A Vineyard recreational fishing boat took the title in the ninth annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament held over two days this weekend. Tom Furino of the 34 1/4 foot fishing boat Fish Finder out of Oak Bluffs won the tournament with a catch of two large sharks. On Friday Mr. Furino and his charter crew caught a 320-pound blue shark and on Saturday they caught a 302-pounder of the same species.

Call it beginner’s luck, offshore fishing skill or maybe a combination of both.

But the crew of Magellan out of Harwich and captained by Jason Pillsbury took home the $20,000 prize in the Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament Saturday.

Magellan landed a 429-porbeagle shark on Friday and another 313-pound porbeagle on Saturday and won the tournament with 742 points.

A 429-pound porbeagle shark was the winning catch on the first day of the Monster Shark Tournament Friday.

Dan Lundy landed the shark aboard Magellan out of Harwich, captained by Jason Pillsbury.  It was their first time to fish the tournament, which is sponsored by the Boston Big Game Fishing Club and carries a $20,000 prize for the boat that wins the most points.

The 27th Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament is set for this weekend, and will likely be the last tournament of its size to be held in town following years of debate and controversy.

Sponsored by the Boston Big Game Fishing Club, the tournament begins Friday and continues Saturday. The tournament’s home base is the Oak Bluffs marina.

Even on an Island that knows a little something about shark
hysteria, the upcoming Boston Big Game Fishing Club Monster Shark
tournament is a frenzied event.

Some came to revel in a summer weekend on the harbor, and others jostled for a prime spot to see the action. Some happened upon the hubbub, curious to see what all the fuss was about, and a few came to protest.

The word of the day was sharks: it was shouted when people saw a boat coming in with a telltale fin or tail, and T-shirts, hats, balloons and stuffed animals bore the image of the fish.