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Woman Fights Shark With Paddle

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 16, 2007

SYDNEY, Australia - A kayaker fought off an 8-foot great white shark with her paddle on Monday after it knocked her off the craft at one of Australia's most popular beaches.

Linda Whitehurst, 52, was paddling her sea kayak near the eastern resort town of Byron Bay, about 375 miles north of Sydney, when the shark lunged at her, knocking her into the water, the paddler and police said.

'I'm going to lose a limb, that was my first thought,' Whitehurst told Australian television.

'I had my blade in my hands so I punched at it with my blade. That was the only way I was going to survive,' she said, referring to the double-ended paddle used on sea kayaks.

'I just kept punching, punching, punching' until it swam away, she said.
Whitehurst headed back to shore, where she received four stitches in her right arm for a small bite wound. Her vessel shows bite marks underneath.

The Associated Press

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