The Hammerhead Encounter

Fifty years ago this summer, Hollywood released a monster that was real. For that very special occasion, the creature in the movies was not a supernatural being out of the pages of a Victorian novel, nor was it a calculating alien from outer space. After all of the evil villains that ever were, and all the other worldly manifestations that became the sources of nightmares, Hollywood finally made a movie with a villain that was undeniably real, and therefore ultimately terrifying.

The movie Jaws was the portrayal of an entity that could very much be an episode in reality. Anyone who ever stood on a beach and looked out over an ocean knew that sharks were real and that some sharks were bigger than others. Everyone also knew that somewhere out in the great depths, a perfect eating machine was swimming, looking for food, and well-equipped with millions of years of refinement to be the most horrifying adversary reality could produce.

For anyone who was old enough to go to the movies in 1975, a beachfront vacation, a boat ride, or even a cruise ship voyage might never be the same again. As everyone fully understood, a version of Jaws could always be waiting to attack and savagely eat anyone in almost any waterside situation.

Living on the waterfront for the Marco Beach Boys and Girls has always been a way of life. Over the years, maritime adventures have always led to new and exciting sightings of many creatures from the deep. Once, a huge manta ray made an appearance and became a lingering phenomenon for about a month. On other occasions, pilot whales arrive unexpectedly and disappear just as quickly. Sperm whales have even ventured into the shallow Gulf as obvious misplaced denizens of the depths but sharks, for whatever reason, often appear during the warm water of summer.

Once during a summer sailing excursion, a large bull shark made an appearance near Keewaydin Island. The large predator was at least twenty feet in length and had a head and a mouth large enough to swallow an outboard engine. The bull shark appeared khaki in color, almost like a military vehicle, and the behavior of a summertime encounter suggested an intelligence well above that of a simple but powerful eating machine. This shark made a close pass in front of the boat before turning and cruising down the length of the 27-foot sailing vessel. The big bull then swam away for about twenty minutes, only to reappear and repeat the very same maneuver. This shark was clearly scouting, evaluating, and returning for more information. After the piercing dorsal and the lengthy tail fins broke the water for the second reconnaissance sortie, the particular Beach Boy at the helm of the sailboat cranked up the auxiliary engine and headed back to the dock. On the way back to the safety of the island, everyone on the boat was looking backward to see if the big bull was following.

The latest shark encounter began midmorning when two local sailboats were sailing side by side. The water depth was shallow near a bird nesting sanctuary and a series of sand bars when a large tarpon began to jump out of the water.

The big silver fish was quite a spectacle as it repeatedly sprang out and crashed back into the gulf. As the huge fish jumped between the sailing boats, there could be little doubt as to the urgency of the unusual behavior. After the silver flash of the shining scales had passed, but still attempting to tear away from the water at about forty-foot intervals, everyone on both boats saw that a very large predator was in hot pursuit. This shark was darker than the khaki military color. This shark was dark. When the unmistakable sighting and the behavior became obvious, and when everyone was watching the water that was clear as a swimming pool, the ticking seconds of the encounter seemed to slow down.

Many have said that during an accident, a traumatic event, or especially during a nightmare, everything begins to move in slow motion. When the tarpon first began to jump and flee the chasing shark, the big silver fish seemed to hang in the air. When it became clear the shark was chasing the tarpon, it also became obvious the shark was a hammerhead. The huge head was pushing aside the shallow water like a large and very fast boat, making a wake. The mounting wave of the big hammerhead was not only from the displacement of the shallow water, it was also because the dorsal and tail fins of the creature were also moving through the water at such a speed that it was like watching a torpedo on the loose in a submarine movie.

With every desperate jump from the tarpon the shark, in the seemingly slow motion, was gaining ground, and the displacement wake and wave of its movement was getting bigger as it was shortening the distance with every gaining action.

No one aboard the sailboats could speak until the tarpon was no longer jumping between the water and the air. After the flight and the last run of the big silver scales was abruptly finished, the pressing head wave of the hammerhead dropped off and became still water that was suddenly empty but very clear.

The entire hammerhead shark encounter lasted under a minute. From the first instant, the tarpon sprang from the Gulf to the final time, when the shark caught the prey, was truly an episode in reality and brutality. Jaws might have made a debut on the silver screen 50 years ago, but another very real monster might be alive, well, and lurking in the shallow waters not too far from home.