Jaws

There is a strange, helpless feeling that comes over a swimmer from time to time. It is the feeling of uncertainty, fear, and terror for what lurks below. More than twenty years ago this feeling took the shape of one of the most efficient killing machines ever to inhabit our vivid imaginations and it had a brutally simple name: Jaws.

"Jaws" and the magic of Hollywood came to Martha's Vineyard in 1974 as a young Steven Spielberg utilized this seaside community as the setting for his first blockbuster. Many Island landmarks appeared in the film and Vineyard residents were used as extras during the shooting. Edgartown became the fictional town of "Amity" for the movie and signs painted by the movie crew can still be found around town. The large bridge along Beach Road separating Oak Bluffs and Edgartown was the same bridge that the mechanical shark swam under to munch a couple of young sailors in the pond beyond!

If you are wondering about real sharks in Vineyard waters you have very little to fear. There has never been an unprovoked shark attack in Island waters and you have about as much chance of being bitten by a shark as you have of being hit by lightning on the way to the beach!

Shark fishermen travel at least ten miles off Vineyard shores to fish for Mako, Blue, and the rare Great White Shark. Shark fishing is an intense and thrilling sport: "They fight you from the minute you hook them until you get them on the beach. And then they still fight you," said one Island fisherman.

Each year the Oak Bluffs Monster Shark tournament draws large crowds to the Oak Bluffs docks to catch a glimpse of the awesome predators. The gasps from the crowd as each shark is weighed in attest to the respect we have for these large, powerful fish.

This respect is gradually replacing our fear of sharks. Although the magic of Hollywood and our memories of "Jaws" live on, separate fact from fiction and enjoy the Vineyard's clean beaches and clear blue waters.

©1999 Best Read Guide/Martha's Vineyard
P.O. Box 66 (34 S. Summer St.) - Edgartown, MA 02653