OnBoard Magazine - Summer 2014

top speed of 41 knots and a cruising speed of 35 knots. “I’m very pleased with her performance. She’s very quick out of the hole, turns on fish just fine, and with the underwater exhausts and those submarine doors in the engine room; is very quiet for those wishing to hang in the salon while we’re underway,” Hearn says. A HOT START On her first day offshore, Blank Check enjoyed a triple header white marlin release during the Big Rock Lady Angler Tournament, but that was just a taste of the success to come. As soon as fishing concluded at the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, the team departed for the marlin-laden waters of Bermuda. In the first tournament of the Bermuda season, the Bermuda Billfish Release Cup, the Blank Check got things going Saturday, on day one of fishing, with a blue marlin release for angler Will Herring, scoring the team 500 points. Having the first release of the tournament turned out to be key as team Blank Check earned First Place Team honors, Daily Release Jackpots, Overall Release Jackpot and an invitation to the Offshore World Championship. The World Cup Blue Marlin Championship is a unique international event held every year on July 4th and in 2013 there were 130 teams participating throughout 18 countries and territories. While fishing the Bermuda Billfish Blast, angler Kevin Gaylord reeled in the winning 668 pound marlin aboard the Blank Check . Prize money totaled over $300,000 for the single heaviest marlin in the one day event, and this was the second year in a row the winning fish was caught in Bermuda. In the World Cup there is no second place. Among the other accolades and awards for the team so far, these tournament victories have put Captain Danny Hearn squarely in the mix for Captain of the Year honors from InTheBite Magazine. After finishing out the Bermuda Billfish Blast, Bermuda Big Game Classic and Seahorse tournaments the crew turned south and swept through the Bahamas and Northern Caribbean on their way to St. Thomas for the renowned USVI Atlantic Blue Marlin “Boy Scout” Tournament. Though ultimately the team was not able Blank Check earned over $450,000 in tournament purses in her first month on the water 11 SUMMER 2014