Earlier this week, we wrote about reasons why you should carry a dive knife whenever you’re at sea. Now, one Polish surfer gives yet another compelling reason to carry a sturdy knife: to stave off hungry sharks if you’re stranded in the water.
According to ABC News, 42-year-old Jan Lisewski from Poland was attempting to windsurf across the Red Sea from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. About two-thirds of the way through the journey, the winds died down and he became stranded in the shark-infested waters.
As night fell, the water became rough and he was forced to rely on an energy drink and two energy bars for sustenance. The worst part of the experience was when sharks up to 18-feet started to circle the stuck Lisewski. Fortunately, he was carrying a trusty knife.
Here’s what he said he did:
“I was stabbing them in the eyes, the nose and gills,” Lisewski told Polish state news agency PAP.
The image of this man fending off hungry sharks at night with a diving knife while eating energy bars is too awesome to disregard. Sure, some may call him crazy for trying to windsurf the Red Sea in the first place, but this man is badass.
If he didn’t have a knife on him during that treacherous night, it’s likely those sharks would have torn him apart. This goes to show how important it is to have a knife on you while at sea (or really in any situation). If you’re diving, there’s a chance you could get tangled in a monofilament line or attacked by sharks.
One of the key differences between a diving knife and a regular knife is that diving knives are made to withstand water. Many dive knives are made with high grade stainless steel, but they’re still not completely rust-proof. If you have the resources, a quality titanium diving knife is much better because titanium is lighter, rust-proof and holds an edge for longer.
So, if you’re planning on heading out on the high seas or windsurf across an ocean, remember to take along a quality dive knife because you never know when you’ll need to battle sharks.
March 15, 2012 at 3:42 am
Wow,he must have had his night vision goggles on,to see them at night.Those were some polite sharks,too.I mean they only tried to eat him one at a time.Like lining up in a check out line.I’ll have one white boy,to go and please,hold the tanning lotion.Gives me indigestion.