« LazerTag leads the way to combat competence | Main | Why won't they listen? »
August 04, 2006
Lions and tigers and marlins, oh my!
I always knew fishing seemed deceptively safe, anglers lulled by the heat of the sun and the sound of the water lapping at the sides of the boat, all the while those damned fish were planning and scheming, waiting to take their revenge.
When he saw a companion on his boat hook a giant fish during a sea angling contest, Ian Card was delighted.
Next second, the scene of triumph turned to horror - as the 14ft blue marlin leapt out of the water across the vessel and speared Mr Card through the chest with its spiked bill.
The impact of the 800lb fish knocked him overboard into the Atlantic off Bermuda. Then, with a thrash of its tail and with the 32-year-old still impaled and bleeding profusely, it dragged him underwater.
Terribly injured, he somehow stayed conscious as he struggled to pull himself free of the marlin's 3ft razor-sharp spike before he drowned. Finally, he wrenched himself away and was rescued by his companions on the boat - who included his 58-year-old father Alan.
Yesterday, he told how his son surfaced with blood pumping from his wound. 'He put his hand up to his chest and his fingers disappeared,' he said. 'He had a wound about as big as your fist.'
[...]
But doctors told him that if the marlin's spike had struck a fraction of an inch higher, it would have severed an artery and killed him.
[...]
'It was airborne going across the full width of the boat and Ian just happened to be in the way. All in one motion, the fish flew across the cockpit, impaled him with its bill and took him out of the boat.
'He landed in the water about 15ft away and the marlin was on top of him.
'He was underwater and he had his arms wrapped round the fish and the fish was pushing him under. I lost sight of him for a few seconds. That's a sight I'll never forget. I knew there was no good going to come out of it.' But Mr Card eventually surfaced 50ft behind the boat. ...
Family friend Dennis Benevides radioed emergency services and stuffed a towel into the wound to staunch the flow of blood as the vessel sped for the shore.
Incidence of persons impaled by marlins leaping over the back of the couch: Zero.
Looks like I'm safe.
Posted by Mike Lief at August 4, 2006 09:02 AM
| TrackBack
Comments
It would be worth it just to have the story to tell.
Posted by: gst at August 6, 2006 09:42 AM