Cricket II to Continue Hunting Sharks

We have been following the fate of the Cricket Two over the past year.

Our concern was this notorious shark killing vessel, once put up for auction, might end up in the hands of someone who saw the media potential of it as clearly as we did...for the promotion and continuation of east coast shark kills.

That event happened this week as new owner Jon Dodd, 47, a regular at shark fishing tournaments in Montauk, said he plans bring this vessel back regularly for shark tournaments.

$51,000 bought Mr.Dodd the finest pro shark fishing media machine money can buy on the east coast. Our attempts to purchase this vessel outside of the auction failed - even though a preemptive offer of $150,000 was sent to the wife of Frank Mundus.

Complete story here

Frank Mundus' Shark Boat - $51,000 Final

With your "average" pro shark PSA running upwards to $250,000 - including an A list star, director, set time, CGI, we're more than disappointed to see the Cricket Two sail off into the sunset for a mere $51,000.

This vessel to the pro shark world would have been media slam dunk. To any commercial shark diving operator even more so.

Mundus, the real life character to Quint from Jaws and shark fishing advocate landed untold numbers of sharks over his 60 years of fishing, many weighing between 1,000 and 4,500 pounds, the latter a world record for a Great White.

These animals were killed for the express purpose of weigh ins and nothing more. Having the Cricket Two as pro shark media platform at $51,000 would have been nice, but it was not to be.

To quote "Quint" from Jaws as the Cricket Two moves on to a private owner in New York - "Fare well and adieu, to you fair Spanish ladies..."

The Cricket Two - 50K Final Bid?

When word came out notorious shark killer Frank Mundus estate was to sell the Cricket Two, as media folks, we became very interested.

As a pro shark media platform this vessels sordid shark history and back story would have been be a slam dunk. The vessel and captain that inspired the character Quint from Jaws made the acquisition of this vessel for shark conservation efforts more than an idea.

That's when things went wrong for us. The vessel went on the auction block with final bid numbers as high as 300K being tossed around by the media. We wanted nothing to do with that and made a preemptive offer in December of slightly more than 150K to the auctioneer via the Mundus estate.

We were turned down. Then a few weeks later out of the blue asked again if we wanted to get involved in the auction for the Cricket Two. The answer from our side was no, but was the estate looking for a preemptive buy out? No.

The auction for the Cricket Two is officially over. The winning bid $50,000. Less than the minimum 100K wanted by the Mundus estate. Today, as we feared, locals in the region are discussing a series of memorial shark fishing tournaments to raise the other $50,000 for the Cricket Two.

It would seem shark conservation will take a back seat to the Mundus legend - all for the lack of imagination of one auction house and the Mundus estate.

The offer was valid. Greed got in the way of acquiring the Cricket Two.

What To Do With The Cricket Two?

With the death of Frank Mundus-shark killer extraordinaire-the fate of his vessel remains undecided as it goes up for auction next year.

We have seen some amusing posts suggesting a great fire, or explosion to render this notorious vessel to the cold hellish depths of Davy Jones...perhaps so old Frank could enjoy himself killing sharks once again. But we digress.

There's one solid answer to the fate of the Cricket Two, and that is to make her a commercial shark diving and research vessel. As a media tool few vessels carry the instant recognition factor of the Cricket Two. As a way of pushing the shark conservation message forward to later generations of commercial grade shark killers-we know of no better vessel or platform.

Imagine for a moment having the Cricket Two "blockade" the ongoing Martha's Vineyard Monster Shark Tournament?

It will take a smart media team, cool messaging, and of course about 300k to pry this vessel away from those who would use her to either hunt for sharks or send her to the bottom. If this vessel ends up in the hands of a savvy pro shark hunter the balance of media attention would go there...and it's a real a possibility as you could imagine.

Editors Note: For a production company this vessel could be, with the right show concept,the next Shark Week vehicle. Anyone interested should give us a call we have a *few* ideas.

Frank Mundus-Shark Killer-Boat?

Frank Mundus world famous shark killer passed away this month. What made Frank unique was his absolutely ego driven world view towards sharks that did not change-even when the worlds view and perception of sharks was rapidly changing around him.

His notorious shark fishing vessel the Cricket 2's future is now uncertain as it was hauled from the waters this week for winter storage.

We have a proposal to old Franks heirs, assigns, and others:

1. Donate the vessel to shark research

2. Donate the vessel to commercial shark diving

3. Donate the vessel to a hybrid org that does both off the East Coast or in the Bahamas.

The commercial vision for the Cricket 2 is only limited by desire. The fact this vessel would make money in the charter business is a given. Making that money count for the many hundreds of adult, breeding aged whites and Tigers Frank put away over the years would do a lot to help Frank "settle in" to wherever his final resting place may or may not be.

Frank Mundus-Shark Killer- R.I.P

One of the most reviled characters to ever grace the world of sharks-Frank Mundus- is dead this week.

A local legend, shark hunter, and some say the background character of "Quint" from "Jaws". His was a career that moved through the shark hysteria of the 70's and into the new world of shark conservation, all without changing, or adapting to the new paradigm of sharks:

They called him the Monster Man. His business was the stuff of tall tales. Gear for the day might include a harpoon, buckets of blood and the patience to wait for a shark to come along and take a bite.

"I was the pioneer of sport fishing for sharks," Frank Mundus, a legendary shark hunter, said in his trademark blunt style on his Web site.

The Monster Man's own words sum up perfectly a life said to have inspired the movie "Jaws" and its roguish Captain Quint, played by the late Robert Shaw. Mundus died Wednesday of complications from a heart attack suffered Sept. 6, just after he returned to his Hawaii home from a fishing trip in Montauk. He was 82.