Last week there was a column in the Houston Chronicle sports section about a couple of fisherman at Galveston. The men were fishing from their parked pickup truck on the beach, using ultra-heavy poles and line (made from steel cables instead of monofilament). The equipment, according to the author, was more than adequate to reel in a blue marlin, which is a big fish that fights and pulls on the line with a lot of pressure.

However, instead of fishing for marlin, these guys had rigged their hooks to catch sharks instead. These guys were apparantly quite experienced, as they had caught several sharks before. However, on this particular day, the shark took the bait from the waist-deep water and dragged it out to sea. Eventually the equipment could not take the strain of the battle and it broke. The fish was fighting against steel cables, a high-strength pole, a pickup, and two adult men, and it won. From this data it was concluded that the shark in question was an 8-foot bull shark. Since these guys were unable to catch the shark, that means that its still swimming near the beaches of Galveston Island, looking for another meal...

Bet you can't wait to hit the beach and go swimming!

This summer eight castaways will be stranded on a remote island in the Gulf of Mexico. Seven contestants will walk away empty handed. One competitor will be declared the ultimate survivor and win a cash prize worth more than twelve thousand Japanese Yen.

A series of mental and physical problems await the marooned contestants. The survivors will have to overcome obstacles that will challenge their intellect and push their endurance to the limit. The winner of Survivor-Galveston will be the person who can outplay, outwit, and outlast their opponents.

All interested parties are advised to learn the nautical flag alphabet before the games begin, as it those contestants who know the alphabet will have a distinct advantage. Also, remember that the knowledge of the other material found on the insiders page may at some point in the contest determine who stays in the game and who gets kicked out.