Frank Mundus, the pioneer for shark fishing, passed away on September 10, 2008. I had always known about Frank but never thought I would get the opportunity to meet him.
It was the year 2006. I read in an article that Frank Mundus was selling the shoes on eBay that he wore when he caught the record-breaking shark. I immediately signed onto eBay but to my disappointment, the shoes were already sold at a bargain price of only $56.
Not knowing if the seller was really the famous Frank Mundus, I sent an email to the eBay “seller.” Ten minutes after I clicked “send,” my phone rang. I almost fell out of my chair after I read “FMUNDUS” on the caller ID – with a Hawaii area code (Frank lived in Hawaii since his Montauk fishing days were over).
I answered the phone and, sure enough, it WAS Frank Mundus. Frank and I spent almost half an hour on the phone getting to know each other. He told me some funny stories about his shark fishing days and laughed when I asked if “Jaws” author Peter Benchley modeled his character, Quint, after him. Seems that old Captain Mundus thought the whole Jaws movie was hysterical. While it was true that Quint was taken from the ways of Frank Mundus, Frank said that most of the movie was ridiculous. When I hung up the phone, I had to send an email and call everyone I knew to tell them that I talked with Frank Mundus – the MONSTER SHARK MAN of Montauk!
For the next few days, Frank would call me at about 7 PM our time. He was always full of cheer and colorful stories. He told me that he experimented with making chocolate candy and that it was a disaster. First, he couldn’t get the temperature right and then the thermometer broke in the mixture. He practically had to use a hammer and chisel to get the hard candy out of the pan. So what does an old shark fisherman do with a pot of badly burned chocolate candy? He puts it on eBay, of course. This is what his ad said:
“Frank Mundus Homemade Candy Disaster…Up for auction is a sample of my homemade candy disaster. It qualifies as some of the worst candy ever made and it all began this afternoon when I decided to make a batch of macadamia nut candy. This stuff tastes terrible – even worse than it looks! From now on I think I’ll stick to fishing.”
The highest bidder will get 4 pieces of this charcoal culinary chaos sealed in a plastic zip-lock bag. The pieces range in size from 2-3 inches wide, which you can frame as a piece of modern art or perhaps give them a decent burial – it is up to you. At the last stage of the recipe, when the temperature was supposed to reach 290 degrees, the candy thermometer fell apart. And in the process of saving the thermometer from falling into the pan of boiling sugar, everything went wrong. The candy started to burn, turned black and spewed out the top of the pan onto the stove. I’ll be cleaning up for a while, so the money I get from auctioning this mess will pay towards an installment of a new pan.”
Well, who in their right mind would bid on an item like this? I DID! And I won!! So, for 85 cents and $2.00 for shipping, I got a bag of this disgusting candy AND a signed certificate of authenticity from Frank Mundus!
During one of my conversations with Frank, we talked about the Star Island Yacht Club Shark Tournament which was held in June in Montauk. Frank said he was going to be there until August for the tournament. I told him I would like to meet him and he said the best time would be on Thursday, June 15 at the Captain’s Meeting and Beer Blast.
I couldn’t believe it. I was going to meet a person that I had envied for many years. A man who is in the Guinness Book of World Records…a man who caught the biggest man-eating shark in the world…a man who they made a movie character from for a now-famous movie…a man who owns a sheep ranch in Hawaii…a man who, at 80 years old, still gets around like someone a lot younger!
I couldn’t get to Montauk fast enough. Parking at the yacht club was tight but after I squeezed into a parking space…after getting thrown out of the parking area I did not belong in…I headed to the correct parking area of the yacht club. There were hundreds of people there. How would I recognize Frank? I went up to the restaurant counter and ordered a Bud Light. Then, beer in hand started walking the marina looking for Frank Mundus. Someone finally pointed him out to me and I walked over to him. I introduced myself as “the moron who bought your candy.”
Frank squealed, “The Candy Man!” He threw his arms around me as if we had been friends for years.
Frank and I hung out on and off into the night. He told me many stories about his fishing days, his ranch in Hawaii, the Jaws movie, and how Peter Benchley never publicly acknowledged that Frank was the REAL Quint and inspiration for the character in Jaws. Captain Frank Mundus is a very colorful, unique, friendly and outgoing character.
The next day I got to the yacht club about 6 AM, when the boats were leaving for the shark tournament. Later that day Frank was selling t-shirts and autographing copies of his newest book, “Fifty Years a Hooker.” He gave me a copy.
I had to force myself to leave Montauk and Frank at 5 PM to get home – about an hour and a half ride with no traffic. Frank and I promised to keep in touch via phone and email. I told Frank that I would be there for the Mako Tournament and he said he looked forward to seeing me there.
Sometime later, Frank invited me on a friend’s boat out of Montauk for a day of shark fishing. While Frank and I did not actually fish (we watched the captain and his two sons fish) Frank and I talked about many things. He sat there with his traditional one red and one green sock (port and starboard) and a shark tooth necklace. One small shark was caught but nowhere near the size of Frank’s world-record shark.
Some months later I was supposed to meet Frank at a Long Island aquarium where, if memory serves, he was going to give a lecture. I never made it there, having other things to take care of (probably work). I found out that, shortly after, my friend, Frank Mundus, passed away. For some time after that, I kept in touch (via email) with his wife in Hawaii.
Captain Frank Mundus is (was), in my opinion, a very extraordinary person. His history is a colorful tale of drama, humor and sadness. He will be missed by many including me, the “moron” who bought his burned candy!
Thomas Sarc
www.thomassarc.com
www.tomsarcgallery.mysite.com.