A titanic struggle on the ocean waves ended with an American tourist hauling a gigantic 1,100lb blue marlin out of the depths.

Keen weightlifter Bill Elliott drew on all his strength to catch what the boat's skipper yesterday described as a "sea monster".

An estimated 12ft long, and with a tail about 5ft in diameter, it took the 46-year-old holidaymaker an agonising hour to reel in the mammoth fish during a four-mile high-speed powerboat chase.

Captain Allen DeSilva, who skippered the big game charter, said the trip brought back vivid memories of his finest hour. He still holds the record for the biggest blue marlin caught off Bermuda ? a whopping 1,352-pounder plucked from the sea in summer 1995.

That proud record nearly toppled, however, when Mr. DeSilva and Mate Peter Lewis took Mr. Elliott and wife Leslie ? a president in the Toni and Guy hairdressing empire ? out off the South Shore near Gibbs Hill Lighthouse.

And the husband of the hair styling boss proved a cut above the rest in the deep sea fishing stakes on Monday.

Mr. DeSilva, a captain with 30 years' experience, said this was the first 1,000lb-plus blue marlin to be caught in May in Bermuda. The traditional season runs from June to August.

"I was impressed with Bill's ability," said Mr. DeSilva yesterday. "His adrenaline was driving him and he just kept cranking it." Mrs. Elliott, 44, said her husband hired the boat with the dream of catching a 1,000lb-plus blue marlin ? known as granders in big game circles.

"He has been trying to catch a grander for years," she told The Royal Gazette. "It has been his quest for life.

"He has been all around the world, to Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean and Tahiti, but he finally found one in Bermuda."

An early success on Monday's trip, when Mr. Elliott hooked a 400lb blue marlin after a 20-minute fight, started the day in fine style.

"He was delighted with that," recalled Mr. DeSilva. "It was the biggest fish he had had ever caught, so he was a very happy customer."

But that was a drop in the ocean compared to what followed 20 minutes later.

"After releasing the fish we asked Bill if he wanted to keep on or head home," said the captain, who was on his first marlin fishing expedition of the season.

"He said he was up to trying his luck at another one. And another one it was. This was no ordinary fish ? we were talking about a sea monster,"

Mrs. Elliott said that at one stage the fish was three football fields in length away from her husband, an engineer who lists weightlifting as a hobby. "He's a very strong chap," she said.

And he needed to be on Monday, according to Mr. DeSilva.

"It was very large and moving very fast. In less than a minute the fish all but spooled 1,000 yards of line off of the 130lb reel."

The captain, powering the 57ft powerboat with a top speed of more than 30-knots, then said it was "time for drastic measures".

He continued: "We had to spin the boat around and chase the fish down to stop her from taking the remaining line on the reel.

"After chasing her for more than 15 minutes, we finally managed to get our first inch of line back.

"The battle endured for another 45 minutes and four miles from where the fish was originally hooked until the fish was brought to the boat for photographs and to be released."

Once Mr. Elliott landed the prize catch he snapped its picture, proving to friends and family back home that there was nothing fishy about his tales of big game glory in Bermuda.

Then he took the environmentally-friendly option of hurling it back into the ocean ... throwing down the gauntlet for other deep sea fishermen to follow his lead and reel in the rare May grander.

"It was frisky and very lively," said captain De Silva. "And he definitely survived to see another day."

The Elliotts, from Dallas, first fished with Mr. DeSilva of Mako Charters on vacation on the Island about eight years ago, but that expedition did not produce the same spectacular results as this week.

"It's been a holiday to remember," added Mrs. Elliott, who stayed at Elbow Beach before the couple jetted home to the US yesterday. "We're already booked with Allen next year."