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Fisherman impaled by giant fish as it leapt
across boat
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A FISHERMAN is
recovering after being impaled on the bill of a 14ft blue marlin that leapt
over his boat during an international angling tournament off Bermuda. The 800lb (360kg) fish
hit Ian Card with such force that its 3ft spear went through his chest just
below his collarbone and knocked him into the sea. As the fish dived, forcing Mr Card under water, he was able to push
himself off the razor-sharp bill and swim to the surface. His father Alan, 58, the skipper of the commercial angling boat Challenger, said: “The fish was airborne going across the
full width of the boat and my son was standing about 8ft from the stern.
“It impaled him with its bill. In one motion, the fish flew across
the cockpit and took him out of the boat. He landed about 15ft away. He was
under water and had his arms wrapped round the fish as it was pushing him
under. “I lost sight of him for a few seconds. As a father looking at a son
who has just been impaled, that is a sight I will never forget.” Mr Card, 32,
surfaced 50ft behind the boat with blood pouring from a “fist-sized” wound in
his chest. Dennis Benevides, a family friend who was on the boat, called the
emergency services and stuffed a towel into the wound to stem the flow of
blood. Mr Card was operated on at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in
Bermuda, where doctors said he would have died had the bill struck him a few
centimetres on either side. The Cards had been taking part in the Sea Horse Anglers’ Club Bill
Fish Tournament and were in calm waters about 15 miles south of Bermuda.
Leslie Spanswick, strapped into a fishing chair at the stern of the boat,
hooked the fish at 11am on Saturday. A 14ft fish would normally take up to two hours to reel in, but this
marlin leapt over the boat after just ten minutes, while it was still strong. After it impaled Mr Card, the line was cut, allowing the fish to
escape. The surgeon who treated Mr Card, Christian Wilmsmeier, arrived on
the island from Germany only three weeks earlier. He said: “My home town is
far away from the sea and normally I do not operate on such injuries. I was
impressed by the dangerousness of such a fish.” Dan Jacobs, the organiser of the tournament, said: “People have been
hurt dealing with marlin, but it is very unusual for a fish to leap
completely out of the water from behind the boat and come right across it.
Ian is very lucky to be alive.” The Cards are among the most experienced marlin fishermen in the
world. They were the first to hook a marlin weighing more than 1,000lb in
Bermudian waters. Alan Card has hooked six of the ten largest blue marlin
caught off the island. The blue marlin, Makaira
nigricans, is a huge commercial
game fish that can weigh up to 1,800lb and grow to a length of 16ft (5m). |
