Marlin Wakeman: Florida man narrowly survives ‘shark den’ after falling off fishing dock in Bahamas

LONG ISLAND, BAHAMAS: Marlin Wakeman, a 24-year-old deckhand from Florida, had a terrifying encounter with a pair of reef sharks after slipping off a fishing dock in the Bahamas on April 26.

Wakeman was working on a charter boat when he misjudged a jump on the dock and fell into the water around Flying Fish Marina on Long Island where people are known to attract the sharks with scraps thrown in by fishermen to keep them as pets.

20 sharks raced towards Marlin Wakeman after slipping off the dock

Wakeman found himself in what he described as a “shark den” when at least 20 sharks raced up to him after he fell off the dock on April 26.

In his career, he said he has fallen off docks three times, but the situation was different.

Despite the terrifying situation, Wakeman, who has spent much of his life beside or in the ocean while diving or on boats, managed to keep his cool.

He credited his years of experience for his quick reaction that likely saved his life.

"It's definitely a big scary thing that happened to me, and I'm definitely shaken up from it," he said, Fox News reported. 

“I wasn’t really scared at the moment,” he said. “I just knew I had to get out as quickly as possible. Thankfully, I’m here to tell the story,” he added.

Marlin Wakeman's leg was grabbed by shark and he was pulled underwater

Wakeman was only in the water for “five to seven seconds” but in that short time, a 7 ft Caribbean shark grabbed his leg and pulled him under the water. “I knew a shark bit me, there wasn’t a second of doubt in my mind,” Wakeman said.

When another shark nipped his shoulder, Wakeman managed to pull himself back onto the boat.

He recalled a sailboat guide nearby started to panic and shouted, “He’s bleeding out!” In response, “I was like, hey, can we get this guy away from me? This is freaking me out a little bit," he said. 

He voiced his determination to survive. “I was like, hey man, I don’t really wanna die right now. This ain’t it,” he shared.

The captain applied a tourniquet to Wakeman’s leg, moved him into a van, and someone packed his wound with gauze. Overwhelmed by pain, the boy fainted.

He was taken to the nearest medical center and then flown to Florida for surgery. His surgeon, Dr Robert Borrego, said that the shark’s bite narrowly missed a femoral artery, which could have led to him bleeding out on the dock in minutes.

“The fact that there’s 20 sharks in there, and you were able to get out of there and still have a leg? It’s amazing. And I think it also goes to say how quickly he reacted and that he didn’t panic,” Borrego added.

Marlin Wakeman says human behavior caused the accident, asks all to be respectful to sharks

The 24-year-old insisted that his human error and the behavior of humans at the dock caused the accident.

He urged those afraid of sharks to reconsider their fear and respect the creatures instead.

“I would tell the public, don’t be scared to go to the beach, don’t be scared to go diving in a cool spot,” he said.

He also noted that the treatment of sharks at the dock where he was bitten is the norm in the Bahamas and suggested a few simple countermeasures that could prevent accidents like his in the future.

Despite his brush with the sharks, Wakeman insisted that he'll continue to dive, swim, and work in the ocean.

“It’s so rare to be bitten by a shark it’s insane,” he added.