No-fin can stop the kindness of strangers.
Beachgoers dove into action over the weekend to save the life of a great white shark that had washed up on the shores of Nantucket.
A heart-pounding video captured the once-in-a-lifetime rescue that was ignited when Liza Phillips spotted the vulnerable maneater thrashing along the shallow shoreline at Low Beach in Siasconset.
The poor shark was repeatedly pounded by the waves into shallower water, at some points becoming trapped sideways with its fin lodged in the sand.
“It was so helpless, we were thinking it was going to get back in itself but it was completely beached,” Phillips told the Nantucket Current.
“We said we have to step up and try to help. Definitely, there was some adrenaline involved. One of our guests took off his shirt to go in, and I said I’m going, too.”
Phillips and her friend Ted Rock bravely entered the water to push the massive fish — which appeared bloody from its struggle — off the sandy shore.
They intentionally shoved the beast from its lower body to avoid being bit, but their efforts only got the great white so far.
That’s when Phillips courageously waded deeper and submerged most of her body — putting herself in a vulnerable position — to give the shark a final hefty liftoff.
The push did the trick and the maneater jetted off to deeper waters.
“Touching a great white? That’s not even something you put on a bucket list because it’s just so unbelievable,” she said.
The rescue was seemingly kismet — the family decided to make a rare visit to Low Beach that afternoon before making their flight home to California.
The family owns a home in Siasconset but typically heads to south shore beaches during their visit. They made the last-minute switch to show the area to their guests before the trip came to an end.
