- Pod of around 20 dolphins knocked surfer out
- He suffered a broken pelvis
A young surfer is lucky to be alive after a pod of dolphins threw him off his surfboard leaving him seriously injured and unconscious.
Eli Anderson, 20, was surfing his local break at Emerald Beach on the NSW mid north coast on December 29 when he suddenly felt ‘like he was hit by a car’.
The carpenter was thrown from his surfboard and then caught up in a frantic frenzy of up to 20 dolphins blindly hunting for food.
Mr Anderson was knocked out cold and suffered a fractured pelvis in the terrifying incident, and he says he is still struggling to deal with the trauma.
‘They came from nowhere and one of their fins sliced my board,’ Mr Anderson told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I was knocked off and then knocked out so I don’t remember much until I was washed up on to the beach.
‘As I came around, I started to count my limbs and checked for blood. I was in a lot of pain but also so confused, because I thought it must have been a shark attack.’
Mr Anderson was surfing with his dad, Luke, at the beach about 20km north of Coffs Harbour and said they’re always wary of sharks in the water – but not dolphins.
Eli Anderson (right) and his dad Luke (left) have surfed their local break at Emerald Beach NSW their whole lives but never considered dolphins a threat
Eli Anderson’s surfboard had a large chunk taken out of the side from one of the dolphin’s fins
The keen surfer has always been wary of sharks but says the ocean is their domain
The freak accident happened at Emerald Beach about 20km north of Coffs Harbour
They have been even more vigilant after their close-knit community was rocked by the tragic shark attack death of a local surfer a little over three years ago.
Father-to-be Timothy Thompson, 31, died after his arm was mauled by what was believed to be a great white shark just metres from where the pair were surfing.
Despite the best efforts of first responders and paramedics, Mr Thompson died at the scene.
‘I have seen (sharks) from time-to-time swimming under the board and I’ve been charged by some of the smaller sharks,’ Mr Anderson said.
‘But I never thought dolphins would be a problem.’
His dad Luke had already paddled to shore and was helpless to assist when he witnessed his son get knocked out by the aggressive dolphin pod.
‘I’d told him I just wanted to catch one last wave and he was waiting for me on the beach,’ Mr Anderson said.
‘He reckons there was at least 20 of them and it must have been a feeding frenzy where they push the bait to the shallow waters.’
Surfer Timothy Thompson lost his life after being mauled by a shark at Emerald Beach
Dolphin hunt feeding frenzies are rare but have been reported in Australia
The beach hunting technique used by dolphins is extremely rare but has been reported in Australia.
It involves the mammals swimming rapidly to generate waves that push fish towards the shoreline before the dolphins charge into them at high speed and scoop them up.
Mr Anderson was treated for his injuries at Coffs Harbour Health Campus Hospital and his full recovery is expected to take weeks.
He said he is still shaken by the terrifying incident but insists it won’t put him off getting back in the water.
‘It’s taken me a long time to process it really, but nothing could stop me surfing,’ he said.
‘It’s their domain, not mine. The dolphins won – and I’m ok with that.’
