I'm not talkin' about pleasure boatin' or day sailin'. I'm talkin' about workin' for a livin'. I'm talkin' about sharkin'

Sam Quint....
Jason Quint.... Last Sunday the F/V Old Crow set out on an afternoon voyage from 44th Street in Avalon to the Grassy Sound area of North Wildwood. The day started out a little slow as we drifted along with the incoming tide. As we dodged the idiots on Waverunners, we were able to pull in a few “shorts”… For all you City Folks, “Shorts” are slang term for fish not yet the legal size to keep. They are otherwise known as “throwbacks”.

After a few hours of catching nothing but shorts and sunburn, we decided to call it a day. We set a northern course and started to steam back to port. Our steam was to be about a 30 minute cruise up the Inter Coastal Waterway winding through the back bays of Wildwood, Stone Harbor and finally end up at the home port of the Old Crow located on 44th Street in Avalon. The cruise went great. The 60 hp engine was strong. There were no flies around and I was one exhausted Captain.

The Old Crow was about 200 yards from the dock and I noticed about 20 people swimming in the canal. The canal is about 300 yards long and is shaped like a finger. It basically is a dead end. Anyway, the swimmers were about 150 yards away so I steered the boat the left in order to avoid them. As I veered to the left I heard a loud splash on the bow (front) of the Old Crow. It sounded like someone threw a huge rock into the water. As I looked up I was SHOCKED to see a large brown/silver type tail fin splashing around in the water. The fin then straightened out and swam over to the port (left) side of the boat. As it swam closer I could see a dorsal fin rise up to about 6 inches out of the water. I was in awe at how fast this fish was moving. The fish was 5-7 feet long. As the fish/BEAST passed us on the port (left) side, it disappeared into the water as quickly as it appeared. I had never seen anything like it.

I didn’t say anything to the people swimming as I am sure it would have freaked everyone out. I went along the left side of the canal and eventually docked the Old Crow. As I sit on my computer today and do some research, I now figured the fish was a 5-7 foot long Sandbar Shark (Brown Shark). The Sandbar Shark is common for the Atlantic Ocean and Back Bays. So, if you find yourself swimming in the back bays of Avalon, be on the lookout for the Sandbar Shark and tell him I said hello. I must catch this beast!
THIS IS WHAT I SAW
Click Here to Read About the Sandbar Shark