In August 1981, a day on the water near Ormond Beach, Florida turned into a fight for survival for 21-year-old Tamara Ennis and her three friends.
Caught in a sudden storm, their 17-foot catamaran flipped three miles from shore, leaving them clinging to a pontoon with no life jackets in shark-infested waters. When the Coast Guard passed without seeing them, panic set in.
At dawn, Tamara — a strong swimmer — urged the group to try swimming to shore. But just an hour in, 19-year-old Christy Wapniarski was attacked and killed by a shark, her body never recovered.
Tamara kept swimming alone for hours, refusing to give up even when a shark bumped into her. Battling currents and fear, she finally reached the shore and alerted rescuers. Randy and Daniel were later found alive.
Tamara says surviving the ordeal changed her forever: “Dying wasn’t an option — I focused on every minute, every breath, and never gave in to fear.”