When Devil Fish Come Out to Play

The ocean isn't the most friendly of places to mankind. "When Devil Fish Came Out to Play: Adventures of an Abalone Diver" is the memoir of a person who made his living risking his life throughout the 1960s and 70s as an abalone diver, one who harvested the clam-like creature in the sea. He endured countless catastrophes and near-deaths (and some not-so-near deaths) threatening his life or the lives of his co-workers. "When Devil Fish Came Out to Play" is a riveting read of the harshness of sea life.

When one combines an interesting life with good writing skills, the result is more often than not a good book worth reading. As an early diver from the late 50's, only a decade or so after the invention of the aqua-lung by Emile Gagnan and Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and a professional sea urchin and abalone diver later on, not to mention an octopus wrestler, Cal Smith has definitely lead an interesting life. His career as a writer on diving articles for the Victoria Columnist, the Ottawa Citizen as well as being a national news and features writer for the Royal Canadian Air Force shows he has his writing chops. The result, of course, is that "When the Devil Fish Come Out to Play" is definitely a good book worth reading. Smith's book is written the same way an old, experienced hand spins yarns about his adventures. The stories follow no particular timeline or theme, drifting back and forth like a restless boat following the whims of the ocean current. From his boyhood swimming hole, where he first experienced the joys and horrors that lie under the surface of the water, to hunting shipwrecks with modern equipment as a collector of sunken brass portholes, to reminiscing about his first time in a primitive drysuit, to conservation lessons and the sadness he sees at witnessing ocean life vanish before his eyes due to over fishing, to his professional career as a harvester of expensive shellfish which he can't stand the taste of himself but sell to Japan for millions, "When the Devil Fish Come Out to Play" is more of a collection of short stories and memories that a single book. There are so many stories here, each of them fascinating. Smith has a flair for bringing both tension and humor to his life, and relates both his successes and his failures. He is unashamed to admit when he feared for his life, and when his own lack of knowledge leads himself and shipmates into danger. At the same time, he has never lost his sense of wonder at being poked at by an inquisitive octopus, or playing with a wolf eel as if it were a neighborhood dog. If there is a through-running theme in "When Devil Fish Come Out to Play," it is a deep and profound love and respect for the ocean, and the things that live there out of site. Smith has no problem devoting a stray chapter here and there to conservation issues, like the rise of jellyfish in the ocean, and what that really means, to the brutal destruction of dogfish and the cruel nature of some who see living creatures as little more than profits. At the same time, with all the contradiction inherent in a human being, he talks of times when he brutally killed roving sun-starfish with an abalone knife, for no reason other than he thought they were disgusting creatures. I have little diving experience myself, little more than going down a few times on group trips during a few vacations, but I know something about the expensive delicacies that come from the deep oceans and are sold for outrageous prices arou

Nothing impresses me more than a book which manages to captivate me when it apparently has nothing in it that I'm interested in. I'd never read a book about abalone diving, so I figured that there was little here for me. How happy I am to be wrong. Cal Smith is a fascinating human being with a natural gift for storytelling. The stories all revolve around different, sometimes hilarious, always dangerous, terrifying encounters underwater. Whether Cal is wrestling an octopus during an octopus wrestling competition (who says there's nothing new under the sun?), diving for portholes, or sorting out two young punks who threw his tarp in the water, he is genuine. That is the finest compliment I can pay any writer. This is real. This is genuine. I learn best from stories and I learned a lot from When Devil Fish Come Out To Play. Best of all, Cal is smart without being condescending. He could obviously get into the complexities of diving, oxygen, pressurization, but he tells just enough so you get it without being intimidated. My favorite part: most stories contain a sentence along the lines of: "I was terrified out of my wits." Then, without explaining why he gets in the water, suddenly he's in the water again...fighting for his life...again. I'm thrilled to be one of the first to find this book and I wish Cal all the success in the world. I cross my fingers for another book--he's obviously got a lifetime of worthwhile stories to share. Can't say enough good things about it.

This is a very informative book that takes you into the life of a diver, Cal Smith, who worked off the coast of British Columbia and Washington state. Cal involves you in his love for adventure and the ocean. It is full of excitement, good-natured humor and stories that will gain your respect for the mystery and power of sea life and the ocean. The author progresses from his learning how to dive and manage a business of commercial diving to his concern for the ocean's ecosystem. Man's greed to make it rich, coupled with government enabling that greed, has and is continuing to destroy large stocks of wildlife off our coasts. Unless we become more informed of this tragedy, the crimes will continue to imperil the health of our waters. I recommend this book to everyone who would enjoy learning more about this fascinating side of life.