The West Hollywood man is recovering at Maui Memorial Medical Center from a deep gash in his left calf and a smaller wound in his thigh. He said he was floating on his back when the shark struck. "It hit my leg really hard and when I turned I saw this big gray thing" swimming away, Finley said today from his hospital bed.

He didn't get a good look at the predator and was unable to guess the size or species of the shark. The animal clamped onto his leg and immediately released its grip without removing much tissue, Finley said.

He managed to swim back to shore before being helped by two resort employees.

Finley arrived on Maui last Friday and is expected to catch a flight home at the end of week following additional surgery tomorrow.

As a result of the shark attack, two miles of Wailea shoreline were closed to swimmers yesterday. Officials this afternoon said an air reconnaissance conducted this morning to survey the area where the attack occurred did not yield a shark sighting. Department of Land and Natural Resources and Maui County Ocean safety officers decided to reopen Wailea Beach on the south side of Maui at noon, a news release said.

An average of three to five shark attacks occur annually in the Islands. The most recent previous shark bite in Hawai'i was Aug. 28, when a 15-year-old bodysurfer was nipped on the foot near the Crouching Lion restaurant in Ka'a'awa.

The most recent previous shark incident on Maui occurred May 7, when a woman was bitten while snorkeling at Keawakapu Beach.

Other encounters between sharks and humans this year include: