He had his friend.
He had a boogie-board strap.
And he tried to stop the bleeding.
Newcomb Hollow Was Closed
After Medici's death, Wellfleet beaches were closed to swimming.
The National Park Service urged people using Cape Cod waters to pay attention to posted advisories and recommended precautions such as avoiding seals, staying close to shore where possible, recreating in groups and avoiding isolated swimming.
But there is an uncomfortable truth behind every shark-safety recommendation.
Risk can be reduced.
It cannot be reduced to zero while someone remains in the ocean.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy states that point plainly: the only way to completely eliminate the risk of a shark encounter is to remain on shore.
For a region built partly around beaches and ocean recreation, that is not a satisfying answer.
But nature does not guarantee satisfying answers.
The Shark Was Not an Invader
There is another temptation after an event like Medici's death.
It is easy to imagine the shark as something that had entered human territory.
Ecologically, the opposite is closer to reality.
Humans were entering the shark's environment.
White sharks are native marine predators.
Their role in the ecosystem did not begin when beachgoers started noticing them.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy describes white sharks as apex predators that play an important role in healthy marine ecosystems.
That does not make Medici's death less tragic.
Nor does it mean people should ignore the danger.
It simply changes the framing.
The challenge is not how to defeat a monster.
It is how humans can safely share a coastal environment with a large predator.
That question has become increasingly important on Cape Cod.
A Beach Can Look Empty While Something Is Beneath You
Perhaps that is what makes the Newcomb Hollow attack so difficult to forget.
Afterward, photographs showed an ordinary Cape Cod beach.
Sand.
Atlantic surf.
People standing near the water.
Nothing visible offshore explains what had just happened.
That is one of the psychological difficulties of shark risk.
Humans judge danger visually.
If we see flames, we understand fire.
If we see storm clouds, we understand approaching weather.
If we see an aggressive animal on land, we can track where it is moving.
The ocean hides almost everything beneath its surface.
A large shark can be nearby without a swimmer knowing.
A predator can accelerate from deeper water toward the surface.
The first visible evidence may be a splash.
That afternoon, the splash was enormous.
The Man Who Swam Toward the Blood
There is another part of the story that deserves to be remembered alongside the shark.
Isaac Rocha saw his friend disappear.
He saw blood.
He saw part of the animal.
Then he swam toward Medici.
Rocha later described reaching him and dragging him approximately 35 to 40 yards back toward shore.
He was so exhausted when he arrived that he collapsed while still trying to carry his friend.
Then he took the boogie-board strap and attempted to control the bleeding.
Other strangers joined the effort.
People carried Medici.
People called emergency services.
People performed CPR.