![]() ![]() Tony Grech, a young Maltese man was strolling along the beach at St. It was a warm, hazy Friday afternoon on the 20th of July, 1956. The fortunate fisherman escaped unscathed from his act of bravado, but the notion that no one had ever been so unlucky in Maltese waters was, in fact, not the case. What Alfredo Cutajar didn’t know as he put his head between the shark’s open jaws for the perfect shot, was that the enormous animal was still alive… Luckily for Alfredo, all of the shark’s energy had been spent from the struggle at sea, and its jaws remained apart. It was, incredibly, the second time Alfredo Cutajar had caught a great white shark- the first being thirteen years before- and from that day on he would be known to fellow villagers by the nickname ‘Son of God’. Happily, the hero of the day, offered to pose with his catch. In the meantime, a camera had appeared from someone’s home to capture the momentous event. The creature was set down on the slippery rocks at the water’s edge while the fishermen planned an alternative. The shark was recognisable to more experienced seamen as kelb-il-bahar abjad- the white shark. Attempts to land the creature failed when the village winch strained, then stalled, under its enormous weight. Half out of the water, lying on its back and tangled in lines, was a shark that appeared larger than the five-metre boat. Those gathered stood around in astonishment, as they examined what the fisherman had brought home with him. A long battle for survival was just about to begin.Īs Alfredo pulled up to the boatyard at the foot of Wied-Iz-Zurrieq later that morning, shouts in Maltese of kelb-il-bahar, ‘sea dog’, drew an excited crowd from the village. Peering over the side of his boat, Alfredo saw a huge white mass rising from the depths. But then to Vince D’Amato’s surprise, it snapped, before becoming entangled in the fishing gear of Alfredo Cutajar. His intuition was confirmed when the sturdy longline strained. When D’Amato tugged on the line he felt excitement, certain he’d caught something big. Swordfish and tuna were in season in Spring and the prized catch for locals, fetching high prices in the busy fish markets of the Mediterranean island. As many men from the village of Wied-Iz-Zurrieq had done for centuries, they both made their living from the sea, working the waters off the south-west of Malta. Earlier that morning, the 17th of April 1987, a fellow villager of Alfredo’s, Vince D’Amato, had gone out to check the baited lines he had set the day before, near the tiny island of Filfla. Alfredo, nearly home, navigated past the brightly coloured luzzi and fregatini- the traditional fishing boats, whose pretty pastel colours decorated the deep blue waters of the inlet. Entering the narrow passage that led to the harbour, limestone slopes curved high on either side- an ancient entrance which gave the area its name- ‘the valley of the blue’. ![]() Transcript of Episode 10 A Bathing Accidentįor Alfredo Cutajar it was a glorious homecoming, as his little motor boat approached Wied-Iz-Zurrieq.
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