‘I’m bit I need to get to shore’: Florida surfer survives two shark bites over a decade apart

By Rachael Perry

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    STUART, Florida (WPBF) — A man in Stuart is recovering after being bitten by a shark Friday afternoon while surfing.

WPBF 25 News sat down with Cole Taschman just hours after he was released from the hospital. Taschman says he was out surfing near Bathtub Beach when he felt the shark bite both his feet.

“There was like a thrash on the back of me, and it bit, and I felt it. I looked back, and I kind of caught a glimpse of it,” Taschman told WPBF.

From that glimpse, Taschman said it had to be either a bull shark or tiger shark.

“Big wide head and big enough to get both my feet,” he added.

Immediately, he said he went into fight or flight mode and began screaming to his friends for help while searching for a wave.

“I’ve never scratched for a wave so hard on my life, and luckily, I got it,” he said.

Taschman rushed to shore, and thankfully, his friends were right there with him.

With training in first aid, his friend Zach Bucolo made tourniquets out of surfboard leashes.

“I knew that I wanted to stop the bleeding before we got into the hospital and even before we started moving,” Bucolo said.

Bucolo remembers the amount of blood he could see while they rushed Taschman to the car.

“Whenever you see blood in the ocean, it doesn’t really do justice to when you get on land,” he added.

While on their way to the hospital, Taschman said he was focusing on trying not to pass out.

“I almost passed out in the truck, so Zach was dumping water on my head, and my girlfriend’s behind me, smacking me, trying to keep me awake, and luckily they kept me awake, and I got there,” he said.

He spent the entire weekend at the hospital before being released Monday night.

“So 93 stitches, I think I got like 10 staples or something like that and then three tendons gone that they reattached, two surgeries and a lot of fun in the hospital,” Taschman said.

Studies show the chances of being bitten by a shark are roughly 1 in 3 million. However, this is the second time Taschman has been bit.

WPBF 25 News interviewed him back in 2013 when the first bite happened at nearly the exact same location.

“I was waist deep in the water and a little reef pub — it was a little shark. I only got 12 stitches that time,” he said.

Surprisingly, he explained he wasn’t shocked that the bites happened near the same beach.

“It’s a total hot spot for them,” he added. “It’s like if you run out in lightning storms all the time, you’re more likely to get struck by lightning kind of thing.”

Taschman joked that he’s just lucky to have all his fingers and toes.

With this being the second time he’s been bitten, he said it might take him some time before he’s ready to get back to surfing.

“I’m going to continue to surf eventually, but it’ll be a long time. That first time is going to be really spooky, so I’m going to wait for some super clear water and a place I know there’s no sharks,” he said.

Taschman wants to thank all the doctors and his friends for taking care of him.

If the community would like to help him recover, his friends and a local surf shop are organizing several ways to help, which can be found on their website and social media pages.

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