Jimmy Buffett Faced a Thrashing Shark While Battling Cancer, Pal Carl Hiaasen Recalled
Author and friend Carl Hiaasen recently recalled how despite his cancer diagnosis, nothing would get singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett down – not even a wild shark.
Buffett died at age 76 from a rare form of skin cancer. He was receiving treatment for Merkel cell carcinoma for about four years, but still toured and went fishing with friends. Hiaasen recounted a 2022 fishing trip with Buffett where he came face to face with a large lemon shark. And Buffett was determined to land the big fish.
Jimmy Buffett insisted on landing the shark
Hiaasen recalled how Buffett’s doctors told him to take it easy. But the singer couldn’t resist a fishing excursion.
“I was with Jimmy in the Bahamas in October of 2022,” Hiaasen told People. “He was supposed to take it easy although he didn’t know what that meant. He was fishing when a large lemon shark was heading for him. He had a drone up because he wanted a video of this experience. He was so excited because he wanted to put it on stage while he was performing during his next tour when he performed his song ‘Fins.’”
“The shark was really close but Jimmy was so excited,” he continued. “He was planning for where this video would go in his show. There was no way to slow him down!”
He also went surfing, Carl Hiaasen Recalled
During the same fishing trip, Buffett also insisted on surfing. “He just got up and disappeared even though he was told to take it easy,” Hiaasen recounted. “We couldn’t see him and were trying because we wanted to know where he went. After five or more minutes, he came back, hopped off, and was as happy as can be.”
“I truly thought he could beat this because he had such a phenomenal attitude,” he remarked. “This is so hard for me to accept or talk about.”
Hiaasen wrote a tribute to his friend on Instagram, recalling Buffett’s fun-loving nature. “Nobody had more pure fun in life, or worked harder to share it with others. He lived true to his songs, and he was writing with joy until the end, tweaking the final cuts on a new album. Jimmy had one gear: moving at the speed of light, even in flip-flops. He was, literally and exuberantly, all over the map,” he shared.
Adding, “I’d like to think that somewhere is a pristine stretch of Caribbean beach where we still might find – propped against a palm tree — a fly rod and a Martin guitar. And, riding the waves, a familiar bionic pirate on a long board, grinning about all the cool s*** he got away with.”
What kind of cancer did Jimmy Buffett have?
Buffett had Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare but deadly form of skin cancer. The Mayo Clinic characterizes it as a flesh-colored or bluish-red nodule, often on your face, head or neck. Merkel cell carcinoma is also called neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin.”
Merkel cell carcinoma is “40 times more rare than melanoma” and “three to five times more likely to be deadly than melanoma,” according to The Skin Cancer Foundation.
