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Sean
Paxton (top), Mako (middle), Frank Mundus & Brooks Paxton (bottom) |
On
July 12, one day after arriving driving from Florida to Montauk
(our third trip), the crew assembles to make a test run. Of course,
we'll be playing with the sharks while we're at it. This marks several
milestones including the first shark fishing and research expedition
of the Cricket II back in Frank's ownership after many years, the
first of the the 2007 season and the first one shot for the series.
It's also the first time we'll be on the boat with fishing rods
and chum instead of hammers and paintbrushes. Making the trip was:
Captain for the summer, Tommy Hoffman and mate, Tommy 'Gavin' Hoffman
Jr., Frank Mundus, The Paxton Brothers and the owner of the largest
'JAWS' memorabilia collection, Chris Kiszka and his father. Although,
we didn't have the dragon sail or side pulpits on YET, conditions
looked perfect and and the anticipation was high. |
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Everyone
works to prepare by stripping and replacing line, making leaders
and final preparations to other gear and the boat before we arrive
at the day's hunting grounds. |
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The
sequence below is of the first ladle of 'monster mash' being dispensed
by the Monster Man himself. The chum slick is started and we're
officially in business. |
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The
Master at work. |
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A
big first for me (below) and a true honor. |
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Balloon
float (above) and Brooks slings some chum (below) before jumping
on the stick and landing the biggest blue shark of the day which
was tagged and released. No still pics of that one since we were
busy doing the catching, the tagging and the filming with the rest
of the crew. |
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We've
had our fair share so Chris gets the stick. We'll keep busy filming,
photographing and tagging our guests. |
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Tag,
You're It! The first shark of the year is a blue shark successfully
documented and released. |
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The
second blue shark of the day (a male) had a tag in it ,which we
retrieved and replaced with fresh Nat'l Marine Fisheries Service
tag. |
Most
of the crew and guests grab a little catnap on the way in. All-in-all,
everything worked well from top to bottom and we got to play with
the sharks. The first public charter is in just a few days so our
minds are a little more at ease after this day. |
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A
successful mission completed. This was a big day for the three of
us on a lot of levels. |
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Frank
(above) with a card and gift from Mom & Dad. After that, we
had to go to John's for some real ice cream. |
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The
crew unwinds with a hot meal and a cold drink. As usual, after a
day at sea, we'll have no problem sleeping tonight. Below -- taking
advantage of some downtime to dump and edit footage. We're still
at the Snug Harbor Motel & Marina while we wait for our travel
trailer to arrive in town. That's a whole other story. |
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Link
to Thanks |
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