Now, Kurt Gillan, Lindsay Isaac, and Shayden Schrader have opened up about that terrible day in an emotional interview in the March issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.
Holding back tears, Kurt, 18, recalls the moment he realised Zac, 19, had been attacked and was riding a wave stained with his own blood.
“I watched as he rose on the wave and the whole wash was just red, red with Zac’s blood,” he says.
After a few moments of panic, Zac jumped onto 15-year-old Shayden’s back and the boys started trying to drag their injured mate in to shore.
“He was saying, ‘What’ll I do, bro, what’ll I do?’ ” Shayden says. “And there was so much blood. I was just trying to stay calm. I tried to reassure him. He told me that he loved us, each one of us. We were like brothers, he said. I said, ‘We’ll do our best to get you in.’ “
Battling fears that the shark might return, the boys desperately paddled, trying to cross some 200 metres of dead water. It was slow and tiring work but they were all convinced Zac would be okay – until he started to pray.
“That’s when I got really scared,” Lindsay, 14, says.
Eventually, the boys got Zac to shore and performed CPR while they waited for paramedics to arrive, which they did, after a few torturous minutes.
Despite Zac’s massive injuries, his mates had no doubt he’d survive. Sadly, he didn’t, leaving them all stunned and devastated.
Even so, each of the boys still surfs, determined to keep riding the waves in memory of their lost mate.
“There are times when I’m out on a wave and I get scared,” Lindsay says. “Zac would expect us to ride the waves. That’s what he’d be doing if one of us had died. He’d do that out of respect. And that’s what we’re going to do, live our lives without fear.”
