Joe Flanigan may or may not have seen a Great White shark!!

[kaaatie]

Oh my god!! You remember me mentioning that Joe was going surfing up north? He told us that he was going to Byron Bay. I just found this news story from yesterdays news:

Great white came from the shallows: victim

Great white came from the shallows: victim

The 52-year-old woman who was bitten by a shark at Byron Bay on the New South Wales North Coast yesterday says the animal came at her from shallower water.

Linda Whitehurst was about 150 metres from the shore of Clarke's Beach when the three-metre shark, thought to be a great white, knocked her out of her surf ski.

Ms Whitehurst managed to get back on her ski and fight off the shark with kicks, punches and hits with her paddle.

She paddled to shore with only deep cuts on her arms.

Ms Whitehurst says the shark came at her from inshore.

"I just didn't want to turn my back on the shark and knowing that sharks do circle around and come back which is what he did," she said.

"[The shark] flipped around, came back and hit my boat, then my husband just said, 'Paddle to shore as fast as you can'."

She yesterday said she thought of her children as she fought off the shark.

Australian Lifeguard Service spokesman Stephen Leahy says there were no further sightings of the shark yesterday and the service will monitor the situation through the day.

The beaches will be open today as usual.

And other versions of the same story:
Woman tells of fighting off shark
Woman fights off great white at Byron Bay

I wonder if Joe was nearby!? I wonder if he saw it! That'll be a great story for him to take back home! I hope he's not traumatised!

I actually think its quite strange for Great White sharks to be scene around that part of Australia (usually they're down closer to me in the colder waters).

Anyway, I had a serious "oh my god" moment when I noticed the news story, so I just had to post!!

Comments

[mcalex22.livejournal.com]

Yes, I know! She was all over the news here and I remember thinking, "Hmm, isn't he going up there?"

Well, Megan said that he was telling her and her sister that he'd check his iphone about any news like weather conditions. Hopefully he'll be cautious! We don't want anything to happen to his hotness :D

[kaaatie.livejournal.com]

No, I would hate for something to happen to his hotness! And hopefully it doesn't ruin his surfing plans!

[cesperanza.livejournal.com]

I just want to say, thank youfor all your J.Flan squee today! It made me really happy and if I have a story in my head where J.Flan surfs away from a shark and saves small children, it's YOUR FAULT!

[kaaatie.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome! It's been a lot of fun to write it all up and remember how much fun it was!!

I like to think that Joe actually saved the woman from the shark! He just wanted to have a quiet time, so asked the media not to report it!! I'd love to read the story about Joe heroically saving children from sharks!! :)

[luxuria-oceanus.livejournal.com]

*is deadly afraid of sharks... so afraid she does not eat shark meat OR watch "Jaws" or any related shark movies, ever* Dude. Seriously? I wasn't there and I feel traumatized. *clings to your leg* You stay away from those waters. Forever. Okay? Get into your bathtub and put on an ocean sounds CD, 'cause that's as close to the ocean as I want you ;.; *seriously, deadly afraid of sharks*

[kaaatie.livejournal.com]

So then I probably shouldn't tell you that I went to the beach today and saw a shark, should I? Granted, the shark was dead, and less than a foot long, but it was still a shark!

[luxuria-oceanus.livejournal.com]

O.O WTF? What is it with sharks in Australia?! That's it, I'm not going to any beaches over there. Na-ah. And honey, be careful, seriously... sharks are scary... *shudders*

[queenserenity42.livejournal.com]

Aww.... but sharks are awesome! I've been bitten before (in Florida) and I'm still not afraid of them. Mind you, the shark that chewed on me was a little itty bitty baby who couldn't even break my skin, but still. It was kinda cute, really. ^_^

Oh noes! Teh shark!

~~~\o/~~~~>---^---<

Sorry. I get weird/silly when sharks are involved...

[luxuria-oceanus.livejournal.com]

O.O

You've been bitten???? Even by a small one, it's still a bite! I'm the person who jumps around on her bed while screaming, "Bug bug bug" and flailing the flip-flop endlessly until I can hit it. So um yes, shark-phobia could be totally expected from me.

And don't worry, you can get silly about sharks ^^; Just don't expect me to like 'em! Sharks vewy scawy.

[johnsheppardluv.livejournal.com]

Somehow I have an odd feeling that if he heard of this, he would have changed his plans some. *LOL* then again, Joe DOES like to live life vicariouasly. *shark grin* heli-skiing, anyone? anyone?

I am VERY GLAD that the woman was not hurt worse than she was tho & was able to defend herself & escape! *huggles the lot of ya!* ~Sharma

[kaaatie.livejournal.com]

I hope he avoids the sharks! He seems like the kind of guy who would probably go surfing anyway though! Like you said, the man does like heli-boarding, so he obviously loves to live dangerously.

I personally like to think that Joe heroically saved the woman from the shark, but then asked the media not to report it because he wanted to avoid the attention!!

[colonel-taisa.livejournal.com]

I remember hearing something along the lines of a shark attack in Byron Bay yesterday on the news, and my first thoughts were D= Ohnoes! Joe is up there!

[kaaatie.livejournal.com]

Luckily Joe wasn't hurt. I hope it doesn't ruin his surfing plans!