The Suffolk Times

Updated: 9/10/2009 - 4:05 AM

Exhibit to honor shark hunter
Daughter says it will dispel myths
BY JULIE LANE |STAFF WRITER 1 comments below

PHOTO COURTESY OF GORDON RYNDERS
Shark hunter Frank Mundus, captain of the Cricket II out of Montauk, was said to be the inspiration for the character of Quint in the movie 'Jaws.'

The name Mundus might elicit awe among East Enders who know of the exploits of Montauk shark hunter Capt. Frank Mundus, said to be the model for Quint, the character portrayed by actor Robert Shaw, in the 1975 movie "Jaws."

But his daughter, Pat Mundus of Greenport, wants you to know that there was more myth than truth in the film.

"He thought it was ridiculous," she said of the movie she once viewed with her father, who died just a year ago at the age of 83. When others shrieked at the film, Frank Mundus laughed, she said.

RANDEE DADDONA PHOTO
Pat Mundus of Greenport, daughter of the late Montauk shark hunter Capt. Frank Mundus, on her 42-year-old restored wooden yacht, Surprise. A former Merchant Marine officer, Ms. Mundus now runs charter trips out of Stirling Harbor.
the
's daughter

captains the Surprise,
ning

But he played to the tough-guy image, believing any publicity was good publicity, she said. For example, he perpetuated the myth that he couldn't read or write, although he was "perfectly well educated," his daughter said.

It's why she has put together the exhibit that opens Saturday at the East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation in Greenport.

"I wanted to tell the humanity of him," Ms. Mundus said about her selection of photos and memorabilia. While Frank Mundus cultivated the bloodthirsty image of the shark hunter, he was as concerned with preservation as capture, she said. "He had a foot in both worlds."

'I wanted to tell the humanity of him.' Capt. Frank Mundus' daughter, Pat Mundus

In later years, when Mr. Mundus realized how many shark hunters there were and how they were depleting the stock, he grew concerned, she said. Many who set out to tag the fish to track their migration erred in their methodology, she said. They often tagged the shark in the gut rather than the jaw, tearing a hole that ultimately resulted in its death, she said.

"My father was a hunter who understood these fish better than anyone," Ms. Mundus said. When a shark got away from him, he believed it had won the right to live.

Capt. Mundus not only led fishing expeditions in search of the "monster" fish, but he also was called on by resorts around the world when a shark was seen in their waters, frightening patrons. He would often arrive on the scene and save the day by capturing the offending fish, his daughter says.

His largest catch was a 4,500-pound great white shark.

"It was a wild ride growing up in a family like that," Ms. Mundus said. There were celebrities in and out of the house all the time, she said.

Pat Mundus describes herself as a "raggedy tomboy" growing up in Montauk.

"He taught me that fear was just a lack of understanding," Ms. Mundus said. When she was only 6, he taught her to swim in choppy waters, advising her that she would be safe as long as she kept her arms around him.

As an adult, Ms. Mundus went on to become a Merchant Marine officer and today operates her own 57-foot charter wooden sailing yacht, Surprise, out of Stirling Harbor in Greenport. She and her husband, Eugene Vorhees, restored the 42-year-old boat.

While a lot of Capt. Mundus' memorabilia is owned by his second wife, who lives in Hawaii, Ms. Mundus and her two sisters had enough pieces and pictures for this exhibit, which Oysterponds Historical Society director Ellen Cone Bush assisted in putting together, editing descriptions and helping with the placement of pieces to make them accessible to children as well as adults.

What Ms. Mundus does regret is that her father's famed boat, the Cricket II, was sold to a Rhode Island man for $54,000. She knows a group in Montauk had hoped to purchase it and still hopes it might someday find its way back to Montauk.

"Let's face it, he put Montauk on the map," she said.

The exhibit, which opens with a reception between 5 and 7 p.m. Saturday, runs through the end of October.

jlane@timesreview.com

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1 comments found

Great article : 9/9/2009
Hi Julie, What a great story. Having grown up on Long Island and frequented Montauk every summer; I can appreciate this story. I remember being a little girl and having a visual of the 'monster sharks' which literally went from midport around the bow and ended somewhere around midstarboard of the large fishing vessels which came into port!! Mr. Mundus and his family were often there as well. Thanks for the memories, Denise