The King of Sling: Art Pinder gained fame for using a sling for spearfishing

By SUSAN COCKING
scocking@MiamiHerald.com

When Art Pinder celebrates his 80th birthday on Feb. 8, he will be with a crowd of friends and family, a smattering of celebrities and quite a few people he has never met.

The pioneering Miami spearfisher and breath-hold diver is one of the headliners of The Blue Wild 2009 -- an ocean adventure expo and seminar Feb. 6-8 at the International Game Fish Association headquarters in Dania Beach.

Pinder, who now lives in Palm Bay, is expected to sign copies of his new biography, Art Pinder, King of Sling, written by Sheri Daye of Boca Raton, creator and host of the third annual expo.

''Art has led a fascinating life,'' Daye said. ``His stories just had to be captured.''

FAMOUS FEATS

Among those stories:

• Pinder was the first and only diver to kill a billfish using a primitive, rubber-banded sling while holding his breath. The 56-pound sailfish was taken in 1948 near Fowey Light. Today, spearing billfish is illegal in Florida, but it still is permitted in other countries. Other spearfishers have taken sailfish, but they used power guns and buoys with lines.

• Pinder is the only spearfisherman ever to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. It happened in 1955.

• At age 54, Pinder and teammate Don Delmonico, 49, won the 1983 U.S. national spearfishing championships in Islamorada, using only slings and beating a field composed entirely of younger men.

Daye and Pinder recently spearfished together for an episode of Speargun Hunter, a popular television show on the Outdoor Channel. Pinder says he no longer dives 120 feet deep, as he used to, because he wears a pacemaker and has limited use of his left hand. But he still managed to shoot a hogfish last summer in the Bahamas while he was 25 feet deep and holding his breath.

PUSHING PLEASURE

''It's one sport people 60-65 can still dive in competition,'' Pinder said. ``They might not win, but they'll still be up there. You have to be able to read the bottom and understand the habits of fish.''

Pinder is revered by South Florida's freediving community, whose members sometimes ask for advice and autographs. He said he is pleased that many younger spearfishers find pleasure and sport in using the primitive weapons of yesteryear -- such as slings and pole spears to hunt fish -- rather than modern spearguns.

''You're giving [fish] the same chance; you're in their element,'' he said.

THE BLUE WILD EXPO

Pinder will be joined on the podium at The Blue Wild by several fishing, diving and sailing celebrities, including world-record freedivers Pipin Ferreras, Kirk Krack and Mandy Rae Cruickshank; sailing adventurer Steve Callahan; television shark-wrangler Manny Puig; technical-diving guru Tom Mount; sportfishing greats Bouncer Smith and Skip Smith (no relation); and marine artist/sportfisherman Carey Chen.

Besides workshops and seminars, the event will feature a vendor expo, raffles and food. Proceeds will benefit Twin Palms Center for the Disabled.

For more information, visit thebluewild.com or call Sheri Daye at



Photo caption: Sheri Daye, the creator of The Blue Wild expo, gets instructions from Art Pinder in the art of using a sling for spearfishing. Pinder, who lives in Palm Bay, will be a headliner at the Feb. 6-8 expo.