NASSAU, Bahamas – Bahamian International Motivational Speaker and Talk Show host Spence Finlayson is currently appearing on National Geographic SHARKFEST TV Documentary about the fatal shark attack that killed Jordan Lindsey from Torrance, California.
Finalyson was approached by Alice Borelli, a producer from National Geographic TV to appear in the documentary and give his local views on the event.
Ms. Borelli said she discovered Finlayson on the internet and YouTube and he appeared to be very personable, intelligent and had a powerful speaking voice.
So the film crew came to Nassau and took Finlayson out to the spot where the tragic incident happen and they docked for sometime as the film crew did their thing.
Spence Finlayson shares the approximate timeline and a story of what actually happen on that fateful day off Rose Island. He spent the entire day with the film crew from National Geographic TV giving his views on what had transpired.
Jordan Lindsey was on a vacation with her parents, her brothers and her girlfriend. The family were keen to visit Rose Island and although it seemed all places to sail there were booked up, they were able to squeeze on the boat at the last minute. They felt lucky to do so at the time.
Rose Island is known as a great place to visit because of its beautiful sands, no roads, secluded island feel. It’s also known for its coral reefs that surround it, which makes for great snorkeling experiences. There are also pigs there that you can feed and swim with.
The day was apparently a typical Bahamian day – sunny, clear skies, clear water, gentle breeze.
The family sailed over to Rose Island and spent some time appreciating the sites, they also petted some of the pigs.
In the afternoon Jordan and her mother decided to take a small boat to go snorkeling. They were thought to be swimming over the Coral where you can see fish in about 10 feet of water. They were no doubt just swimming back and forth enjoying looking into the water below.
They had been swimming for about 45 mins (around 2pm), just a few feet away from each other when this dream becomes a nightmare
Jordan suddenly yells for her mother ‘mom!’ Her mother turns and sees what she thinks are dolphins in the water surrounding Jordan. Jordan then screams in terror as a shark bites into her.
Jordan’s mother can see her daughter is in trouble and tries to reach her and encourages Jordan to swim to her and to safety. “Swim to me”.
Jordan attempts to swim to her mother, but her mother can see she couldn’t move well. It is then her mother realizes the shark has taken Jordan’s right arm. Incredibly Jordan manages to get through the water to her mother but at that moment a second shark takes Jordan’s left leg.
Jordan’s mother starts pulling her daughter away to safety. They’re swimming slowly and Jordan said, ‘Mom, there’s another shark coming,’ and then it just hit, the second shark hit again on her lower leg and buttock and that was the last thing Jordan said. With all her strength, Jordan’s mother fights the sharks off, punching them away.
She then drags Jordan to a nearby rock where they can get out of the water out of the water.
The tour boat sails over and takes Jordan and her mother to the main Island, which is at least 25 mins away where there was an ambulance waiting to meet them.
Jordan was rushed to the nearest hospital, but on arrival she was pronounced dead.
Bahamian authorities stated that they believed the attack involved three tiger sharks. This is perhaps because a tourist who was also on the tour captured a photograph of a shark in the water, which some believed showed a Tiger Shark. But perhaps it is also because of the ferocity of the attack which is what is expected of Tiger sharks.
This was the first fatality from a shark attack in the Bahamas in over a decade.
