May 8, 2008 Thursday

Surfrider Foundation Marin County monthly meeting	Wipeout Bar & Grill in Greenbrae
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm	Jonathan Kathrein talk

Meet Jonathan Kathrein, shark attack survivor. 

Scott Tye, chairman of the Surfrider Foundation Marin County, invited Jonathan to speak at the chapter’s monthly meeting held May 8^th at the Wipeout Bar & Grill in Greenbrae. 

On August 26, 1998, the last day of summer, a shark attacked sixteen-year old Jonathan while boogie boarding at Stinson Beach. The waves were small, his friend Sean had just gone in when Jonathan’s hand hit something hard in the water. It felt rough and solid. Jonathan at first thought it was sand and pictured a pile of sand under the water. Maybe it was a seal, but seals surface and would look you in the eye. Maybe it was a jellyfish. Jonathan turned to head in. The shark hit the back of his right leg, lifted him into the air and then took him under water. He tried to grab the shark but the shark was so big he could not wrap his arms around it. Fortunately Jonathan had the sense to open his eyes underwater, reached for and grasped the shark’s gills. The shark immediately let him go. 

Jonathan then managed to swim ashore and Sean who witnessed the attacked sought help. A rescue crew arrived shortly and took him by helicopter to the John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek where emergency doctors administered over 400 stitches to save Jonathan’s life. 

After his recovery, experts told him given the size and teeth pattern they assumed he was hit by a twelve-foot great white. Jonathan who was dressed in shorts emphasized this point by showing us the long strings of scares on his knee and the back of his leg. 

From that day on Jonathan’s life changed. First he encountered the public’s fascination with shark attacks. While recovering in the hospital the next day, his dad mentioned that some reporters were outside who wanted to talk to him. Jonathan responded, “Sure, let them in, it won’t be news tomorrow.” How wrong he was. Over a hundred reporters interviewed him while he was in the hospital. In Germany he became a hero. Chancellor Helmet Kohl presented him with Germany’s Person of the Year award. 

Why the fascination with sharks? They don’t eat humans thus shark attacks are rare, less than ten people a year worldwide die from shark wounds. The reverse is not true. Humans do eat sharks, mainly shark fin soup, and about 10 million of them are slaughtered every year. In fact sharks are becoming an endangered species. 

Second, Jonathan feels no animosity towards sharks, has learned a lot about them and works to help protect sharks and the oceans they live in. He has taken his near death experience and expanded it into a message of peace and understanding. He is an inspirational speaker who heads Future Leaders for Peace organization and has written a children’s book, Don’t Fear the Sharks.  He gives talks to school age kids and his message stresses animal to human relationships, which he easily extends to human-to-human interactions. Sharks don’t dislike humans. Once in a while when humans enter the sharks’ environment sharks become frustrated and lash out, much like frustrated children often do. 

By the way, Jonathan is back to surfing. 

David McGuire, coordinator of World Ocean Day, invited Jonathan to sign copies of his book along with big wave rider Grant Washburn at the June 6^th World Ocean Day event sponsored by Surfrider Foundation Marin County and the Wipeout Bar & Grill.