UPDATE: A GoFundMe Campaign has been set up to help support Colin’s recovery and to purchase a prosthetic limb to ensure he gets back in the water soon!
Please donate -> https://www.gofundme.com/ec62vp2k
—-
25-year-old Colin Cook, a former Newport, RI resident and a 2013 IRYS graduate, was attacked by a 10 -12 foot tiger shark shark while surfing near Leftovers on the North Shore of Oahu.
Cook was reportedly sitting on his board when he was hit by a shark and pulled under. A bystander nearby was able to fasten a tourniquet and get him to the beach where Cook was able to receive help.
Three years ago Cook moved from Newport to mentor under shaper John Carper. And after getting to the beach it was Carper who came to Cook’s aid. Both live in front of Leftovers.
“I kept him…basically held his head, having him look at my face. He kept wanting to pass out,” said Carper. “He’d lost his leg completely.”
“We taught him how to make surfboards and we ended up semi-adopting him for a long time,” said Carper. “He was part of our family for several years.”
Cook also apparently suffered injuries to his hand after attempting to swat the shark away.
“It was his left leg that got taken, and then it was his left hand that he lost a couple of his fingertips on,” Chris Webster, Cook’s cousin, told Hawaii News Now. “So I imagine he was holding the shark off while he was punching it.”
