Mandurah man's leg ripped apart in freak boating accident

A Dawesville man says he is lucky to be alive after his leg was ripped apart in a freak Avon Descent training accident.

WARNING DISTRESSING IMAGE BELOW

Tim Stubenrauch has undergone seven blood transfusions and three leg operations since his boat flipped him into the propeller in Bridgetown last month.

"I just pulled my leg up and it was just dangling by the femur," he said.

"Then there was nothing else, it was totally gone."

The father-of-three says he immediately thought of his late friend, Mandurah surfer Ben Gerring who died after being attacked by a shark.

"That was the first thought that came into my mind, I thought 'Gee two Mandurah boys can't go down the same path'," he said.

With his leg bone shattered, Mr Stubenrauch's mates used oars as a splint and carried him in a dingy up a hill, through paddocks and into a four-wheel-drive.

The Dawesville man was then flown to Royal Perth Hospital where he suffered a cardiac arrest.

The father-of-three has praised the work of doctors and his friends for keeping him alive.

Now one month on, Mr Stubenrauch says he still hopes to be at the starting line for this Saturday's Avon Descent race.

"I'm going to grab this new life that I've got by the horns," he said.