It was a beautiful day on the 9th of February when I decided to go for a surf at Shelly Beach - my favourite spot. It was my first surf back after about six months out of the water from an old neck injury.
The day was perfect and inviting, nice little three feet waves, blue sky, crystal clear water, white sand, I was wearing board shorts because it was so warm.
When I was paddling out, I heard a lot of commotion and yelling. There was only a few other guys out, five or six to my left, another two or three on my right. Suddenly everyone was belly-boarding the same white-water back in to shore. Every surfer knows what that means: shark.
Suddenly it went from being beautiful, calm, perfect to just your absolute worst nightmare.
I spun around and came in like everyone else, but when I got to the sandy part near the rocks I saw two surfers struggling with someone between them out at the end of the rocks, quite a distance out.
I ripped off my leg rope, ran up onto the rocks and jumped back in, sort of struggling and wading out to get to them.
About halfway out I saw Tadashi Nakahara. I already knew there was a shark, but when I saw the extent of his injuries I knew almost immediately that it was a great white. Only a very big shark could inflict that level of injury.
The image has stayed with me, burnt into my mind, and only because I’ve told his parents am I comfortable describing what I saw: both of Tadashi’s legs were removed, not very far below the hips. So he was sort of half gone.
I assisted the other two surfers as best I could to hold his head and body out of the water - he was unconscious - knowing the entire time that there was a massive shark in the water nearby. From what I knew, sharks often come back a second time after an attack.
We made it back to the rocks and clambered up and over to the beach. Then everything went into over-drive, like flashes in a film.
I thought I saw his eyes move but the paramedics later told me that was just his brain shutting down
The other two guys were attempting to put leg rope around his injuries like tourniquets, and I started giving him CPR. I was completely unprepared for just how devastating the incident was. I didn’t realise how intimate CPR is.
Then I could hear sirens in the background, and after an eternity of breathing and looking into his eyes, I felt like I got a breath from him. The other two had lifted his legs to keep the blood flowing to his heart and his head.
I yelled at everyone to be quiet and I put my ear to his mouth. I thought I saw his eyes move but the paramedics later told me that was just his brain shutting down, the final stages of passing away. Leaving the scene I was in complete shock.
I went to the memorial that was held a week later and I had the honour of meeting his best friend. I met with Tadashi’s family and took them to the exact spot where it had happened.
I rehearsed a speech in Japanese to give to them, and presented them with a special card and shell from the beach. I learned how to bow properly to meet them in the correct honourable fashion. I wanted to put their mind at rest that it had all happened in a matter of milliseconds, that it was not like the scene from Jaws that I imagined them playing out in their minds. I'm quite certain he would have felt no pain and I told his parents the same.
A memorial for Tadashi Nakahara. Source: Insight
Since then I've had four attempts at getting back in the water. Each only lasted about fifteen minutes before I had to come back in. As someone who's surfed my whole life, it's strange to not be able to go in the water.
The last time I went out I got caught in the middle of a big ball of bait fish, with birds diving into the water. Sharks love bait balls and so every time I was duck diving I was just waiting for a shark to hit. I came straight in without catching a wave.
I've struggled quite a lot with the images I've seen
I've struggled quite a lot with the images I've seen, the mind plays tricks and there's been an incredible amount of sleepless nights. I still come to Shelly Beach every day, to the spot where Tadashi was taken. I'm getting help, which I think is worthwhile, even necessary. Mick Fanning has said it helps and I’m finding that it is too.
With all the talk of nets and culls, what I would like to see is more research into electronic devices which could accurately show you when there's a shark in the water or deter them from approaching. Some already exist, but I hope that more work goes into developing them.
Darren is a guest on tonight's episode of Insight at 8.30pm on SBS, which explores the increase in shark encounters and asks whether it's safe to go back in the water.
