These are words spoken by former pro-golfer Greg Norman. Yet what he didn’t expect when he set out on a normal fishing trip was to capture a world record-sized hammerhead shark. At the time, the record stood at 14 feet 3 inches, but the giant that he encountered that fateful day far surpassed it. Luckily, the incredible moment was documented on video, which is shown on the popular blacktiph YouTube channel. The day begins with Greg and his friend Jorge Jorgensen coming upon a school of blacktip sharks. However, this is where things take a turn for the unexpected. The video cuts to incredible drone footage showing a massive hammerhead shark chasing a much smaller blacktip shark. Its huge frame dwarfs the smaller shark as the pair twist and turns in a crazy game of cat and mouse. At this point, Greg and Jorge manage to hook a blacktip themselves which suddenly becomes the bait for the hungry hammerhead. The video again cuts to the breathtaking scenes of the massive shark now chasing Greg’s blacktip. As the drone hovers overhead, the scenes below are intense. Incredibly, the giant hammerhead manages to catch the blacktip and begins swimming with it in its mouth. But then it drops it. However, it doesn’t stray far from the bait, as within the blink of an eye, the fierce beast comes back and swallows the 80-pound blacktip in a single gulp before taking off again. The fight is on. The fishing line is going out at a breathtaking speed, the whir of the line the first indication of the raw power of the animal on the other end. Yet, they didn’t expect the shark to be quite so game for a fight. Rather than the shark simply being hooked on the line, it was actively towing them. “We’re in a 41-foot boat, and this shark is towing the boat at one knot – that tells you how big this fish is,” says Jorge. The boat alone weighs 20,000 pounds, yet it is towing them as though it weighs nothing. Meanwhile, Greg is attempting to steadily reel in the line. “Letting him tow the boat is the best way of wearing him down,” they explain. Yet, the battle of wills continues, with the strain becoming more evident as Greg attempts to reel in the massive shark. Eventually, they begin to succeed, and the ominous bend of the rod is an indication of the giant animal which is on the other end. At last, we see a dorsal fin cutting through the water at the side of the boat moments before the breathtaking giant breaches the surface. “You see that shark for the first time up against my 41-foot boat, and you go Holy Moley, this things huge!” says Greg, clearly in awe. When the massive head of the shark lifts out of the water at the side of the boat, it is easy to see that this is no ordinary shark. But just how big is it? “Actually, it turned out to be well over 14 feet – 14 feet, seven and 3/8’s of an inch,” says Greg, despite not realizing at the time that he had actually just made a world record catch. However, eventually, the time for releasing the magnificent shark arrives. Although, before releasing it Greg jumps into the water. “Probably the most memorable thing from this whole experience was right at the end,” says Greg. “We jumped in the water with this giant hammerhead because we wanted to feel connected with it.” The video cuts to footage of them in the water as the giant shark swims gracefully away from them – it truly is an experience that they will never, ever forget.
Watch More!
If you’re ready for more breathtaking shark encounters then check out the videos below! Great White Leaps from the Water to Catch this Bird in Wild Video Watch a Fisherman Lose a 180-Pound Tarpon to Massive Shark Watch: Woman Swimming Between Hawaiian Islands Stalked by a Shark
