic, right?' Kaye told WFTV. 'So you're riding a fish, and the shark tries to get your fish.' Though the shark missed its prey during its unexpected leap into surfer-filled waters, it didn't miss Kaye - slamming into his head mid-air and sending him crashing off his board. 'I was just really happy its mouth wasn't open,' he told the outlet, noting that spinner sharks are known for ejecting out of the ocean while hunting for fish. In the moment, Kaye had no idea what had struck him as the sharp-toothed sea creature hurled him into the choppy waters of the Sunshine State. 'I got right back on that board and my pulse went to like 195 beats a minute in a second, and I paddled as fast as I could to get out of the way,' Kaye told WFTV. Kaye explained that the force he felt was eerily similar to a car accident - an experience he knew all too well, with a scar on his elbow as a lasting reminder. Thankfully, despite weighing over 120 pounds, spinner sharks aren't known for delivering serious or powerful bites during attacks. He did feel a sudden headache, but was relieved when he realized the damage was minimal. He promptly jumped back on his board to catch another wave. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Darren J Kaye (@dj_kaye_) 'We surfed there the rest of the weekend, we surfed there this morning, we surfed there yesterday afternoon,' Kaye told WFTV. 'We always have waves,' he added. 'We are lucky.' In Florida - particularly at New Smyrna Beach - not only are spinner sharks common, but bull sharks, one of the most dangerous species to humans, are also frequently observed. Earlier this month, a summer vacation took a turn for the worse when a mommy influencer's young daughter was attacked by a shark in the Sunshine State - leaving her without her right hand. Leah Lendel, 9, was snorkeling near the shore of Boca Grande with her mother and siblings around noon on June 11 when she was bitten by a shark. Bystanders said an eight-foot bull shark managed to bite off the girl's right hand and part of her wrist. She emerged from the water on her own, completely covered in blood. With the help of nearby construction workers, the family called 911 and created a tourniquet out of a beach towel to stop the bleeding. The little girl and her father were airlifted to Tampa - 100 miles away from the beach - where she was admitted for emergency surgery in the hopes of reattaching her hand. In an update to Gulf Coast News Now earlier this month, Lendel's mother said: 'They had to get arteries from her leg to the hand. Got the blood flow back to her hand. Install pins in bones. Still has open tissues. 'They will be monitoring her here for a week,' she added. 'But thank God she can move her fingers.' On June 12, Lendel's uncle also offered NBC News further details on the nine-year-old girl's condition: 'The doctors were able to do some miracles and put her hand back together.' 'She will be in the hospital for a while and then a lot of physical therapy to hopefully get her hand functioning again,' he added. Now that summer is in full swing - meaning shark attack season is underway - beachgoers and surfers alike should exercise extra caution along the East Coast.
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Shocking moment surfer is HEADBUTTED by airborne shark – before saying ‘I'm happy its mouth wasn't open'
THIS is the moment a surfer is headbutted by a flying shark in a jaw-dropping encounter in Florida. Wild footage shows Darren Kaye calmly sitting on his board when a spinner shark explodes from the water in a twisting leap. 5 5 The animal smashed straight into his head, knocking him clean off his board at New Smyrna Beach. The clip captured the fast-moving predator launching into the air like a missile - a signature move for spinner sharks during feeding frenzies. After the terrifying hit, Kaye told local outlet WFTV 9: "I was just really happy its mouth wasn't open." New Smyrna Beach, northeast of Orlando, is infamous for shark sightings - and Kaye said he had seen plenty of fins slicing through the surf before. What he didn't expect was an aerial ambush. "I got right back on that board and my pulse went to like 195 beats a minute in a second and I paddled as fast as I could out of the way," he said. The impact, he added, was no joke: "I have a scar on the side of my elbow from [being hit by a car] and that's like what it felt like. It felt like getting hit by a car. "It was really strong and powerful. They're all muscle, you know." While spinner sharks aren't typically aggressive, the beach is also home to black tip sharks - and the notorious bull shark, one of the most dangerous to humans. Still, the brush with Jaws didn't scare Kaye off the waves. Shark attack reported at popular US beach as victim rushed to hospital just weeks after 1,600lb beast spotted in state "We surfed there the rest of the weekend, we surfed there this morning, we surfed there yesterday afternoon," the surfer said. "We always have waves. We are lucky." The video, which was also posted on Instagram, quickly lit up the comments. One user wrote: "That's wild!" Another chimed in: "I got hit by one at inlet while up riding a wave. Thought it broke my arm when I put it up to block the impact." A third added: "Had this happen to me at Navarre Pier. "It hit my foot hard on its way out of the water and still landed next to my board. Fun moment, kept surfing." And another person commented: "Some of them get pretty big. Saw a 4-5 footer hop out today." With summer heating up, so is shark season on the East Coast. Earlier this month, a 9-year-old girl nearly lost her hand in a more typical shark attack in Florida, and days later, a beachgoer in South Carolina was airlifted to the hospital after being mauled near Hilton Head Island. But Kaye's mid-air run-in proves you don't even need to be in the water to have a close encounter with one of the ocean's most fearsome predators. 5 5
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Florida Man Gets Headbutted by Shark While Surfing in Dramatic Footage: ‘Felt Like Getting Hit by a Car'
A Florida man was captured being hit by an airborne shark at New Smyrna Beach in Florida Darren Kaye was surfing when a spinner shark jumped out of the water and knocked him off his surfboard "It felt like getting hit by a car," Kaye told WFTV 9A surfer from Florida had an unexpected encounter with an airborne shark. In a video shared on social media, Darren Kaye was captured surfing in the waters of New Smyrna Beach in Florida when he was headbutted by the large fish. 'A spinner shark jumps out of the water and hits Florida Man sitting on his surfboard! #nsbinlet video: @dj_kaye_,' the caption read on a joint Instagram post between Kaye and NSB Inlet. Spinner sharks are known for "spinning in the air" while trying to find food and can reach 20 feet above the water's surface, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. 'I was just really happy its mouth wasn't open cause that's how they fish,' Kaye, who was knocked off his surfboard after the impact, told local media outlet WFTV 9. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. According to the outlet, the surfer had previously seen sharks at the beach and had even witnessed other people sustain shark bites. However, he never expected to be hit by a shark jumping out of the water. 'I got right back on that board and my pulse went to like 195 beats per minute in a second and I paddled as fast as I could like out of the way,' he said. Kaye went on to compare the moment to when he was previously hit by a car. 'I have a scar and that's like what it felt like. It felt like getting hit by a car. It was really strong and powerful. They're all muscle, you know,' he said. Despite the unexpected encounter, Kaye hasn't been put off from surfing at New Smyrna Beach. The surfer revealed that he continued to surf there throughout the weekend and beyond. 'We always have waves, so we're lucky,' he told the outlet. Read the original article on People
