February 4, 2016 | 3

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Chan man survives Hawaiian shark attack

By Unsie Zuege
uzuege@swpub.com

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att Mason has

earned bragg i ng rig hts
for li fe. T he
C h a n h a s s en
resident barely escaped being chowed alive by a tiger
shark in Hawaii on Jan. 23.
And if you dont believe him,
ask to see the paddle board
that came between him and
the sharks razor sharp teeth.
Mason, 48, and his wife,
Beth were in Maui for a 10day business trip and vacation. In addition to attending
company business meetings,
Mason was able to make time
for ocean-side recreation,
including snorkeling.
On their last full day before heading back to Minnesota, the Masons decided
to try paddleboarding. There
was a paddle board rental
shop near their beach-front
hotel.
Have you ever been paddle boarding? Mason asked.
Its not as easy as it looks. It
takes some balance. So I was
kneeling on my board; Beth
was able to stand on hers and
doing pretty well.
Ever y thing happened
so fast, Mason said. I felt
something bump the back of
my paddle board. I thought
it was Beth; that she had
run into me. I looked over
my left shoulder. I saw this
head, the sharks head. It
looked so fake, then I saw
the body behind the board.
When he knocked me off the
board, the (paddle board)
leash got ripped of f. The
whole time I hear Beth yelling Hit it, Mase, hit it! I
punched him with my hand.
Then he flipped me into the
air and I landed on my back
on its back, and then he dove,
Mason said.

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Matt and Beth Mason of Chanhassen show off the paddle board that helped stave
off a shark attack in Hawaii.
they have outdoor showers
by the pool and for the
first time I was all alone and
I looked down and every hair
was standing up on my arm.
I must have had a gallon of
andrenaline in me.

have been four or 10 seconds,

I cant really remember, but
it was really bad being in the
water.
With Mason safely back on
the board, the couple slowly,
carefully paddled back to
shore, which was alive with
spectators holding up cell
phones, video taping and
snapping photos of the Masons.

Dont fall off

Shark slime

When I came up, Mason said, I saw my paddle

floating a few feet away. My
board was about four yards
away. I grabbed the paddle
and then swam to my board,
slid on my belly onto it, and
then slid myself into a sitting
position. I was holding the
paddle like spear. Once I got
back on that board, I kind of
relaxed a little. I kept saying
over and over, dont fall off,
dont fall off.
And Beth is still standing
on her board, Mason said.
She was standing the whole
time. I told her later that
hearing her yelling was what
kept me grounded.
Beth, she was the star
through this whole thing,
Mason said. I keep saying
that because I just had to
react to what was happening
to me; shes actually seeing
whats happening. And I realized that in a life or death
situation like this people
either react or freeze I
learned I act. The only time I
became afraid was after I was
in the water which it could

Back on shore, he was surrounded by people whod just

witnessed the shark attack.
Little kids were grabbing
my back because I had this
slimy patch from where I had
landed on the shark which
felt soft and slimy, Mason
said. People were snapping
photos.
Someone had called the
police, the hotel manager was
there and the Hawaiian DNR
guy, Mason said. People
were saying Oh, youre a
hero, punching the shark.
My wife said, Did that just
happen? That was awesome.
I told her, That is not what I
would have said.
When asked why she yelled
at Mason to hit the shark,
Beth said, Havent you ever
seen (the TV program) Shark
Week? They tell you to punch
them.
Mason tried for a little
humor.
After this, and nobodys
got a beer for me? Mason
asked the crowd.
The man from the Hawaiian environmental agency

Life looks different

The shark bite impression

on Masons paddle board
measures 14 inches,
which equates to a tiger
shark of 14 feet in length.
told Mason that he was lucky.
Earlier in the season, there
had been a couple fatalities
from shark attacks and a few
people had lost limbs.
He told me that I probably looked like a sea turtle,
Mason said, with the white
underside of the paddle board
looking like a turtle underbelly from below.
The shark bite measured
14 inches, and they calculate that every inch equals
one foot of shark; the estimates for the tiger shark that
chomped on Masons board
was 14-feet long.
The beach was closed for
24 hours after Masons narrow escape.
On ly a fter the Masons
were safely ensconced in
lounge chairs by the hotel
pool, did Mason say he was
finally breathing normally
again.
But the weird thing is

For me, I think I have to

talk about it to understand
what happened, Mason said.
For my wife, she wont talk
about it unless someone asks
her.
I do know that it really
makes life look different. I
found out a few things. Im
finding that Im struggling
to get upset over anything.
Traffic? Nothing compares.
Im like, yeah, OK. Now I
know how bad a situation can
really be. And, Im a hugger,
not a hand shaker.
Mason is currently waiting for his paddle board to
arrive.
There was no way I was
leaving it there, Mason said.
He struck a deal with the paddle board rental manager and
bought the board for $500. His
hotel replaced the sunglasses
he lost in the collision and offered to ship the board to his
Chanhassen home for free.
Will I ever go back in the
water again? Mason said.
People have been asking me
that a lot. I dont think I can
answer it fairly. All I do know
is that this summer, Im going
to go out on the lake and sit
on that paddle board with a
six-pack. You can cover me
in leeches and I wont mind.

thesport,winningtheMetro
West Championships at
Hyland Reserve on Jan. 27.
Chaska/Chanhassen won

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