Crocodile – 1, Sunfish sailor – 0

A South Florida man is grateful to be alive after being bitten by a crocodile on March 10. Speaking to Local 10 News from his hospital bed, the 68-year-old Rodrigo Constain was grateful to be alive.

It happened just before 5:00 pm near Flamingo Marina inside Everglades National Park at the southern tip of the Florida peninsula. He had just gone out on his Sunfish sailboat, but when it capsized, he felt something grab onto his leg while he was in the water.

“I felt the nose, and I grabbed on to it to pull apart (its jaws), but he opened his mouth by himself,” said Constain who then used the boat to shield him as he dragged it back towards the dock where his wife and park rangers helped tend to his wounds.

Despite the ordeal, Constain said it won’t stop him from going out on the water again. “I’m not afraid because when you have God with you, you are not afraid,” he said.