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Three sailors saved off australian coast after ‘several shark attacks’ left them shipwrecked.

Three sailors were saved from a sinking inflatable catamaran early Wednesday morning after “several shark attacks” left them shipwrecked off the northeastern coast of Australia.

The men — a French citizen and two from Russia — were located by rescuers after their emergency beacon sent out signals of distress at 1:30 a.m. local time, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement.

The sailors, who are between the ages of 28 and 64, departed from the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on Tuesday last week and were headed for the northeastern Australian city of Cairns when sharks attacked their ship’s inflatable hulls.

A “large section” of the hull was missing when the 30-foot Russian-registered cataraman was finally located by emergency rescuers, AMSA duty manager Joe Zeller said.

“Both hulls of the vessel have been damaged following several shark attacks,” AMSA said.

“There’s many reasons that vessels are attacked by sharks. However, the motivations of these sharks is unclear,” Zeller said in a video shared by AMSA.

The trek from Vanuatu to Cairns, a journey of more than 1,400 miles, would typically take between two to three weeks, depending on the weather, Zeller noted.

“The three males were very happy to be rescued,” Zeller said, adding that all three were in good health following the tumultuous trip.

The sailors’ identities have not been shared by authorities. They are expected to arrive in Brisbane on Thursday morning.

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Sailors plucked from shark-bitten inflatable catamaran off Australia

SYDNEY - Three men were plucked to safety on Wednesday after sharks started tearing chunks from their inflatable catamaran as they attempted to sail to Australia.

The men – two Russians and a French citizen – were picked up by a cargo ship while floating in the shark-filled Coral Sea some 800km south-east of Cairns.

“Both hulls of the vessel have been damaged following several shark attacks,” the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement.

The authority said the trio had planned to sail from the Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu to the city of Cairns in tropical northern Australia, a distance of more than 2,000km.

They activated an emergency distress beacon in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Footage shot by a rescue helicopter shows the catamaran bobbing in calm seas as it is approached by the hulking Dugong Ace, a vehicle transporter that came to the sailors’ aid.

The Coral Sea is brimming with reef sharks and other apex species such as tuna and marlin.

The Russian Geographic Society said the trio were part of a round-the-world expedition which started from St Petersburg on July 1, 2021, ABC News reported.

A spokesman said the catamaran was attacked by cookiecutter sharks, a small species of the shark family that does not grow beyond 50cm.

According to ocean conservation organisation Oceana, the cookiecutter shark is a parasite. It feeds off larger animals without killing them by using its sharp teeth to latch on to the skin of an animal and scoop out the flesh or blubber to feed.

According to the Australian government, the Coral Sea is home to more sharks “than almost any other survey site in the world”. AFP

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3 sailors rescued from inflatable catamaran after shark attack.

Three sailors on an around-the-world journey were rescued from a sinking inflatable catamaran after it came under repeated attack by sharks more than 500 miles off the Australian coast. Sept. 6, 2023

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Cameron Robbins’ parents break silence after 18-year-old jumps off Bahamas party boat

Online speculation has swirled over whether cameron was attacked by a shark in the water, article bookmarked.

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The parents of an 18-year-old high school graduate who fell overboard on a sunset cruise in the Bahamas have broken their silence.

Cameron Robbins went on a trip to the Bahamas to celebrate his graduation from the University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He and several friends were aboard the Blackbeard’s Revenge cruise on 24 May when Cameron allegedly jumped off the boat on a dare.

The US Coast Guard and Royal Bahamas Defence Force spent several days searching for Cameron before suspending their efforts on 27 May. Following his presumed death, a memorial was planned for the teenager on Sunday (4 June).

Speaking from their home ahead of the service, Cameron’s parents William and Shari Robbins, both 54, told The New York Post they were aware of the impact their “funny and kind-hearted” son had made on people following updates of the tragic incident believed to have cut his life short.

“We are just mourning our son right now,” Ms Robbins told the Post . “We appreciate you calling. Maybe we will be able to talk more later.”

“We appreciate everyone’s support,” Mr Robbins also said.

The University Lab School Director Kevin George told WAFB that Cameron had attended the school for 13 years. The teen also played baseball for the school, which operates as part of Louisiana State University.

“Words fall short of expressing the worry our entire school community is feeling. Extra counselors will be available on campus to speak with students and faculty who are struggling to process this news. Our thoughts are with the Robbins family, and we ask that you keep them in your thoughts as well,” Mr George wrote.

The graduation trip was not organised by the school.

According to his obituary, Cameron was not only an accomplished athlete but also loved country music and was a “big star” in karaoke.

“He was a tough player, battling back from multiple injuries, known to pitch through separated shoulders and broken hands. He hoped to continue his baseball career at the college level,” the tribute read. “...Though he left this world far too soon, he lived a life full of good friends and family.”

In a statement provided to The Independent, Jonathan Chia, a representative for Pirates’ Revenge Ltd, the parent company of Blackbeard’s Revenge, said Cameron went overboard at approximately 9.40pm local time in Montagu Bay off Athol Island in the Bahamas.

Video captured in the moments after Cameron jumped into the water showed the 18-year-old swimming around the vessel as passengers on the sunset cruise yelled at him. In the footage, individuals can be heard urging Cameron to grab onto the buoy that they threw into the water for him.

“The crew executed the ‘man overboard’ protocol in line with all approved safety procedures and company policies to ensure the best chance of retrieving an individual who has gone overboard,” Mr Chia said.

After Coast Guard crews searched more than 325 square miles, they concluded their efforts with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force on 27 May. Although searches have ended, the US Coast Guard is asking anyone with new information to contact the District Seven watchstanders at 305-415-6800.

A GoFundMe has been started to benefit Cameron’s family as they deal with the aftermath of the difficult situation.

Meanwhile, online speculation has swirled over whether Cameron was attacked by a shark in the water.

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Netflix crew's "whole boat exploded" after back-to-back shark attacks in Hawaii: "Like something out of 'Jaws'"

By Li Cohen

June 20, 2023 / 8:17 AM EDT / CBS News

Netflix seems to have gotten its own real-life "Jaws" remake. A crew for the streaming service that was filming in Hawaii recently experienced back-to-back encounters with tiger sharks that resulted in one "exploded" boat and an emergency landing. 

The crew was filming for the Netflix docu-series "Our Planet II," narrated by British biologist Sir David Attenborough. Huw Cordey, one of the show's producers, told Forbes that at one point, the team was following a Laysan albatross chick in Hawaii to see how the "longest-lived birds" journey around the planet. They wanted to do an underwater shoot around the Hawaiian island of Laysan where they could film tiger sharks waiting in the shallows as albatross chick spend the first months of their lives learning how to fly.

"But the first day the tiger sharks were around, the crew got into these inflatable boats – and two sharks attacked them," Cordey said. "It was like something out of 'Jaws.' The crew was panicked, and basically made an emergency landing on the sand." 

Toby Nowlan, a producer and director for the show's first and third episodes, also spoke of the ordeal. He told Radio Times that when the crew was in the inflatable boats, there was suddenly a "v" of water that "came streaming towards us." 

"This tiger shark leapt at the boat and bit huge holes in it," he said. "The whole boat exploded. We were trying to get it away and it wasn't having any of it. It was horrific. That was the second shark that day to attack us." 

Nowlan said that the crew was only about 328 feet from the shore, so they were able to make it safely to land, though barely. On land, they then patched the boat and deployed a rubber dinghy – but that was attacked by giant travallies , marine fishes that can grow to be up to 6 feet long and weigh more than 100 pounds. That attack knocked out the dinghy's motor. 

The behavior of the sharks they encountered was "extremely unusual," Nowlan told Radio Times. 

"They were incredibly hungry, so there might not have been enough natural food and they were just trying anything they came across in the water," he said. 

" Our Planet II, " was released on Netflix on June 14, and contains four episodes that are about 50 minutes each. Each episode follows animal populations as they continue to navigate an ever-changing planet, including humpback whales, polar bears, bees, sea turtles and gray whales.

Despite the "horrific" circumstances of the crew's experience with tiger sharks in Hawaii, shark attacks remain rare. Kayleigh Grant, the founder of Kaimana Ocean Safari in Hawaii, previously told CBS News that people "shouldn't be scared of sharks." 

"Sharks are not out to get us. They are not like what has been portrayed in 'Jaws,'" Grant said, adding that the animals are " really misunderstood ." 

"...They're not the enemy. They're something that we should be working with to help keep the ecosystem healthy and in balance."

Wildlife conservationist Jeff Corwin has also told CBS News that sharks are indicators of healthy ecosystems, and that while it's the unwanted encounters with them that make headlines, they are typically all around people with them not even knowing it.  

"The truth is — when you're in the water, if you're in a healthy marine ecosystem...you're often never more than 100 yards from a shark," Corwin said. "...In places in the world — marine environments where we see collapse — often the first thing we see is a disappearance of their apex predator, which are sharks. ... They've been on our planet for 100 million years. It tells us something's awry when we lose our sharks."

• Shark Attack

Li Cohen is a senior social media producer at CBS News. She previously wrote for amNewYork and The Seminole Tribune. She mainly covers climate, environmental and weather news.

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Drone video captures shark attacking boat off Florida coast

A shark off the florida coast repeatedly attacked a fishing boat, tearing away part of the motor..

Watch shark attack boat 8 times

A drone pilot looks on amazed as a bull shark attacks the motors on his boat eight times. No one was injured, but one motor did not fare well.

PALM BEACH, Fla. – A man fishing off the coast of Palm Beach was shocked when his boat started "shaking like an earthquake." He looked overboard , and a shark was attacking his boat motors. His friend caught it all on video.

"I didn't think a shark could actually shake the boat like that. The boat was shaking like a bag of popcorn. Literally, I was shaking like an earthquake. I was like, 'What? What's going on?'" boat owner Carl Torresson told his friend on Instagram. "I went back there, and I noticed the shark going at it. Are you kidding me? This is like a ride from Universal Studios." 

Before the attack

The friend and drone pilot was on the beach when he saw a couple of cobia fish. He called Torresson on the boat and directed him to the fish and his possible dinner, the pilot explained on Instagram .

SHARK BITES WOMAN NEAR FLORIDA PIER: "IT WAS THE PERFECT COCKTAIL FOR THE PERFECT STORM'

The shark ahead with the cobia following.

(BlacktipH / FOX Weather)

"I was following his boat with my drone, and then all of a sudden, the shark attacks him. And the shark attacked the boat five times, swam away, and then came back for more," wrote BlacktipH. "In total, the shark attacked Carl's boat eight times." 

Torreson said he originally thought the shark just grabbed the propeller. He was surprised at the amount of damage, though, when he returned to the dock and inspected it.

"It was just astronomical. The whole middle of the engine is completely ripped out," Torreson said. "The trim tab is broken."

SWIMMERS SHARE FLORIDA BEACHES WITH SHARKS MORE OFTEN THAN THEY REALIZE

The shark ripped off one side of the motor and scarred the other.

In the video, Torreson showed the teeth marks scarring the motor cover.

The friend identified the attacker as a bull shark.

• Shark Attacks

AMSA coordinates rescue of three sailors after boat attacked by sharks in Coral Sea

By Holly Richardson

By Conor Byrne

By Meghan Dansie

ABC Far North

Topic: Maritime Accidents and Incidents

Three men have been plucked to safety after their inflatable catamaran was attacked by sharks and began sinking in the Coral Sea off the Queensland coast.

Key points:

• Three sailors have triggered an emergency beacon at sea and were rescued by a passing cargo ship
• They reported their vessel was damaged by sharks
• They are expected to reach dry land this week

Two Russians and a French citizen were sailing from Vanuatu to Cairns when both hulls of their nine-metre boat, Tion-Russian Ocean Way, were damaged in several shark attacks, about 835 kilometres south-east of Cairns.

The men activated their emergency beacon at 1:30am, and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) requested the assistance of a nearby vehicle carrier along with the Cairns-based Challenger Rescue Aircraft.

The vehicle carrier, Dugong Ace, collected the group, and reported them all to be in good health. 

It is scheduled to arrive in Brisbane on Thursday.

The incident happened during a round-the-world expedition that left St Petersburg in 2021. ( ABC: Lewi Hirvela )

What were they doing?

The Russian Geographic Society confirmed the catamaran was part of a round-the-world expedition.

A spokeswoman said the hulls were punctured by cookiecutter sharks in the Coral Sea.

The Tion-Russian Ocean Way leaves Fiji earlier in the expedition. ( Supplied: Russian Geographic Society )

She said the expeditioners, Siberians Evgeny Kovalevsky and Stanislav Beryozkin, had been joined by Frenchman Vincent Thomas Garate before they left Vanuatu on August 28.

The sailors say their boat was attacked by cookiecutter sharks. ( Flickr: NOAA Photo Library )

Their expedition marked 250 years since the birth of explorer Adam Johann von Kruzenstern and 200 years from discovery of Antarctica by Russian explorers.

It started from St Petersburg on July 1, 2021, and aimed to set a record for cruising distance on a frame-inflatable sailing trimaran.

But the sailors were rescued from the trimaran, named Russian Ocean Way, off Chile in March.

The Tion-Russian Ocean Way is the second boat of the expedition, launched in April.

Two Russian sailors have been rescued from a sinking catamaran in the Coral Sea. ( Supplied: Russian Geographical Society )

It was also punctured by sharks in Tahiti in June.

AMSA responder Joseph Zeller said the crew were calm and extremely well prepared during the rescue.

The group was travelling from Vanuatu to Cairns when shark attacks damaged both hulls. ( Supplied: AMSA )

"The sailors were very lucky because they had an emergency distress beacon … which enabled us to tell the most appropriate and fastest response to rescue them," he said.

"They were very well prepared, they were calm, but of course, they were elated to be rescued."

Mr Zeller said it was an extremely unusual rescue, given the cause of the boat's damage, but "all's well that ends well in this case".

Unusual craft

Inflatable sailing catamarans are not unusual. But ocean-crossing inflatable cats are.

Minicat Australia dealer Tim Rice said he sold production portable inflatable boats up to 4.6m used for beach and lake sailing, and occasional coastal island-hopping.

Mr Rice says the vessels he sells are only recommended for lake or coastal sailing. ( Supplied: Minicat Australia )

He said he had never heard of a 9m inflatable catamaran.

He said his vessels didn't need a trailer or a boat ramp.

"You can pack it into the bags they come in and chuck it in your car and drive wherever," he said.

"When it comes to a nine-metre one, I'm not sure. Nine metres is a big boat. That portability aspect doesn't quite come into play. I don't know what the advantage of it being inflatable is.

"Something of that size probably should have multiple chambers. So if a shark did puncture one of them, hopefully the boat was still afloat — which sounds like it was if they were rescued — which is great news."

Mr Rice said he was surprised to hear of a shark attack on any boat.

He questioned what may have attracted a shark to the boat.

"Sharks and now orcas ... are getting a really bad rap," he said.

"But if you look at the statistics, it's not something I even think about when I'm surfing or sailing.

"I'm looking to do offshore sailing and at some stage in my life, I probably wouldn't do it in an inflatable boat."

He said it was brave of the men to attempt the journey.

"But I'm sure they've done all their research and hopefully they had all the right safety gear," he said.

"It looks like they did if they deployed an EPIRB to get rescued."

Shark attack video in Florida Everglades shows man being bitten, pulled from boat

A video appeared to show a man being bitten and dragged out of his fishing boat Friday by a shark while in the Florida Everglades.

The video − which was shared with WPLG Local 10 news station in Southeastern Florida − shows what appears to be one fisherman dipping his hand near a partially submerged shark before the predatory fish lunged at the man, causing him to fall into the water.

Other fishermen in the boat could then be heard exclaiming, "Get him!" as they worked to rescue the man from the shark-infested water.

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WPLG reported that park rangers responded to the scene and treated the man for a hand injury. He was then airlifted to Jackson South Medical Center by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel, per the station.

No other details were released regarding the severity of the man's condition.

It is unclear which species of shark bit the man, but one species of shark known to inhabit the Everglades is the bull shark − a mid-size predatory shark that can inhabit both freshwater and saltwater habitats. Bull sharks are often considered to be the most dangerous sharks to humans because of their aggressive tendencies, according to the National Wildlife Foundation .

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How Paralympic swimmer Ali Truwit recovered from a shark attack

She lost her left foot in a shark attack last May, but Ali Truwit found her power and strength, and she is preparing to compete in swimming at the Paralympics. (2:33)

Ali Truwit gathers her gear as she stands on the deck of a boat floating off Turks and Caicos in the Atlantic Ocean. It's a warm and sunny day in May, ideal for snorkeling. Sophie Pilkinton, her former Yale swimming teammate, asks her to pose for a photo. Ali grins.

What a perfect life.

Ali ran a marathon with her mom in Copenhagen 10 days ago. Two days ago, she graduated from Yale. Now, she is celebrating with her best friend, about to dive into the crystal clear, blue tropical water.

As they put on their masks and flippers, Sophie grabs Ali's hand.

"Ali," she asks, "are you sure there are no sharks here?"

"Soph," Ali says. "This is where we come all the time. We never see anything here."

She peers into her friend's eyes: "Don't worry," Ali says.

Sophie relaxes.

Together, they jump.

ALI AND SOPHIE leisurely swim next to the boat for a few minutes, acclimating themselves to the water and their equipment. Then they venture farther away, looking for fish and the coral reef -- 20 yards first, then 50, then 100.

Thirty minutes pass. They spot a few fish.

That's when Sophie sees it. A massive gray shark. Swimming toward Ali.

"I was looking the shark dead in the eyes," Sophie says.

Ali, who is facing toward Sophie, doesn't notice it approaching from her right.

"Ali, Ali, Ali," Sophie yells into her mask. Her name sounds funny underwater. She pokes Ali's arm. Ali looks at Sophie, and that's when she notices a presence next to her.

Oh, that must be a dolphin. She'd seen some during her previous trips.

Sophie whips around toward the boat, and Ali -- instinctively -- turns with her.

The shark moves underneath Ali. Its back comes up under her belly.

Am I riding a dolphin right now?

Then it rams her.

Ali gasps. Her stomach constricts. She knows.

This is no dolphin. This is a shark.

Ali kicks. She makes fists and punches the shark's back. The shark moves to Sophie. It bumps her from underneath. Sophie kicks and shoves.

The shark moves to Ali's left side. It opens its mouth and bites. Ali feels no pain.

My leg is in a shark's mouth.

Ali cranes her neck to look at her left leg.

She sees a stream of blood amid the beautiful clear blue water.

AM I CRAZY or do I not have a foot right now?

Ali pulls off her snorkeling mask and waves it above the water. Sophie does the same.

"Help!" they scream. "Please help!"

The boat is too far away. Their guide can't hear them.

Their faces above water, Ali and Sophie look at each other. A knowing glance. They have to swim back to the boat. Side by side, masks in hand, they head back.

The shark follows. This time, it hits Sophie, slowing her down. Ali kicks with her right leg and swims, putting some distance between herself and Sophie and the shark.

Then, the shark swims ahead and bumps Ali -- hard -- from underneath.

I need to survive.

I need to swim as fast as I can to the boat.

She senses blood gushing from her left leg.

Ali reaches the boat and the guide tells her to climb aboard.

"Sir, I don't have a foot," Ali says.

He extends his hand, and Ali clings to it as Sophie pushes her from below. Sophie, a medical student, gets back on the boat, and her mind seems absurdly clear. She grabs a towel from the pile of things they'd left on the deck and wraps it around what's left of Ali's left leg. She asks the guide for a tourniquet and ties it tightly on Ali's upper left thigh. She orders Ali to sit on the deck and elevate her left leg. Sophie holds it in the air as the guide radios to shore to request an ambulance.

"I ran a marathon last week," Ali mumbles to Sophie. "And now I don't have a foot?"

Right then, a boat approaches. Matt Bevilacqua, a diving instructor, jumps aboard. He had seen them waving for help and rerouted to them. He sits next to Ali, leans in close and asks her questions.

What is your name? Where are you from? Where did you go to college? What was your thesis on?

His only goal: to keep Ali awake.

Facing the sun and the blue Turks sky, Ali answers.

"My name is Ali Truwit. I am from Darien, Connecticut. I graduated from Yale. My thesis was on emotional intelligence and leadership."

They arrive at the dock. An ambulance is waiting. Sophie almost single-handedly lifts the stretcher and puts Ali into the ambulance. She finds a bucket inside the vehicle and places it underneath Ali's leg to keep it lifted. She sits next to her, holding the bucket in place. The paramedic struggles to get the blood pressure cuff onto Ali's arm. Sophie takes over and wraps it around her best friend's upper arm.

The adrenaline starts to leave Ali's body. What takes its place is pain like she's never experienced before. Excruciating, unending pain. It only gets worse with every pothole the ambulance hits as they weave through one-way roads to the hospital.

AT 3:45 P.M., Ali's mom, Jody Truwit, is walking up her driveway when she receives a call from an international number.

"My stomach felt sick," Jody says.

She answers.

"We have your daughter Alexandra," the voice says. "She's in very critical condition."

It is the nurse at the Turks hospital.

Sophie grabs the phone.

"Mrs. Truwit," Sophie says. "We've been in a shark attack."

"The shark took Ali's foot and part of her leg. We're in the hospital, trying to stabilize her."

Tears stream down Jody's face. "Are you OK?" she asks Sophie.

"I'm physically OK," Sophie says. "They're trying to rush her into surgery."

Sophie places the phone near Ali's ear. Jody sobs.

"Mom," Ali says. "Please don't cry. Sophie and I are not crying."

Jody runs into the house. She yells for Ali's dad, Mitch. She tells him what happened. A guttural scream emanates from her husband's body. In her 26 years of marriage to him, Jody has never heard him scream like that.

Jody comes up with a plan. She will stay on the phone with Ali for as long as she can. Mitch, who is a CEO of a private equity firm, and their three sons will make calls to their primary care doctor, their surgeon friends and relatives. They need to learn as much as they can about shark attacks. Fast.

"Mom, it hurts so much," Ali whispers into the phone.

Jody, a therapist, asks Ali to breathe in for a count of five and breathe out for a count of five. Box breathing. She repeats mantras she'd chanted with Ali growing up.

"I can and I will."

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

"This too shall pass."

Ali is wheeled into a room separated by white curtains. She is hooked up to monitors. She is given morphine. A doctor walks in and talks about emergency surgery with a saw he had recently procured but never used.

Is treatment in this hospital the only option I have?

Meanwhile, Jody and Mitch's medical connections advise them to get Ali medevaced home for surgery. Ryder Trauma Center in Miami is the closest.

Over the phone, Jody informs the nurse of their plan. The doctor objects. Ali's vitals are not stable enough for her to fly safely, he says.

At around 5 p.m., two hours after the attack, Ali flippantly says to Jody, "The shark probably still has my foot."

Jody passes that information to Mitch, who calls the boat company that took Ali and Sophie on their snorkeling trip. He asks a crew to look for Ali's foot in the ocean.

About 45 minutes later, as Ali continues to whisper mantras with her mom and as Sophie braids Ali's hair, the boat crew arrives at the hospital.

One of them is holding Ali's left foot, still in the flipper.

The crew found it in the same area where the shark had attacked Ali.

Ali feels nauseous. She averts her gaze from her foot.

"Feet can be reattached," the doctor says. It needs to happen fast -- in four hours -- but it can happen, he says.

He has never performed a reattachment surgery, he adds.

Shortly after, he OKs Ali's medevac to Miami.

His proclamation is everything to Ali.

I don't know how any of this works, but my foot can be reattached. It's going to suck for a little while. But everything's going to go back to normal.

A hospital crew lays Ali's foot on ice. Sophie sees them inject it with antibiotics.

Jody contacts a medevac company and arranges for a plane.

One hour passes, and then two, and then three.

Ali, who is laying in front of a large clock, stares at it as every minute ticks away.

The doctor assures her that in some cases reattachment can happen even several hours after the attack. She takes a deep breath.

At 10 p.m., almost seven hours after she was attacked by a shark, Ali is stretchered onto a small plane. Her foot is placed in the seat next to her. There is no room for Sophie.

Jody, who is still on the phone, tells the nurse accompanying Ali to "please hold her hands -- she must feel so alone."

As the plane takes off, the tourniquet digs into Ali's upper thigh. She begs the nurse to loosen it. But the nurse says it's too dangerous with the change in the air pressure.

Am I going to survive? Will my body be able to handle this plane ride? Will I see my parents again?

What will the doctors do? How will they get the muscles to attach?

Will it work?

HANNAH WALSH WAS supposed to accompany Ali and Sophie to Turks and Caicos. Instead, the former Yale diver spends May 24, 2023 working a 14-hour shift at Ryder Trauma Center in Miami. After work, around 8 p.m., she gets a call from Sophie's sister.

The news makes Hannah's body go numb. She makes Sophie's sister repeat herself multiple times before she comprehends it.

Hannah texts Sophie. What happened? Are you OK?

Sophie connects Hannah to the doctor in Turks and Caicos, who sends her three photos: One of Ali's foot in a flipper, on ice. One of Ali's left leg. One of an X-ray of Ali's leg.

Hannah gets in her car and texts Jody.

"Hi Jody. I've heard the news. I'm going to be at Ryder Trauma Center. I'm going to be there for Ali. No need to respond."

Hannah reaches the trauma center at 9 p.m. A group of doctors has congregated at the trauma bay. When she arrives, the doctors tell her that an announcement had gone out a few minutes earlier: a victim of a shark attack was being medevaced to the center that night. They have few details of the attack.

Hannah shares Ali's photos with the trauma resident. She tells them everything she knows about Ali. She's a marathon runner. She has Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes hypothyroidism. She was a collegiate swimmer.

The doctors outline a step-by-step plan. Save her life. Take her to surgery. Save as much of her leg as possible. Nobody utters the word "reattachment."

Just past midnight: Hannah hears an announcement over the trauma bay radio: The shark attack victim is being stretchered to the resuscitation ward.

Hannah watches on a video screen. Ali is wearing a white hospital gown, her hair matted and her lips cracked from dehydration.

"I remember thinking, 'Oh my god, that's Ali's hair," Hannah says. "'Oh my god, this is my best friend.'"

Hannah runs to the resuscitation ward. Ali sees her friend. "Hi, Hannah," she says. "I'm so glad you're here."

As the doctors get to work, Hannah gets into the bed next to Ali. Ali's foot sits by their side. Hannah notices the toes are painted in a pale pink polish. The shark had bitten Ali's foot right above her ankle. Her foot was still intact.

"It looked like someone had taken clay and..." Hannah says, trailing off.

Ali is sure she will be wheeled to the surgery room right away. And that she will be able to run, to walk, to swim with her own two feet again.

JODY AND MITCH touch down in Miami a half hour after Ali's arrival. They had called a friend who had called a friend, who gave them his private jet. Jody received texts throughout, first from the nurse in the medevac and then from Hannah.

When Jody walks into Ali's room, Ali bursts into tears. Jody hugs her and kisses her forehead.

"I was like, OK, I'm in a place where I'm safe," Ali says.

Ali's trauma team meets with the family. Ali is being stabilized, they say. Her leg is infected. She's being pumped with antibiotics and pain medication.

The reattachment is never going to happen. The infection alone would kill Ali. "We're so sorry," the head trauma doctor says. "We don't know why it was even said to you."

There is more. There's a chance Ali could lose her entire left leg. The tourniquet had cut off the oxygen supply to her leg.

How much of it can you save? Mitch asks.

"Before I can save her leg," the doctor says. "I have to save her life."

Fear and disbelief consume Ali.

How am I going to walk? How am I going to get into the shower? How am I going to go down stairs?

Throughout the night, Jody, Mitch and Hannah play songs to soothe Ali's pain. Hannah holds her hands.

The first surgery is key. The doctors will perform surgical debridement, a procedure to remove infected and dead tissue from Ali's leg. After that, her body will have to fight off the remaining infection so it doesn't spread. At 7:30 the next morning, Hannah walks alongside as Ali is wheeled into the operating room. Jody and Mitch pray.

The surgery is a success. The doctors clean up a significant amount of infection and attach a wound VAC (vacuum-assisted closure) to help her leg heal. They inform Jody and Mitch that they'll perform another surgery to clean up the rest of the infection in a few days. Ali's body needs to recover and continue to fight infection, they say.

Ali has a single question when she wakes up from surgery.

"How much of my leg will I still have left?"

The doctors don't have an answer for her yet. Only when all the infection is out of her body will she be prepped for the final surgery -- the amputation. Only then will they be able to say how much of her leg needs to be removed.

The question plagues her every waking minute.

Ali can't bring herself to look at her leg. Her mom holds a blanket over her face whenever nurses clean it or inject medication.

Sophie arrives from Turks and Caicos that afternoon. Words pour out of Ali as soon as she sees her. She doesn't talk about the actual attack. She can't. But they go over every single detail of what came after.

"We didn't even see anything cool in the ocean," Ali says. "We endured all that for nothing."

That night, Ali's vitals drop and agony sets in. Doctors and nurses run around her, pumping in pain medication and antibiotics. Jody plays the song "Million Little Miracles," by Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music, on her phone.

It's nothing short of a miracle I'm here

I've got some blessings that I don't deserve

I've got some scars, but that's how you learn

She dozes off. She wakes up screaming. Night terrors. Feverishly, she shares details of the attack -- in random bursts -- with Jody. Her mom holds her hand and rubs her head. They pray.

Twelve hours later, Ali's body begins to win the battle with the infection. Her vitals stabilize. The Truwit family exhales.

Two days later, she is stretchered in for her second surgery, where they remove the remaining infection.

Now she is ready to be medevaced to New York for the biggest -- and final -- surgery. The amputation.

With her parents by her side, she flies from Miami to New York. As soon as she lands, her three brothers arrive. High school and college friends visit, too.

The amputation surgery -- a six-hour process -- is set for May 31, 2023, a week after the attack, at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. It is Ali's 23rd birthday.

"Please save as much of my leg as possible," Ali says to the head surgeon.

The doctor's response makes Ali's stomach drop.

For her to avoid a lifetime of chronic pain and to increase functionality, her left leg will be amputated under her knee.

They're asking me to actively give up more of my leg?

Tears stream down Ali's face.

At 3 p.m. on her birthday -- after fasting the entire day for the surgery -- Ali is wheeled into the operating room.

Six hours later, the doctors walk out. The surgery is a success. They performed Targeted Muscle Reinnervation -- a relatively new procedure to reroute severed nerves to new muscles to allow for organic regrowth of the nerves and to help reduce phantom pain.

When Ali wakes up, she feels a wave of emotions. Gratitude for all the little miracles that have come her way through the past week. Sadness that she has lost a part of her body. Nervous for what her life is going to look like from that day forward.

"It felt final," she says.

For as long as she can remember, Ali has been an athlete, a swimmer. When she was a kid, Ali always broke into a wide grin whenever she jumped into the water. Her grandpa, whom she called Bear, introduced her to Long Island Sound when she was a baby. Most of her childhood memories involve swimming with her family and friends. On special occasions, the Truwit family visited the ocean -- in the Caribbean, Florida and New York.

Photos arranged around their house and videos sitting on their shelves show Ali and her three brothers swimming in the ocean.

"[My mom] sent me a bunch of home videos and my little brother is getting demolished by the waves and sobbing and not having a good time," Ali says. "And it pans over to me... I'm smiling and having the greatest time in the water."

As Ali grew older, her love for the water turned serious. She began swimming competitively, first in youth meets and then, when she was in high school, for the Chelsea Piers swim team in Stamford.

Ali had an innate ability to swim laps at the same pace, which made her a perfect fit for long-distance events. She was named a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American in 2016 and 2018. Yale, where Bear competed in track and Jody swam, recruited her, and she swam the 500-yard, 1,000-yard and 1,650-yard freestyle.

ALI WAS RELEASED from the hospital and returned to her parents' home. They moved Ali's bedroom to the first floor, and for months, Jody slept next to her. Most nights, Ali tossed and turned and gave up on sleep around 3 a.m.

Nobody had prepared her for the pain.

It was so distinct. Sometimes it felt like electric shocks up and down her leg. Sometimes it felt like somebody had wrapped the inside of her leg so tight that it was going to burst.

Then there was the phantom pain.

"It felt like someone was taking a razor blade to my ankle and shaving it to the bone," Ali says.

Sometimes she felt like somebody was grabbing her big toe and her pinky and trying to "pull them as far apart as they could."

"We'd literally pray for morning," Ali says.

When morning did come, small tasks felt ominous.

Ali loved showers growing up and stayed until she was forced to get out. Now she couldn't bear to stand under the water. The noise reminded her of her arms slapping the ocean water as she swam for her life. When water trickled down her left leg, the pain was excruciating.

Days after returning home, she called James Barone, her longtime youth swimming coach, on FaceTime. Details of the attack came spilling out of Ali. Growing up, Ali and Barone had a running joke. She was terrible at kicking her feet. "Remember all those years you were trying to get me to kick my feet when I was swimming?" she says, a wry smile on her face. "I swam 70 yards to the boat with no foot."

It took Ali weeks after the surgery to look at her leg.

"To see your leg you've seen for 23 years, and it just ends right there ... that was hard," she says. It took her a few more weeks for her to allow her brothers to see her leg. "This is so much better than what's on the internet," one of them said, which instantly made her feel better.

She used crutches and wore baggy sweatpants in public so nobody else could see.

Mom, am I ugly? Why are people at the grocery store staring at me? How will men find me attractive? Will I ever be able to carry my child down a flight of stairs?

Will I ever be an athlete again?

Six weeks after her amputation, she started sleeping through the night. Every day, the pain became slightly less all-consuming.

Sleep sparked a new desire. I want to like the water again. I want to love the water again.

FROM THE FRONT windows in her parents' house, Ali could see the banks of Long Island Sound, where she first learned to swim. Out the back door was her backyard pool, where she played as a child. It beckoned her.

She prepped for days, wondering how her body would react to being back in the water. She started by dipping her right toes in. For two weeks, that's all she did. She put her toes in, and then went back inside. One day, she asked her brothers and parents if they'd help her get in the pool. Jody attached a floaty around Ali's waist and thought, "This is a D-I swimmer and I'm attaching a floaty on her?"

Ali sat on the edge of the pool and plunged in.

Suddenly, her mind took her back to Turks and Caicos, when she was kicking and screaming for help, when she craned her neck toward her leg only to see a stream of blood.

This too shall pass.

Her brain interrupts her vision. She takes a deep breath. She's shivering. She feels the warm water touching her body. She opens her eyes.

I am safe. I am alive. I am home.

She tries to smile at her mom. It's more of a grimace.

Around then, a Turks and Caicos local sent the Truwits a video from the day of Ali's attack. It showed a bull shark swimming a few miles from where Ali and Sophie were snorkeling. According to the Florida Museum's International Shark Attack File , a bull shark, while not common in the waters around Turks and Caicos, was likely responsible for Ali's attack. Bull sharks are known for their "bump and bite" approach, and the results can be devastating. They are blamed for the third-most documented attacks worldwide in the past 50 years, with a 22% kill rate. Ali's was the only shark attack -- provoked or unprovoked -- on the island in 2023. Worldwide, there were 91.

Talking about the attack traumatized Ali, so Jody suggested writing therapy. Ali began writing on her computer. Sometimes she wrote about the details of her attack. Sometimes she wrote about what she wanted in her new life.

She kept going back to the pool. Once a week at first. Then twice. Sometimes the flashbacks consumed her and she rushed out of the pool. Sometimes she felt serene -- even if brief -- when she moved her arms and legs in the water.

"There were glimmers of hope. Moments where I was like, 'I like the feeling of the water right now,' or, 'I'm happy I'm in here,'" Ali says. "And those moments kept me going to be like, 'I can fight to reclaim this. It's going to take work. It's going to be hard, but I can get back to that place.'"

In her room, she started doing planks with her right leg. She held them for three minutes. Friends showed their support by sending her videos of them doing one-legged planks. Sophie, who lived in Nashville, visited her almost every month. Hannah called her on FaceTime every week from Miami and they spent hours talking.

Ali felt loved.

ALI WAS FITTED with a prosthetic leg about two months after her amputation. The first thing she felt when the prosthetist attached it: pain. Her leg was not used to having five pounds of dead weight hanging off of it.

Maybe worse, she had no idea how to use this thing that was meant to be an extension of her leg.

For weeks, she'd put on the prosthetic leg and just stare at the floor. Her body would say, "Go," but her brain would reject the idea. She couldn't feel her foot pressing into the ground.

Her physical therapist gently kicked her prosthetic leg over and over again to override the signal her brain was giving her body. Ali gingerly took steps, sucking in her core for balance. She learned how to use her quads and thigh to drive her leg forward. She remembers trying to step her prosthetic foot down a flight of stairs and her body jerking back. "I'd catch myself from falling," she says. She spent hours crying during lessons at the prosthetist's office. How can this be my life?

The prosthetic leg wasn't a permanent solution. When she gained muscle, lost weight or retained water, it wouldn't fit properly. She'd have to drive an hour and a half to the prosthetic facility in Hicksville, New York, to get her leg adjusted.

Slowly, the pain faded, and she walked more. But she couldn't stand anybody seeing it. So she continued to wear baggy pants or flowy dresses. Eventually, she got a cosmetic prosthetic to match her skin tone.

She kept thinking about the water. In September, four months after her amputation, Ali texted Coach Barone.

"If you can stand to look at me, will you come back and coach me?" Without hesitating, Barone said yes. At that point, all Ali cared about was spending some time in the water around somebody who knew her well.

Ali began swimming at Chelsea Piers, just like when she was a kid. When she spotted people she knew, Barone ran over and pleaded with them to ignore Ali. She didn't want anybody seeing her leg -- exposed -- in the water. Sometimes he stood guard in front of her until friends and acquaintances passed.

Weeks into her swimming routine, Ali kicked off with her right foot and began her freestyle warmup. A kid who was playing water polo at the far end of the pool didn't notice her. He moved underneath her. He kicked hard, and his leg smashed into Ali's belly.

Ali gasped. Her stomach constricted.

Her entire body shook.

She lurched out of the water, her breathing coming out in gasps.

"Oh f---! What happened?" Barone yelled from the corner of the pool.

"I didn't..." Ali mumbled, gasping. "I didn't see him."

It took hours for her to shake off the dread the memory had evoked.

ALI KEPT COMING BACK. She felt the most comfortable on her back, so she began training in backstroke, even more than she had when she was at Yale.

In late October, she convinced her parents to take her to a Para swim meet just outside of Atlanta. Can I still compete?

She swam well. But more meaningful to Ali were the fellow swimmers who told her that if she can overcome something so horrific, then they can do difficult things too. Somebody mentioned that she should try out for the Paralympic Games.

Maybe I can keep swimming.

The progress is not linear. As May -- and the first anniversary of her attack -- approached, she woke up crying and sweating. She loved her birthdays, but this year, she wanted May to disappear from the calendar. So she decided to focus on her heroes -- Sophie, Hannah, her parents, her doctors -- and all the miracles that helped keep her alive and accelerated her recovery.

May was also the first time she posted about her attack on social media. She slowly warmed up to interviews, first appearing on "The Kelly Clarkson Show." A few more reporters reached out. Some conversations left her shaken, but every conversation about the attack made her want to open up more. It felt therapeutic.

"There's just a million miracles in the story that I try really hard to focus on," Ali says. "And be grateful for that."

She continued to swim in more meets. Her times kept getting better. She trained harder.

A new dream took shape.

She signed up for the 400-meter freestyle -- the longest distance -- at the Paralympic trials. She also signed up for the 100m backstroke and freestyle.

After evaluation, she was categorized as an S10 swimmer: a competitor with the least amount of physical impairment for swimming.

In the 100m backstroke at the trials in Minneapolis in June, Ali was clear of the field at the turn. She proceeded to swim the final 50m at a pace that astonished Barone.

She finished in 1:08:98. First place. The second-fastest swimmer finished four seconds later.

Barone stood poolside, tears streaming down his face.

Her best time before the attack? 1:09.50.

She had swum her fastest backstroke race. Ever. Her time would have put her ahead of two Paris Olympians in the 100-meter backstroke heats.

Ali grinned. Her parents hugged each other in the stands.

"Holy cow," Barone said to Ali when she hopped out of the water. "You did it."

She didn't stop there. She came from way behind to win the 100m freestyle. She finished second in the 400m freestyle.

Thirteen months after a shark bit off her foot, Ali qualified for this year's Paralympics. Her first event, the 100m freestyle, is on Sept. 1. Sophie and Hannah will be in the stands -- part of a group of about 50 family members and friends -- supporting her in Paris.

A shark forced me to swim faster than I ever have in my life. Now I am swimming the fastest I ever have for me.

"There's a lot that I've lost here that I'm not getting back," Ali says. "My foot ... I'm never getting that back, but there are things here that I also can fight to get back."

ON A HOT July day -- 14 months after the attack -- Ali sits on a bench at A Step Ahead, her prosthetist's office in Hicksville. Next to her sit her three legs. A black one -- her walking leg. A cosmetic one -- that she can wear to dinners -- that weighs six pounds. "The price you pay for aesthetics," Erik Schaffer, the head prosthetist, says to her.

The third one, a black running blade with a hooked foot, is brand new. It weighs three pounds. Schaffer has specially designed it for Ali. She wants to run another marathon soon. The words "Team Truwit" are embossed on it. Today will be the first time she runs in it. Coach Barone had warned her not to run until after the Paralympics, but she can't wait.

She puts on her special socks for her left leg. She attaches the blade onto her leg. She stands up. Her grin gets bigger.

"Mom, take a video of me running at you," she says. Jody stands at the far corner of the office.

Ali plants her left prosthetic leg on the ground. Then her right foot. She swings her arms. She begins to walk. "It's so much lighter," she says. Then, she pushes off, runs. "Use your quads more," Schaffer says. She leans her body forward, presses her left quad into her prosthetic leg. Her hair flies behind her. She reaches the end of the office. Turns around and runs toward her mom.

"Mom, did you get that?" she asks. Jody nods, smiling.

Schaffer praises Ali's willpower. Her recovery, to him, is impressive, fast. Ali grins.

But, he adds, Ali is fortunate to have had some of the best surgeons work on her. He's seen some amputees who after decades still struggle. They can't do basic tasks.

"Erik, go back to complimenting me," Ali says, and laughs.

Then she gets serious. She recognizes how difficult life can be after an amputation. Her family doesn't lack for money or resources, but many do. That's why she's launched a foundation called Stronger Than You Think. She is raising money for amputees to get prosthetics and recovery care.

A few weeks ago, she reached out to Lulu Gribbin, a 15-year-old shark attack survivor who lost her left hand and right leg while swimming in Florida. The odds of being attacked by a shark depend on a host of variables -- geography, weather, time of day -- but they are minuscule for every human on this planet. According to ISAF, among people who go to the beaches in the U.S., the odds of being attacked by a shark are 1 in 11.5 million. Ali felt compelled to let Gribbin know she wasn't alone.

Ali has just returned from a week with the USA Paralympic team in Colorado Springs, and she talks about the new friends she's made. Every single one of her teammates had to go through something singular and brave to get to this point, she says. Their struggles remind her of her struggles. It feels surreal that she'll be competing in Paris.

The Para movement has accelerated her healing, Jody says.

"You have to show your leg, you have to face it yourself, you have to face others seeing it, you have to get comfortable if you're going to tell your story," Jody says.

Swinging her arms, Ali takes off again.

GRINNING BRIGHTLY, ALI waves at swimmers, young and old, as she sits at the edge of the Olympic-sized pool at Chelsea Piers. Her prosthetic leg -- which she had meticulously removed at the pool's edge -- sits by her side.

Ali wears her bright blue one-piece. She plunges into the pool and her mouth parts into a smile. She takes off. Right arm in front of her, then left.

"How is the shoulder feeling?" Barone asks her when she finishes her warmup.

Since the amputation, she has switched sides for her freestyle breathing. She used to breathe to her right side. Now she turns to her left because she needs a counterweight to keep her balance. The new motion places extra -- and new -- stress on her right shoulder.

"It's fine," she says. But she doesn't grin.

"'It's fine' means 'I'm freaked out,'" Barone says.

The shark attack has thrown Ali's pain scale out of whack.

A shark bit off my foot. I experienced phantom pain that made me want to rip off a body part that didn't exist. How can I complain about shoulder pain?

She practices for another hour, until Barone sees her wince and calls it off.

Ali has 45 minutes before she needs to head to the doctor for her shoulder appointment. She stops by a table near the cafe inside Chelsea Piers. Jody has brought some photo albums. Ali grabs them and flips the pages.

She pauses at a photo of her at a beach. She's about 5, wearing a lavender one-piece swimsuit that her grandma had crocheted for her. Her hair is wet and her face is slightly turned toward her little brother Teddy, but you can clearly see her big grin. She's holding Teddy's hand as they run away from an incoming wave.

"It's so sad that it was taken away from somebody who really loved it," Ali says of the ocean.

She closes the album. She turns around. Written on her black prosthetic are the words to "Million Little Miracles."

After big milestones, the Truwit family goes to the ocean. Jody has been asking Ali where she wants to go after the Paralympic Games.

Ali has not given her an answer. She knows it won't be the ocean.

"Maybe it's unwritten," Ali says. "Maybe in five years, 10 years..."

For now, the pool and the Paralympics are miracles enough.