Captain Shark-Killer 



85 



Another outstanding shark-hunter was a remarkable old man named John 

 Smith. Grav-haired with a flowing white beard, he was 75 years old, didn't 

 have a tooth in his head, sailed the smallest boat in our shark-catching fleet— 

 and caught the biggest sharks. 



John knew every rock and shoal within 50 miles of the island, and he rarely 

 came in without a shark. One day, though, he moored his 18-foot boat at our 

 wharf, and, walking straight and tall as he always did, strode up to me. 



Captain Young caught this Hammerhead shark 

 (Sphyrna zygaena) during his shark-catching 

 days in the Virgin Islands. The Hammerhead was 

 torn by another shark while it was fast in the 

 net. From Shark! Shark! 



"Boss," he said, "there's a big shark hooked out there, but I can't lift him 

 into my boat. Will you come and help me?" 



I was surprised to hear an appeal for help coming from him. But I hopped 

 aboard our biggest boat, the 40-foot Venus, and we set out for the net, which 

 was not far from shore. A large shark was thrashing about in the net. Not until 

 we starting under-running the net, though, did I realize how large the shark was. 



Alone in his 18-foot boat, John Smith had been struggling with a 990-pound 

 Tiger shark 16 feet long! 



On the leeward side of Tortola was a strait we called The Gut, which sepa- 

 rated Tortola from Beef Island. While standing on a bluff overlooking The Gut 



