China Walls has never needed much help in the “scary” department.
The notorious South Shore of Oahu surf spot, a left-hander in the Portlock neighborhood, is all shallow reef, exploding backwash, and a takeoff perilously close to the lava-rock wall. Jamie O’Brien has called it the “most dangerous surf spot on the South Shore.”
On Monday afternoon, however, the danger came from somewhere else. Check out the posts here and here, from the aftermath of a shark attack, as well as below.
Around 4:30 p.m., 24-year-old surfer Albert Westpfal was paddling around the reef with his college friend Zach Sheerer when a 12-plus-foot tiger shark attacked. According to Westpfal’s account posted by Honolulu Ocean Safety, the shark first slammed into his board with enough force to make him think he had hit the reef.
“It was stormy surf with big short period swells smashing into the wall,” Westpfal wrote. “Suddenly, I felt a strong impact from beneath and thought I had hit the reef… I heard the crunch of the fiberglass behind me.”
Related: Watch This “Chonky” Great White Shark Feast on a Buffet of Whale Carcass (Video)
Then he saw the shark.
“The shark thrashed my board around and flung me off,” Westpfal wrote. “I ended up on my back.” The shark then abandoned the board and came directly at him on the surface, mouth open between his legs.
Westpfal fought back.
“I started kicking it in the head and punching its nose,” he wrote. After the shark finally backed off, he grabbed his board and paddled toward the wall.
The accompanying photo shows the board badly damaged from the attack, with the fiberglass and stringer visibly split and cracked along the tail section. Westpfal escaped with only abrasions to his leg from kicking the shark.
His friend Sheerer was about 20 feet behind when he saw Westpfal’s board “violently move through the air.” Believing his friend had been bitten, Sheerer immediately paddled toward him.
China Walls is dangerous enough without a tiger shark. Hawaii officials have repeatedly warned about the area’s powerful currents, shallow reef and “wash machine” effect. During large south swells, waves can explode against the cliffs and sweep people into the ocean; the state has documented numerous rescues and fatalities there.
This time, the wall wasn’t the thing Westpfal had to worry about.
Related: Waves Ravage Humans Like Ragdolls on Rocks in Hawaii (Video)
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