Spearfishing Legends

Look up Legendary in Webster’s dictionary and it reads

Example of Legendary in a sentence: “Legendary creatures from the sea.”

The Pinder Brothers

In 1955, Sports Illustrated writer Coles Phinizy wrote

“The best spearfishermen in the U.S. are three brothers named Pinder and their cousin Charley. They’re so good that people compare them with creatures of the sea.”

The Pinder brothers, from Miami FL, were on the Sports Illustrated cover, something no other spearfishermen have ever done. They always shot primitive slings, while other spearfishermen used more powerful, triggered spearguns. Art, Don and Fred Pinder were coming off their US Nationals Championship team win in Key West, Florida, where Don also won the 1^st place individually. Art had just won the Athlete of the Year Award the year before in California. The Pinder brothers had won every competition they entered for 9 years running, but due to politics with the Nationals directors, this was their last competition together. In 1948 Art stoned an Atlantic Sailfish over 7-foot long and weighing 56 pounds, and newspapers printed the photo all over the country. In 1954 it became one of Skin Diver Magazines most popular covers. The next year Don speared an 804-pound Jewfish which is a Guinness Book World Record for the largest fish of any species.  Both these fish are still IUSA World Records.

Don Delmonico

Don Delmonico, from Miami FL, a US Nationals individual and team Champion from 1959, his son Dan, and Art Pinder teamed up in 1983 for one last Nationals competition. The three slingers again out-shot all the speargun teams for first place team, and Don won his second individual championship at age 49, while Art was 54. Don also won the Athlete of the Year Award in 1962. Don Delmonico became second the America to win a World Spearfishing Championship individual, with 3^rd place in Italy, 1960. Don won World Team Championships in 1959, 1960 & 1961.

Terry Lentz

Terry Lentz, from California, is the only America to ever win the World Spearfishing Championship, 1^st place individual, which was in Malta in 1959. His 2 biggest groupers, were 47lbs and 35lbs, which put him above the Spanish and Italian Champions. With his teammates Don Delmonico and Del Wren, they won America’s first team World Championship, 3^rd place. Terry also won the Athlete of the Year Award in 1959 and was on the cover of Skin Diver Magazine in 1959. Terry, Don, and Del won 3^rd place team World Championship again in 1960.  Terry Lentz won the US National Championship individual 3 times in 1960, 1961 and 1965, and the Team Championship in 1961.

Del Wren

Del Wren, from California, won the Athlete of the Year Award in 1958, and the Nationals 1^st place team. He was also on the cover of Skin Diver Magazine in 1958.
Del Wren had only one leg, but he never let that stop him from winning State, National and World Championships.

Jim Christiansen

Jim Christiansen, from California, was the 1^st US National Spearfishing Championship individual in 1950. He won the National Spearfishing Championship 1^st team in 1956 and 1957.

Big Jim also won the Athlete of the Year Award in 1957. He was the first US Team Coach in the Worlds in 1959, 1960 & 1961. Jim designed many spearfishing products and scuba diving gear. He was one of the early pioneers of scuba diving and one of the founders of Scubapro. Jim received distinguished service awards from the USOA and PADI.

Gary Keffler

Gary Keffler was the 2nd American to win a World Spearfishing Championship individual, taking 2^nd in Brazil in 1963. He also was on the 4^th World Championship team winning 3^rd place. He was a commercial diver in Washington State and became the founder of the largest chain of dive stores in the Northwestern US.

John Ernst

John Ernst, from California, is the first and only American to win World Spearfishing Championship individual twice, both 2^nd places in 1971 & 1983. He also holds 3 Worlds 2^nd place team Championships in 1971, 1975, & 1983, and 2 Worlds 3^rd place team Championships in 1963 & 1965. John won the Athlete of the Year Award twice, in 1963 and 1996. John Ernst won 14 US National Championship individuals, more than 3 times his closest competitors. He won 20 National 1^st Team Championships. John’s reign started in 1964 and ended in 1996.

Bill Ernst

Bill Ernst, also from California, has won 3 Worlds 2^nd place team Championships in 1971, 1975, & 1983. He won the US National Championship individual in 1970 and holds 17 National 1^st team Championships from 1970 to 1998. Bill won the Athlete of the Year Award in 1982. He holds the IUSA White sea Bass World Record at 42.4kg / 93.4lbs since June of 2007. He was the Director of Skindiving for the Underwater Society of America
from 1998 to 2005. Bill and his Daughter Amanda won Nationals 1^st mixed team in 2009. Amanda Ernst won the US National Championship women’s individual in 2007.

Terry Maas

Terry Maas, from California, won his first US National Spearfishing Championship individual in 1966. In 1973 he joined the Ernst brother’s team and won the National Championship individual again in 1976, 1978 & 1982, and 3 team National Championships. In 1975 & 1983 he won the World Spearing Championship team, both 2^nd place. Terry won Athlete of the Year in 1975, and speared a World Record 398lbs / 180.5kg Pacific bluefin tuna in 1982 that was not beat until 2006. In 1995, Terry published his first book, BlueWater Hunting and Freediving, which became an all-time best seller. An accomplished videographer, Terry produced “Bluewater Hunter” for PBS and videoed “Speargun Hunter” a documentary and TV show, which he co-hosted. Terry is the developer of the Freedive Recovery Vest.

Jim & Gary Zumwalt

Jim & Gary Zumwalt, from St Petersburg FL, are the only father and son to both win the Athlete of the Year Award. Jim in 1973 and Gary in 1981. Jim competed in the US Nationals from 1967 through 2001, and Gary from 1977 to 2001.
Gary Zumwalt won the US National Spearfishing Championship 1^st individual and 1^st team in 1981.

Ted Warnock

Ted Warnock, from Rhode Island, won the Athlete of the Year Award in 1974, shoot the biggest fish in the Nationals that year. He won the US National Spearfishing Championship 1^st place team in 1984. In 1990 Ted’s proudest achievement was winning the US National Spearfishing Championship 1^st place team with his brother John, and son Jim. Ted won the US National Spearfishing Championship individual award that year.

Dennis Haussler

Dennis Haussler, from Redwood City, CA. has won 4 National Spearfishing Championship 1^st individuals and 4 1st team awards, in 2000, 2007, 2009 & 2010. Dennis won the Athlete of the Year Award in 2000. He is currently the Director of Spearfishing for the USOA.

Linda Gray

Linda Gray, from California, won 5 National Spearfishing Championship women’s individuals, more than any other woman, over a huge time period, winning in 1973, 1980, 1992, 1996 & 1997. She won the National Spearfishing Championship women’s 1st teams in 1973, 1992 & 1996.

Sheri Daye

Sheri Daye, of Boca Raton, Florida won the National Spearfishing Championship mixed team in 2004 with teammate Daryl Wong. Sheri became the first woman ever to win 1^st place overall, beating all the best spearfishermen in the Southeast US, in the 1985 Spearboard Open, a huge Spearfishing Championship. She also won the Spearfishing Magazine “Spearo of the Year Award” that year. Sheri won the US National Spearfishing Championship women’s 1st individual in 2006. She holds over 20 IUSA World Spearfishing Records. She was co-host of the “Speargun Hunter” documentary and TV show on the Outdoor Channel. In 2006 she founded The Blue Wild Ocean Adventure Expo in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Blue Wild is an annual spearfishing, diving, marine art, and watersport show/expo, which has become the largest diving consumer show in the Southeast US. April 14 & 15, in 2018,

Anne Doherty

Anne Doherty from Rhode Island, won the US National Spearfishing Championship women’s individuals & teams in 1998, 2003, & 2009. She also placed 5^th in the men’s division in 2005. In 2009, Anne became the first woman to win the Athlete of the Year Award. She is the first woman diver to win any of the North Atlantic Open meets and won the 2013 North Atlantic Champion. She is a women’s world record holder for Striped Bass and Bluefish.

World Spearfishing Champions – all Legendary!

• Mario Catalani 1^st individual & team. Italy 1957
• Matko Armanda 2^nd individual & team. Yugoslavia 1957
• Znonko Balenovich 3rd individual & 2^nd team. Yugoslavia 1957
• Jules Corman 1^st individual & team. France 1958
• Henry Roux 2^nd individual & 1^st team. France 1958
• Claudio Ripa 3^rd individual & 2^nd team. Italy 1958. 3^rd individual & 2^nd team Italy 1959. 2^nd individual & 1st team. Italy 1960. 3^rd individual. Italy 1961.
• Bernardo Marti 2^nd individual & 1^st team. Spain 1959
• Bruno Hermany 1^st individual Brazil 1960. 1^st individual & 2^nd team. Brazil. 1963.
• Jose’ Gomis 1^st individual & 1^st team. Spain 1961.
• Jose’ Noguera 2^nd individual & 1st team. Spain 1961. 3^rd individual & 1st team. Spain. 1973.
• Hugues Dessault 3^rd individual & 1^nd team. France 1963.
• Ron Taylor 1^st individual & 2^nd team. Australia. 1965.
• Nicolas Haeta 2^nd individual & 1st team. France. 1965.
• Jean Tapu 3^rd individual & 1st team. France 1965. 1^st individual & 2nd team. France 1967.
• Pedro Gomez 2^nd individual & 1st team. Cuba. 1967.
• Jose’ Reyes 3^rd individual & 1st team. Cuba. 1967.
• Massimo Scarpati 1^st individual & 1st team. Italy. 1969. 2^nd individual & 2nd team. 1973.
• Carlo Gasparri 2^nd individual & 1st team. Italy. 1969
• Arturo Santoro 3^rd individual & 1st team. Italy. 1969.
• Raul Choque 1^st individual & 1st team. Chile. 1971.
• Luciano Barchi 3^rd individual. Peru. 1971.
• Jose’ Amengual 1^st individual & 1st team. Spain. 1973. 3^rd individual & 1^st team. Spain 1975. 1^st individual & 3^rd team. Spain. 1981. 1^st individual & 1^st team. Spain. 1985. 3^rd individual & 2^nd team. Spain. 1992.
• Jean Baptiste Esclapez 1^st individual & 3^rd team. France. 1975. 2^nd individual & 2^nd team. France. 1981. 2^nd individual & 3^rd team. France. 1987.
• Diaz 2^nd individual. Brazil. 1975.
• Riccardo Molteni 3^rd individual & 1^st team. Italy. 1981.
• Alejandro Flores 1^st individual & 1^st team. Chile. 1983.
• Horacio Andrade 3^rd individual & 1^st team. Chile. 1983.
• Milos Iurinchich 2^nd individual & 2^nd team. Italy. 1985.
• Antonio Toschi 3^rd individual & 2^nd team. Italy. 1985.
• Renzo Mazzarri 1^st individual & 1^st team. Italy. 1987. 1^st individual & 1^st team. Italy. 1989. 1^st individual & 1^st team. France. 1992
• Frank Zanki 3^rd individual & 2^nd team. Yugoslavia. 1987.
• Carrodano 2^nd individual & 2^nd team. France. 1987.
• Bernard Salvatori 3^rd individual & 2^nd team. France. 1989. 2^nd individual & 3^rd team. France. 1992.
• Pepe Vina 1^st individual & 1^st team. Spain. 1994. 2^nd individual & 1^st team. Spain. 1996.
• Edwin Caro 2^nd individual & 2^nd team. Chile. 1994.
• Punuaitua Teama 3^rd individual. Tahiti. 1994. 2^nd individual & 2^nd team. Tahiti. 2000.
• Pedro Carbonell 1^st individual & 1^st team. Spain. 1996. 1^st individual & 1^st team. Spain. 2000. 1^st individual & 1^st team. Spain. 2002. 3^rd individual & 1^st team. Spain. 2008.
• Antonio Silva 3^rd individual & 2^nd team. Portugal. 1996. 2^nd individual & 1^st team. Portugal. 2006
• Alberto March 1^st individual & 2^nd team. Spain. 1998. 3^rd individual & 1^st team. Spain. 2000.
• Maurizio Ramacciotti 2^nd individual & 1^st team. Italy. 1998. 3^rd individual & 2^nd team. Italy. 2002.
• Fabio Antonini 3^rd individual & 1^st team. Italy. 1998.
• Paulo Pacheco 2^nd individual. Brazil. 2002.
• Stefano Bellani 1^st individual & 2^nd team. Italy. 2004.
• Ludwin Duarte 2^nd individual & 1^st team. Chile. 2004.
• Franco Bosquez 3^rd individual & 1^st team. Chile. 2004
• Patricio Saez 1^st individual & 2^nd team. Chile. 2006.
• Santiago Cid 3^rd individual & 3^rd team. Spain. 2006.
• Joseba Kerejeta 1^st individual & 1^st team. Spain. 2008.
• Loannis Sideris 2^nd individual. Greece. 2008.
• Daniel Gospic 1^st individual & 1^st team. Croatia. 2010. 3^rd individual & 3^rd team. Croatia. 2012.
• Antonio Buratovic 2^nd individual & 1^st team. Croatia. 2010.
• Bruno DeSilvestri 3^rd individual & 2^nd team. Italy. 2010.
• Jody Lot 1^st individual & 2^nd team. Portugal. 2012.
• Antonio Linares 2^nd individual & 1^st team. Spain. 2012.
• Xavier Blanco 1^st individual & 1^st team. Spain. 2014.
• Samuel Tomas 2^nd individual & 1^st team. Spain. 2014.
• Santiago Lopez 3^rd individual & 1^st team. Spain. 2014.
• Giorgos Vasiliou 1^st individual & 3^rd team. Cyprus. 2016.
• Giannis Sideris 2^nd individual & 1^st team. Greece. 2014.
• Gerasimos Kavvadias 3^rd individual & 1^st team. Greece. 2016.

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