Ben Marcus Rules

Around 9:00 AM on Sunday, the third of October, 38-year-old Eric Steinley was attacked by a white shark while surfing Salmon Creek in Sonoma County, just north of Bodega Bay and about 20 miles as the emergency helicopter flies west of Santa Rosa:  “The feeling was very heavy, like swimming with a bag of bricks on you,” Steinley said in a telephone interview from his hospital bed with the Press Democrat of Santa Rosa. “I reached down with my right hand and touched its massive face. Then I grabbed it in the eye, not so much aggressively, just trying to figure out what it was.”

 Sympathetic to the physical, mental, financial, spiritual and neoprenal plight of shark attack victims, I contacted Steinley through Mark Jensen - who organized a GoFundMe for his friend Eric - and sent him some email questions to answer - based on shark attack victims I had interviewed in the past. Steinley answered a couple days later.

Going back to Eric “Lucky” Larsen in 1989, I have interviewed a lot of white shark attack victims: Lee Fontan at Bolinas, Todd Endriss at Marina, Vic Calandra and Joey Everett off Malibu, Megan Halavais, who got chomped at Salmon Creek in 2005 and several when I worked at SURFER Magazine, whose names I don’t remember.

 I say to you what I say to them: “Dude, you had a bad day. You probably need a new wetsuit. Take a look at the O’Neill catalogue and I’ll talk to Pat O’Neill and Brian Kilpatrick and see if they will hook a brother up.”

 Well I appreciate that. As far as the wetsuit goes I'm looking at a 4/3 Hyperfreak, front zip, hooded, all black wetsuit, size large. This was the same suit I was wearing when I got attacked but it's a good suit. I'm open to suggestions but it would have to be front zip, hooded, size large and 4/3-5/4 (I think that leaves the mutant and Psyco Techo models as well)

Sooo other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the show? Any PTSN? Post Traumatic Shark Nightmares? They’re a thing.

Strangely I've only had one dream since I've been home. It was a nightmare but not shark related, I don't remember specifically, but it was violent. I do find it weird that I haven't had other dreams or at least remembered them because prior to this event I had vivid dreams a couple times a week. It's just kinda blank up there now. 

A few people I've interviewed said that's the worst part of it all:  When it happens you don't know it's coming, but when you dream about it, you do know it's coming and it's terrifying. One guy in particular back in the 90s had a lot of trouble with that.

How about you?

The worst part of it all is the nerve pain. The shark severed my peroneal nerve at my fibula (which it also broke.) The surgeon did reattach it but I'm told it will take 3 months to determine if the nerve is going to accept the surgery and start to heal. Basically it feels like there is a hot iron on different parts of my foot. This is constant...all day.

Are you still in hospital or under care, or did they let you out?

 I am at home with my girlfriend caring for me mostly and my mother coming down from Reno to give my girlfriend a break so she can go to work. I do need care at the moment because I can't drive right now (right leg injury) and it's difficult for me to move around and do basic things.

Those suckers do a lot of damage, don't they?

They do, I feel even though it was a clean bite without a lot of thrashing I'm lucky to have my leg because the surfboard (and fins) stopped the bite from going all the way through.

How close do you think you came to dying?

I'm not sure technically how close I was, but I was airlifted to the hospital and put into surgery as soon as I got there to stop the bleeding. I can tell you once I got into the ambulance and was waiting for the helicopter I felt very cold and had lost a lot of blood and that was pretty scary.

The time when I thought I was going to die was in the water when I was paddling back to shore. I had just been attacked, there was blood in the water and I was still 60 yards from land.

Who do you want to thank for getting you to shore and stopping the bleeding and calling 9/11?

There was Jared the surfer in the water who watched the entire thing, I caught up to him paddling and he did tell me not to look back and to keep going. There were two surfers that used their leashes as tourniquets when I got to shore, then the surfer Bailey who happens to be an EMT and ran to his car and got his kit and applied a medical tourniquet, the 10 plus surfers who carried me on a longboard up a long sandy hill to the parking lot (not to mention a shit ton of stairs.) I also believe there was a surfer who happened to be an ER doctor as well who helped out.

 What is the prognosis from your doctors? Any permanent damage?

Severed popliteal vein, severed peroneal nerve, broken fibula, hamstring, quad and calf muscle reconstruction, 70 staples. As discussed in the previous questions the main damage was to the nerve, currently I have spots on my foot and ankle with no feeling and am not able to lift my foot up. Only time will tell if I'm able to recover fully

Do you have a timeline for recovery? How much physical therapy will you need?

 If full recovery is possible I'm told it will take a year. I do have PT that comes to my house twice a week now just to work on the rest of my body from laying around in the hospital bed all day. I was told when I was in the ICU that there are PT programs that have three hours of training a day and It could be possible for me to join one of those programs if needed.

I've interviewed about a dozen white shark attack victims going back to Eric "Lucky" Larsen in 1990. I call him "Lucky" because he had also been struck by lightning. That guy was surfing alone in Swanton and he said the scariest part was the shark getting wrapped up in his leash and towing him out to sea.

Frick! He shook loose and made it to shore. He knew first aid and saved himself.

All the people I've interviewed have a few things in common:

They didn't see the shark coming.

 Agreed.

The attack was in fairly shallow water.

 Check.

When the attack first happens, the reaction is more Discovery Channel: "Look at the size of this fricking thing!!"

For me I didnt even know what was going on at first, I was just underwater with a serious amount of pressure on my leg.

They're all amazed they survived, because the sharks are massively big and strong and powerful and most people think, "Well this is it!” 

I did think this as well, but only when paddling back to shore.  I thought “This thing is going to come finish me off for sure.”

Mick Fanning probably had similar thoughts at JBay. Your brain goes to somewhere the human brain doesn't go much these days, the "Oh shit something's trying to eat me!" part of the brain. Very intense adrenaline experience, most people say. 

Oh ya, I was full of adrenaline. The fastest I’ve ever paddled back in, I just kept looking back. 

One guy who got attacked at the mouth of Tomales Bay said he heard roaring noises coming from the shark: Swell.

No roaring noises for me. Just silence underwater. Had I not been being attacked it might have been peaceful.

Then it's fear and fighting back. Everyone fights back. Did you?

I definitely fought back, I was just trying to stay alive.

I know more than a few people who say it's shocking to be surfing one minute, and then getting a helicopter ride to the hospital the next minute.

I would agree with this, I was having a nice beautiful Sunday.

And then when they are lying in their beds, thinking it over they all say the same thing: "I can't believe something that big could sneak up on me."

Everyone says that. Was that your experience?

I've been on safari in Africa, I'm fully aware we are not at the top of the food chain. This was not the feeling I had.

Without sounding like a smart ass I have to say: "If you want to get attacked by a shark, go surf Salmon Creek in October."

Were you aware of the threat at that time at the place?

 I've been surfing Marin and Sonoma County for 20 years. I am aware there are sharks in the area but I would think that if they liked to eat surfers there wouldn't be many surfers left.

Had you ever seen a big shark before that?

Not at all.

My friend Steve Guzzetta was diving for abs alone at Pigeon Point between Santa Cruz and HMB when he felt something very strange and got out of the water - and Guzzy is a fearless walking muscle who could probably wrestle a white shark.

The next day, Guzzy dove the same spot with his friend Ernie Morgan, and a guy named Omar was bit and killed like 50 yards from them.

 Steve believes humans have receptors we no longer listen to, but we should.

 Did you get weird vibrations/feelings before the attack - some people said they did.

 I did not. I have multiple times in the past but over the years have learned to suppress this feeling. I used to even shout at myself, or slab my wrist and tell myself to focus. 

From all the interviews I've done, the people who get bit are the people who just moved: Either turned to paddle for a wave, or caught a wave, paddled back out, stopped and then kaboom!

Were you the person who moved? How many people were around you?

 I was originally alone, I enjoy surfing solo. One guy had paddled out near me and had caught a wave so he was still about 30 yards from me.

 Yes I had just moved, I was sitting for a minute and then started to paddle.

In 2002 Lee Fontan from Bolinas caught a wave, got burned, got mad, paddled back outside the pack and stopped. He heard something coming behind him and he said he felt like a frog getting hit by a large mouth bass.

This is a good description.

Were you lifted in the air? Pulled under? Rag dolled?

I was not lifted in the air but I was pulled under… with ease. No shaking like a rag doll, strangely enough the shark moved slowly after he bit me, like a tug boat dragging me under.

 How tall are you and how much do you weigh?

 6'-0" and 180 pounds.

 Were you surprised by the power of the shark?

 Not surprised - they are huge powerful animals. I was surprised I got attacked.

I've also learned that getting hit by a white shark that destroys your board, body and wetsuit is bad enough, but if you are attacked and don't have medical insurance, then you're really screwed.

That was true with Megan Halavais. Is that true for you?

Fortunately I have medical insurance until February. I had just been off work for three months and started a new job that I was at for two weeks. Luckily my insurance extends out a while after you stop working depending on how many hours you have "banked".. kinda like roll over minutes. 

What kind of work do you do?

I am an Estimator/Project Manager for a construction company. I am lucky, for 18 years I worked on job sites as a Carpenter or Carpenter Foreman. If this were the case now I’m not sure I would be able to return to that type of work.

I’ve been kind of curious about where they find all the manpower to fix all the damage from fires like The Tubbs Fire. Thousands of houses, right? I was talking to a civil engineer from Santa Rosa about that the other day. I would imagine that kept you busy? 

The North Bay fires did cause a giant demand in the construction industry. The company I worked for at the time wasn’t big into building homes and did more work on schools, hospitals and wineries. We were fortunate enough to get to rebuild at least one winery in that area. As far as where the manpower came from, I did notice companies from Sacramento that typically don’t work in this area were making the commute to help with the demand. 

A friend of a friend got hurt on his bicycle and the helicopter ride was like $67,000 or something like that. Do you know how much the helicopter ride to the hospital was?

 I have no idea.  

You went to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where Megan Halavais went, I believe. How did they handle you there?  Impressed with the care and service?  I can't imagine they see a lot of shark attacks there.

I was impressed with the nurses and surgeons for sure. They were mostly amazing and I'm thankful they saved my life.

Unfortunately because of Covid and with the exception of my mom and GF being able to visit once for 15 mins, no one was allowed in.  So I was attacked by a shark, went under anesthesia, had two surgeries and woke up in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar place with people I didn't know. That was one of the worst experiences I can remember. Since there were no family members allowed that left patients literally crying and screaming at night and me not knowing what the fuck was happening. I am still dumbfounded by this. I have to say this in no way reflects the nurses or doctors themselves and seems to be a complete policy flaw.

How long did they work on you?

I was in the ICU for four days, then transferred to a nearby wing for another two days. I know the nerve surgery took about six hours, I'm not sure how long the vascular surgery took.

Were you in the ER or did they move you to a specialist?

 I was in the Trauma Center.

Well there are few things more traumatic than getting attacked by a shark, out at sea. It's been two weeks now: How is your mind? How is your body? How is your soul?

 My mind is Ok. I'm still thinking about surfing in the future and what it will be like. My leg is slowly getting better, it's just the nerve pain that’s pretty bad. My soul is on the mend, it was pretty dark there for a while.

I’ve said this about Bethany Hamilton and others: Getting attacked by a shark is horrifying and it shreds your wettie and dings your stick and puts you in the hospital and costs a fortune and you miss work. But on top of all that - you can’t surf. For, like, months. Fucking shark. You’d be pissed.

I am pissed, not at the shark but at the situation. Surfing was my therapy. It grounded me and made the rest of life bearable. I would imagine it will be 6 months to a year if I'm able to surf again. That would be the longest break I’ve ever taken, but I’ll take what I can get. I’m lucky to be alive and have my leg.

Most people don't ever have a near-death experience but you sure did. By an animal. How are you digesting it all, mentally, physically, financially?

 I am not a religious person, I consider us all animals. I'm digesting it as well as possible. Financially I'm still waiting for the GoFundMe funds to be transfered. Strangely enough that platform is rather challenging to work with and it's impossible to speak to anyone on the phone. So here we are 3 weeks later and I'm still waiting on funds to be put into a bank account.

I just looked at your GoFundMe and it’s up to $40,452 of the $50,000 goal. Maybe they don’t pay out until it hits the $50,000 goal? We’ll try to bump that up for you: https://www.gofundme.com/f/hugsqy-help-eric

The name on your GoFundMe is Idoia De Eguia Luna. Is that Spanish? Basque?

You would be correct. Idoia is my girlfriend and her name is Basque but she is from Barcelona. She is Catalan and she is particular about that. 

Oh I see, that’s your girlfriend’s name. For some reason I thought that was your name, because you actually look Basque.

When you’re all healed up you gotta go to the Basque country. Surf Mundaka! Biarritz! San Sebastian!

You’ll have the right wetsuit!!!! 

My girlfriend has been trying to get me to go to the Basque Country for a while now. Once I’m all healed up and have had time to work a while maybe that will be our next vacation! I have heard nothing but good things. 

Do it. Do it. Shave off a little of that GoFundMe money and GoSurfMundaka. Good you have a loyal wahine to take care of you.

Idoia has taken care of me from day one and has had to watch me lay in bed screaming in pain. She has to deal with all my crap, which is a lot when you’re pissed off and on painkillers. Without Idoia I would not be able to recover, she has been the one constant person in my life who supports me in every way. She is an angel who I do not deserve. 

Your GoFundMe should ease the financial emotional strain a bit, but I wonder what the total tally on this is going to be: helicopter ride, plus hospital bills plus nursing plus out of work plus physical therapy plus other things - if that's not too personal.

I do wonder what the total cost is going to be myself, only time will tell. Who knows if I will need more surgeries in the future and what type of mental health help I will need as well. 

Please let us know which O'Neill wetsuit you want and if there's anything else you can do, please let us know. I contacted LibTech about replacing your stick, but no answer yet.

 Hyperfreak 4/3, hooded, front zip, size large. I've heard there is a shark repellent leash... One of those would be great!

You are now a member of a very special club. We’re gonna call it The Breakfast Club here, if that’s not too smartass. 

Ironically enough there is a group of surfers at Bodega who are called the “West County Breakfast Club.” I am now part of their group but would think you should run it by them first!

Come to think of it, there’s a restaurant in Bodega Bay that has a photo of a massive white shark on the wall when you walk in. You know what I’m talking about? Hitchcock could have shot Jaws in Bodega Bay, after The Birds.

I do know the place, I think I’ll pass on acting in that film. 

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