Jaws at 50: My Real-Life Encounters with Sharks (and a Mechanical One!)

One of the recent movie ads announced the 50th anniversary of the movie Jaws. Wow! I guess it really has been 50 years. I remember seeing the movie like it was yesterday, as they say. I was in high school and had just gotten my scuba diving certification. I was headed for a summer science camp on the Big Island of Hawaii, where I would be diving for the first time in the ocean!

I went to see it with a good friend, and you could feel the tension from the audience in the theater. However, when the great white shark’s (Carcharodon carcharias) behavior became somewhat ridiculous, I started laughing—apparently too loudly—because people around me shushed me! Yes, I loved the suspense and seeing the shark, but the behavior was not very realistic. At the time, I was planning on studying marine biology at Florida State University. I quieted my chuckling, and I was allowed to stay to the end of the movie.

The next three Jaws movies became even more ridiculous. I’ve always particularly enjoyed the shark jumping up and grabbing the helicopter out of the sky.

A Close Call with a Tiger Shark

However, I could have had a claim to fame in the third movie! If you recall, the opening scene features the shark swimming through a dive class. The dive club at FSU was actually invited to do that scene. The movie folks had planned to drag a tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) up to Alligator Alley by its tail from St. Petersburg and then release it among us divers. The thought of being around an angry tiger shark did not appeal to any of us. Tigers don’t mind biting people! Alas, my big screen debut and, perhaps, demise, was not meant to be.

I did have one more “shark event” with FSU and the dive club. One of the members had a personal submersible that no longer functioned. As an entry into the homecoming parade, we created a big white shark out of the sub; I even painted the teeth! It came out quite well. For the float, I was in scuba gear on top of the truck pulling the shark, “swimming” to escape the pursuing shark. Other club members walked alongside in full gear, some biting their impressive dive knives between their teeth. We won first place! Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of this remarkable float.

The sub owner later hauled the sub, still a shark, down to his home in south Florida. Along the way, he was pulled over by a state trooper. No infractions – the trooper merely wanted to see the shark up close!

Real Sharks: Excitement in the Water

Back to the original movie. Shortly after seeing it, I was indeed in the waters around Hawaii. The camp was wonderful, with great diving, a memorable eruption of Mauna Loa, and fascinating Hawaiian cultural exhibits. On one of the dives, a passing storm made the current quite strong. The fish and I were having trouble swimming against it. I suddenly felt I was being watched. When I looked to my right, there were two reef sharks swimming beside me. Of course, they didn’t have as much difficulty as I did! I get chills of excitement every time I see a shark, either while in the water with them or from above. Later in my career, I even studied compounds derived from sharks for the treatment of cancer. Truly amazing animals.

I’ve heard they had considerable trouble with the mechanical sharks when making the movie. Ocean water can be very hard on metal. I guess it isn’t possible to use a trained great white shark! No other stand-in sharks were available either, apparently. Fortunately, they were able to get enough attacking shark shots to make a truly suspenseful movie.

I doubt I will go see the movie in the theater 50 years later. I’ll probably just get out my VHS tape!

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