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Fisherman impaled by giant fish as it leapt across boat
The Times of London ^ | August 4, 2006 | Simon de Bruxelles

Posted on 08/05/2006 4:43:09 AM PDT by mcg2000

Fisherman impaled by giant fish as it leapt across boat

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).


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: fearnofish; fishing; sea; sport
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To: mcg2000

Catching that fish just wasn't it the cards.

The fish was in the card though.


21 posted on 08/05/2006 6:05:10 AM PDT by Pylon (Remember boys, flies spread disease, so keep yours closed.)
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To: Geritol
After it impaled Mr Card, the line was cut, allowing the fish to escape

Yep.
22 posted on 08/05/2006 6:09:54 AM PDT by smug (Tanstaafl)
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To: mcg2000
WOW! We have a lot of fish stores to tell but nothing like that. I caught a 50 lb fish (can't remember what kind) that was being brought on board after being gaffed. It jumped off the gaff and slapped me down flat. It left a fish shaped bruise from my chest diagonally down my body to my thigh. I also know a woman who was pulled over by a barracuda and couldn't get out of her fishing harness, she was pulled way down deep and almost drowned. Fishing is fun. ;9/
23 posted on 08/05/2006 6:17:27 AM PDT by Ditter
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To: Ditter

Fishing: the newest "extreme" sport.


24 posted on 08/05/2006 6:27:21 AM PDT by Charles Martel
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To: mcg2000

Touche!


25 posted on 08/05/2006 6:28:45 AM PDT by Rippin
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To: djf

understatement?

After the bombing of Hiroshima, the Japanese government claimed that it received some fire bombs. The author of the book claimed it was an understatement that would have made a Brit envious.


26 posted on 08/05/2006 6:30:55 AM PDT by Loud Mime ("Countdown": A documentary about Keith Olbermann's dwindling IQ.....)
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To: Charles Martel

We aren't talking about sitting on the bank and fishing in the pond here. Off shore fishing IS an extreme sport.


27 posted on 08/05/2006 6:35:16 AM PDT by Ditter
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To: D-fendr

"Don't bring a fish hook to a marlin fight."

ROFLMAO! Good one. :)


28 posted on 08/05/2006 6:35:21 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
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To: Larry Lucido

Pinging this so my husband can read...


29 posted on 08/05/2006 6:36:20 AM PDT by Katya (Homo Nosce Te Ipsum)
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To: mcg2000
"His father Alan, 58, the skipper of the commercial angling boat USS Minnow..." Obviously problems at sea run in this family. ;)
30 posted on 08/05/2006 6:41:14 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
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To: mcg2000

I heard about this a few days ago from a man who was on the boat when it happened. He said it was going to make the newspapers, and he obviously was right.


31 posted on 08/05/2006 6:45:38 AM PDT by Dog Gone
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To: mcg2000

"Not in my house," the fish reportedly said.


32 posted on 08/05/2006 6:49:07 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: mcg2000
The Cards are among the most experienced marlin fishermen in the world.

This was not an accident.

It was a counterattack.

33 posted on 08/05/2006 6:53:06 AM PDT by HIDEK6
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To: mcg2000

Huh, a new take on the man bites dog story.


34 posted on 08/05/2006 6:55:19 AM PDT by strange1 ("Show the enemy harm so he shall not advance" Sun Tzu The Art of War)
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To: mcg2000
Wasn't there a movie with one of the old Hollywood crowd (Milton Berle/Sid Caesar) impaled by such a fish? He told a long story before being put under to remove the thing.
35 posted on 08/05/2006 7:05:08 AM PDT by dersepp (I Am A Militia Of One)
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To: mcg2000
[ 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. ]

Razor sharp???... not hardly.. more like a screw driver.. except much bigger..
Remember this next time you make silly faces at the fish..
They don't like it..

36 posted on 08/05/2006 7:09:38 AM PDT by hosepipe (CAUTION: This propaganda is laced with hyperbole..)
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To: yankeedame
Until he shows them the scar. Damn, I'm surprised that the guy was able to escape, he had to have been in shock.

No body, but no body is gonna believe this guy!

37 posted on 08/05/2006 7:19:49 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Sophomore dies in kiln explosion? Oh My God! I just talked to her last week...)
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To: mcg2000

I nearly got the same thing when I hooked my 2nd sailfish.
Had the thing near the stern when he made a surging leap from behind and nearly speared me as he jumped out of the water at me. I jumped out of the way and watched him slide down the companionway, scared the pooh out of me.


38 posted on 08/05/2006 7:39:19 AM PDT by Joe Boucher (an enemy of islam)
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To: Ditter
"I also know a woman who was pulled over by a barracuda"

The cops used to drive Furys. I didn't know they had Barracudas too!
39 posted on 08/05/2006 7:39:26 AM PDT by Nik Naym
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To: Nik Naym
Hummm..... we never caught a fury. Can ya eat 'em? ....... (;9)
40 posted on 08/05/2006 8:51:20 AM PDT by Ditter
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