World Surf League Raglan: Photographer Ed Sloane recalls sea creature attack, message from Mick Fanning
Ed Sloane was attacked by a sea creature while photographing an international surfing event in Raglan this week.
Veteran surf photographer Ed Sloane has detailed the moment he was attacked by an unknown sea creature during the World Surf League’s New Zealand Pro in Raglan.
The Australian was photographing the semi-final between Brazilians Yago Dora and Italo Ferreira on the inside of the break at Manu Bay on Monday morning when something “came from underneath” and clamped on to his ankle without warning.
The incident triggered a code red – the WSL’s emergency protocol typically reserved for shark sightings – and the competition was postponed for four hours as Sloane was rushed to Waikato Hospital, where he underwent surgery that night.
Sloane, who remains in hospital, said the WSL had paid for his family to fly from Victoria to be by his side. They are expected to arrive on Wednesday.
Speaking to the Herald from his hospital bed, Sloane said he feared for his life after being bitten.
“There was absolutely no warning or anything,” Sloane said. “[It] came from underneath and forcefully bit me on the ankle.
“From memory, it was almost like an adjustment bite where it bit again, but like a half bite. When I came up, my flipper was probably 7 or 8m away, too far to have floated. So I think it took off with my flipper in its mouth and let go.
“The craziest bit was swimming to the ski because I just felt like it was going to bite me again. That was probably the worst of it.
“I took off my neoprene sock, it had all these holes in it and all this blood started coming out. I just got hit by shock and literally started crying. I couldn’t stop crying for like two minutes. I was a complete mess.”
En route to the hospital, he was speaking to his wife but can’t remember what he said, describing it all as a blur.
The extent of the injuries was worse than initially thought, with the bite damaging seven tendons in his leg.
Sloane, who has been photographing surfing events for 15 years, now faces a lengthy recovery that will include at least three months without walking and his cast will need to be changed several times.
The incident was not captured on the broadcast, but footage from a Raglan surf cam showed Sloane thrashing in the water as a jet ski rushed to his aid before he was helped from the ocean, visibly limping.
Despite the severity of the injuries, nobody has been able to determine what attacked him and that will likely remain a mystery.
WSL vice-president of tours and competition Renato Hickel said it was the first known time a sea creature had attacked a photographer.
Sloane said he had since received support from members of the surfing community, with one of the first people to reach out being surfing legend Mick Fanning, who famously survived a shark encounter during the 2015 J-Bay Open in South Africa.
While waiting for a wave, the shark grabbed Fanning’s leg rope, thrashed around and circled him. Fanning instinctively punched the shark and fought it off until water safety jet skis rescued him. He escaped unharmed.
“Mick was really quick to message me actually,” Sloane said.
“If you had to narrow down the number of people in the world that have been tapped by a shark in a surf event, he’s like the only one on the list. So it was kind of nice to hear from him.
“The WSL have organised me some counselling and Mick actually said make sure to take up the counselling support, that’s important.”
Sloane said the WSL had been supportive throughout the ordeal.
He said the incident would not stop him from getting back in the water and he could not wait to return to Raglan with his family.
“I fell in love with the place,” Sloane said. “Our next holiday’s going to be in Raglan. This hasn’t really dented that. I think this can happen anywhere. It’s super unfortunate and the chances are just so ridiculously low. We’ll be back here 100% when the time comes.”
Carissa Moore and Italo Ferreira were crowned the winners of the event in Raglan.
It was the first WSL Championship Tour event held in New Zealand since the women’s tour visited Taranaki between 2010 and 2013, and the first men’s CT stop in the country’s history.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.