My grandfather Fredrick had a deep and consuming love for giant squid. As a young boy, it was his dream to one day grow up and live his life on the open sea in search of proof of these epic beasts. And that’s exactly what he did.

It wasn’t that uncommon in the 1960’s to find giant squid enthusiasts studying the random strandings up and down the cost of New Zealand. Many of these individuals were out to prove the existence of these creatures at no cost, even willing to kill them as proof. All of them but my grandfather Fredrick.

Fredrick didn’t fear giant squid like most boat captains, in fact he admired the animals. He felt that he could bring evidence to the world without harming them and that became his mission. He gathered a crew he trusted, packed his most reliable equipment and set out to sea in the summer of 1965.

After a few months had passed the crew became weary. Fredrick had been studying the pattern of strandings and knew he was close to finding the vindication he had been searching for.

By the time October was approaching, the crew made their way from the Indian Ocean out to the South Pacific. Frederick had a very systematic method of calculating where the giant squid would be; unfortunately he lacked a technique of weather forcasting.

On October 30, 1965 a terrible storm surrounded my grandfather’s boat. The ship got hit wave after wave. The lightening was blinding and the roaring thunder was bringing grown men to their knees. Just as the crew decided to surrender to the storm, something took Frederick’s bait and a great struggle began.

The line that was set up to bring the squid in had no hooks. It was comprised of a series of knots and bait to safely bring the animal to the surface long enough to collect the proof he needed. As all the men formed into a row to pull up the catch, the storm tangled the wires and Frederick knew something was wrong.

In the flashing of the violent sky, the men could see giant tentacles rising up from the crashing waves. All of Frederick’s carefully placed lines had crossed in the storm and now the squid, the crew and the ropes were all tangled together. Wanting to save the vessel from the brutality of the thrashing beast, Frederick’s crew set out to slain the beast.

However Frederick had a different plan.

He had promised to never harm a squid, and when he realized what his crew was up to he stopped them in their tracks and jumped overboard to set the animal free. It was difficult for him to see in the black water, but he felt his way deeper by following the ropes down to the mangled animal.

With every flash of lightening, the giant squid that swam before him was illuminated and slowly the thunder began to fade into the distance. As he cut line after line, a deep silence fell over him and everything began to slow down for just a moment. He was face to face with a creature he had spent most of his life searching for and he found himself at peace.

The storm eventually passed and the crew found themselves only miles from the coast of New Zealand. They had been searching the waters for my grandfather for hours, and now in the light of day it was clear that the mission had gone awry.

The men got off the boat and gathered on the shore in disbelief of what just happened. They scanned the horizon for any sign of Frederick when they saw something floating in the water. One of the men retrieved the object and to their disbelief they realized it nothing more than his t-shirt.

The following week the crew returned to the states with an epic tale. They spoke of Frederick’s passion for giant squid and their journey around the world; they retold their recollection of the storm and how Frederick was able to spare the squid.

Today, all I have of my grandfather is his t-shirt. Since he passed before I was born it is the only thing that I have that connects us. With that said, I started my own line of t-shirts under his influence and named it Spare The Squid.