INSPIRATIONAL shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton yesterday urged the friends of a young bodyboarder killed this week never to lose their love of surfing.

“I heard about it (the shark attack). It might be some time, they’re still mourning over their friend,” Hamilton said yesterday.

“I’d say to them, `There’s no rush, take your time, do it when you’re ready. You have to get to where you feel good’.”

The 18-year-old Hawaiian surfer, pictured, was competing yesterday at the Drug Aware Pro, a world qualifying series event in Margaret River where sharks were spotted this week.

She wouldn’t talk about the attack by a tiger shark off Kauai in 2003 when she lost her arm, but Hamilton was prepared to say how surfing had helped her recover.

Peter Edmonds, a 16-year-old high-school student, died on Tuesday while bodyboarding off Lighthouse Beach near his northern New South Wales home of Ballina.

His friends will return to the surf for a memorial paddle-out this week, but they remain wary about surfing in the spot of the attack.

Hamilton, who has always lived by the water, said: “I think it’s a lot harder for them. Their friend is gone. I can feel their pain.

“I still get scared like anyone else. But I don’t think about sharks any more.”

(Source: Paul Weston, PerthNow)