Warriewood’s Charlie Verco pulled Leah Stewart from the water in a heroic shark attack rescue
Paddleboarder Charlie Verco has taken out the Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard world title in record time, defending his crown for the fourth year in a row. The 25-year-old completed the 52km race in four hours and 18 minutes, breaking the previous record by approximately three minutes.
On a day out on the water in Coogee training for this event in June, the Warriewood resident did not expect to end up rescuing someone from a shark attack. When he first heard nearby swimmers yelling ‘shark,’ Charlie anticipated that the shark would realise the swimmers weren’t food and swim away.
He began paddling over, hoping to put his paddleboard between the animal and nearby swimmers, taking them back with him to the beach.
What happened next he says was ‘pretty shocking,’ as the shark began to attack one of the swimmers, Leah Stewart.
“Once the shark actually started attacking Leah… I just had to completely re-evaluate the scenario,” he says. “When I saw the shark surface and the size of it, I realised that (it) wasn’t going to be scared of me.”
In that moment, Charlie had to make a call: paddle back to the beach for safety, or help Leah. “There was a battle in my head of wanting to paddle into the beach, and feeling that responsibility that if I went in, then Leah would have been all on her own.”
At that point, Charlie’s surf lifesaving background kicked in, and he started signalling to the beach to get the lifeguards to clear the water and send out power craft.
Shark bite victim Leah Stewart
Surf lifesaving has taught Charlie more than just the skills needed for a rescue. Starting out as a nipper at North Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club and now a member of the Newport club, ‘it taught me to think about the ways I can take responsibility and provide assistance when people need help and are in danger in the ocean.’
Charlie says he owes his ability to stay calm under pressure to both his competitive sporting background and lifesaving. A four-time world paddleboarding champion, ‘the amount of pressure and expectation you have to manage, and the amount of importance it has to you, teaches you to essentially manage that anxiety and still perform and make effective decisions,’ he says.
“That’s what allowed me to at least be able to make decisions in that process, as opposed to just turning around and going straight to the beach.”
A professional surf ironman, Charlie finished second to Ali Day in the Shaw and Partners Iron Series earlier this year.
Alongside his competitive training schedule, Charlie runs Surfantasy, an online gaming platform he co-founded. He is very open to what the future holds, including a potential stint at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
Following the shark attack, Charlie has ‘never been more grateful to be part of (the surf lifesaving) community.’ “It taught me to want to remain present and try and find a solution to what I could do.”
He has used the media attention to show ways the community can support Leah’s recovery, including the importance of donating blood.
“Especially if you’re O negative because that’s the blood they use for emergency reserves for situations like this,” he says.
To support Leah’s recovery, there is a GoFundMe accepting donations. “Any support would be appreciated,” Charlie notes.
Visit: gofundme.com/f/support-leah-stewart-victim-of-shark-attack-in-coogee
