Shark Story--Part Two

Guest Post—second installment by Diane Kane

THE ONE THAT DIDN’T GET AWAY

BY DIANE KANE

 As with the first fish, when it got near the surface, Captain Bob had me step back while he reached down with a grappling hook to pull the fish on board. This time was just a bit different. When Captain Bob leaned over the stern, he could hardly believe his eyes.  A very large dark shadow slowly approached the surface and he was face to teeth with…

“It’s a Shark!”  he screamed.

“Shark?” I questioned with disbelief. What will we do? I thought. Will we cut the line? I hoped. Heck no, we chased it! 

Captain Bob dashed to the bow to release the anchor.  He instructed Lollie to climb to the helm where she expertly maneuvered the craft backwards over two miles in circles, just like she knew what she was doing, even though she had never done it before in her life. As I stood transfixed in the middle of the deck with a small rod and reel in my hand and a shark at the end of the line, I looked around to find Captain Bob by my side with a harpoon in one hand as he set the drag on my reel with his other hand and told me to, “Just keep reeling!”

My jealous shipmates had mysteriously been transformed into enthusiastic supporters. Quickly discarding their so far fishless poles, they each took on more fruitful activities. My husband, Tom, took charge of the only camera on board. In all the excitement, he managed to get only one good shot. Jess kept time with his watch, counting off each minute, making me feel as though I was in labor. Scott was purposely pacing the deck and giving thanks that he had decided not to take a swim. Dominic was eager to get his hands on the rifle that was on board. 

But Captain Bob warned him, “We can’t shoot until we get him close enough to the boat to set the harpoon first. Sharks have no airbladder,” he explained. “If you shoot him, he’ll sink right to the bottom and we’ll never get him up.”