Bahamas Warn shark mayday sos

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Bahamas Warn shark mayday sos

DAYTONA BEACH -- John Hinton, a businessman known to local television viewers as the star of commercials promoting his John's Appliance City stores, survived a boating accident in Bahamas Warn shark mayday sos he Bahamas that left him with propeller cuts to his neck, head and right arm, family and friends said Tuesday.

Hinton narrowly escaped severing an artery in his neck and suffered severe injuries to his right arm in the accident, which took place Saturday in the Bahamas where he was vacationing with family and friends. His wife, Darlene, called her husband's survival "a miracle."

In a telephone interview Tuesday from his home in Ponce Inlet where he is recovering, Hinton said he decided to go spearfishing about 3 p.m. Saturday off his 30-foot Contender with Chris Gerkin, the boyfriend of his daughter Kelsey Hinton, 22.

But Hinton's wife, who is not experienced at piloting a boat, didn't know he dove into the water and hadn't put the boat's gears in neutral.

Swells sucked Hinton, 58, underneath the boat, and he smacked into the boat's propeller.

Darlene said she felt the impact immediately.

"I felt the hit on the steering wheel that I'll never forget, and I said 'Oh my god, what was that?' " Darlene Hinton said. "And about that time he popped up screaming."

Hinton had seen 6- and 8-foot sharks while fishing the day before, and knew his blood would attract them, so he swam to get back onboard, one-handed, as fast as he could, with help from Gerkin, a Daytona Beach emergency medical technician.

Once on the boat, Hinton's gruesome injuries became apparent: the propeller sliced a 5-inch gash in his neck, barely missing an artery, and inflicted cuts that required stitches on his head. But the worst damage was to his right arm. The boat's propeller sliced through his elbow down to the bone marrow.

"It was like a nightmare," Hinton said. "We're on an outer island and bones were sticking out of the suit."

Hinton never lost consciousness during the ordeal, but was "white as a sheet" while on the boat, Darlene Hinton said.

The 30-minute ride from the open water to the island where the family's vacation home is located allowed the Hinton family time to call for help. Many people from the island, Scotland Cay, were waiting for John Hinton when he arrived, including two retired doctors. They bandaged him up as best they could before a resident volunteered to fly Hinton the hour to the nearest American hospital, in Fort Pierce.

"John, God bless him -- he was hit by the propeller and runs into retired doctors," said J.R. Roden, general sales manager for John's Appliance City's four stores. "What are the odds?"

An ambulance was waiting when the plane got to the airport in Fort Pierce and took Hinton to the hospital, where an orthopedic surgeon quickly performed surgery on him.

The hospital in Fort Pierce released Hinton on Tuesday morning after carefully  Bahamas Warn shark mayday sos monitoring the arm for infection because bone had been exposed to saltwater. A doctor there told him his elbow probably won't ever be the same -- it's still missing some pieces of bone -- but the doctor said a specialist here might be able to restore more of its use. The Hintons are still searching for an elbow specialist.

"My wife was in tears -- she was just horrified," Hinton said. "I kept telling her, 'It was my fault, not yours.' She was trying to help out. She did the best she could. But of course the kids were horrified."

The couple's daughter Ashley Beck, 17, also was on the boat.

Hinton has owned his business for 38 years. His television commercials feature him performing stunts such as bungee jumping or mimicking scenes from famous movies. The ads have made him a local celebrity.

"The first couple of times that people asked for an autograph, I thought they were kidding, " Hinton told The News-Journal in December.

Dennis Hall, co-owner of Daytona Beach-based Hall Construction, went to Mainland High School with Hinton. They are still in touch and do business together. Hall buys appliances from Hinton's stores for apartment complexes the company builds. An avid fisherman, he and Hinton have shared fishing spots.

"He's a character," said Hall, 58. "He's a very good businessman but he is a very nice guy, very outgoing and entertaining. That is his personality."

Darlene Hinton said she's had trouble sleeping since the accident, but is happy that her husband survived. Had the propeller hit his neck just a fraction of an inch differently, or his spine, his prognosis could easily be more grim.

"It's just a miracle, it's a miracle," Darlene Hinton said. "Even in the (operating room), the doctors kept coming out saying this is just awesome, it's just unbelievable." read more

(RTTNews) - As a measure to protect sharks, Bahamas Warn shark mayday sos the tiny island nation of Bahamas has banned catching the killer fish in its waters and prohibited the sale, import and export of shark products.

The ban came into force on Tuesday after it was approved by Agriculture Minister Larry Cartwright.
Under a new law, those who venture out in the 630,000 square kilometer-wide national territorial waters for fishing shark will be fined $5,000.
The Atlantic Ocean archipelago is the fourth country to ban Bahamas Warn shark mayday sos shark fishing after Honduras, the Maldives and Palau. Environmentalists estimate that about 73 million sharks are killed each year to cater to high demand for its fins in Chinese cuisine.
Neil McKinney, President of the Bahamas National Trust, told reporters that sharks played an "extremely important" role in balancing the ecosystem. Bahamas Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette said the ban would not affect the country's relations with China, especially in trade.
Shark-diving adds $80 million a year in revenue to the country famous for its location of shooting for the epic movie series, Jaws.read more about Bahamas Warn shark mayday sos

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