A SHARK STORY

Hokitika Guardian, 21 September 1937, Page 5

A SHARK STORY

A DINGHY DRAWN. FOR OVER 24 HOURS. (United Press Association —By Electric T elegra ph—Copyright). LONDON, September gd. How shark-hunters who harpooned a gigantic basking shark in the birth Clyde, were dragged for twenty-four hours in a dinghy, covering, it is estimated, a distance of one hundred miles, is related by the party, which had been cruising for a fortnight in the converted Admiralty patrol boat ■‘Myrtle.”

In the hope of securing u basking shark, so as to enable an analysis to he made with a view to discovering whether a Scottish industry might be established for the distillation of shark liver oil, the hunters, in the foieimoii, harpooned from a. dinghy a shaik that was over thirty feet long, it was estimated to weigh ten tons.

Dragging the dinghy, the shark set olf at a tremendous speed, it was zigzagging and circling repeatedly. It frequently endangered the occupants of the dinghy.

The “Myrtle” followed the dinghy closely. The battle was continued in brilliant moonlight until the cm wit, which saw the leviathan still struggling for its life.

A tire tlu-n broke out aboard the Myrtle, and, when :'t was extinguished the dinghy had disappeared.

The ••Myrtle” fi uitlessly searched for the boat, also giving a warning for shipping to look out for ic Three aeroplanes and a lifeboat then joined m the .search. Eventually, at midday, the lifeboat found the dinghy. 1 ho shark had become exhausted The crew of the dinghy refused a passing vessel’s offer to take Them off. as this meant that they would have to abandon their prize. The crew of the dinghy then decided to buoy the shark, as neither the the dinghy nor the lifeboat was abb 1 to tow it. The “Myrtle’’ later went out to recover the shark. The hunters included Doctor Seccombe Hett, who attended Queen Mary in 1929.