A 100-pound sailboat jumped out of the water off the coast of Florida and stabbed a 73-year-old woman as fellow fishermen tried to bring it back.
Katherine Perkins of Arnold, Maryland, was injured after Sailboat struck her in the groin area with its beak on Tuesday, according to a report from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, TCPalm.com reported.
The attack happened as she stood in a boat while her two companions attempted to pull the fish onto a fishing line for a photo.
“The sailboat jumped out of the water and stabbed Katherine in the groin area as she stood next to the center console” of the fishing boat, the sheriff’s office said.
The incident happened about two miles off Stuart, Florida, on the state’s Atlantic coast, north of Palm Beach, the sheriff’s office report said.
Perkins’ companions – Louis Toth, 75, and Dominic Bellezza, 77 – applied pressure to her injury and she was taken to hospital for treatment. His condition has not been reported.
The woman told deputies that the attack happened so quickly that she had no time to react, according to the report from the sheriff’s office.
The sailfish is one of the fastest species of fish in the ocean. And just like the swordfish, they have elongated, pointed beaks.
Fish are almost always released, although Florida regulations allow anglers to catch one per day with a minimum length of 63 inches.