OnBoard Magazine - Issue XI - Summer 2019

2019 was Jaruco’s second jaunt to the Pacific side of Costa Rica since delivery, sandwiching time spent in the Bahamas, North Carolina and Massachusetts in the summer—now that’s getting around! Speaking of the Northeast, the Freddy Joe nabbed the top swordfish at the Tri-state Canyon Shootout. Closer to home, the Morehead City fleet performed their annual domination of the region’s summer tournaments. Sea Striker took home top honors from the Cape Fear Blue Marlin Tournament to kick off the North Carolina season on Memorial Day weekend. Tony Sydes captained Reel Development to second in the Swansboro Rotary Bluewater Memorial Day Tournament. Sensation, Bill Collector, Lookin’ Back, Builder’s Choice , Inspiration and Doc Fees all saw success in the OBX tournaments Band the Billfish, Reelin’ for Research, Billfish Classic, Hatteras Marlin Club and the Hatteras Grand Slam. Notably, angler Wayne Enroughty on the Sea Toy caught a 690 lb. blue marlin in the Hatteras Village Offshore Open. Down in South Carolina, the 61' Spencer, Anticipation , captained by our own Harvey Shiflet caught the heaviest blue marlin of the Edisto Invitational Billfish Tournament. After angler Drew W i l k i n s o n w r e s t l e d with the 484 pound fish for over five hours, Anticipation rushed for the docks and made it in with only a couple of minutes to spare before the scales closed. Not only did they catch the winning fish for the weekend, it was the largest blue marlin weighed in over twenty years at the Marina at Edisto Beach. The team also placed second at both the Megadock Billfish Tournament and the Virginia Beach Invitational in July. Rockin’ It Bluewater's long-time service customer Lee Smith and his 57' Gwaltney, Carterican , won third place at The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament with a bonus-prize winning 500.9-pound blue marlin. As the first qualifying fish to be boated, they also won the Fabulous Fisherman category providing an impressive half million-dollar payout which helped launch their total tournament winnings to $634,000. Their performance at The Big Rock along with other participating tournaments landed the team 4th place in the 2018 NC Governor's Cup with 2500 points. The final day of the 6-day Big Rock tournament is typically quiet if fair weather is enjoyed earlier in the week. That wasn’t the case for the 2018 tournament, which saw 122 of 183 boats still fishing on Saturday. The result was an electric day for tournament anglers, headquarters and spectators. Hook- ups and releases were numerous and the scales were buzzing with activity throughout the day. The 55’ Jarrett Bay, Fender Bender , owned by Bluewater customer and friend Bobby Whelan, played the role of spoiler by shaking up the Big Rock leader board late on the last day. They called in their hook up just 12 minutes shy of the 2pm “lines out” deadline. After about an hour fight, they boated their fish and made for the scales. Their 514.3 pound blue marlin catapulted the team to second place in the tournament with a $262,450 cash prize! The Jarrett Bay Double B also received $48,520 for winning the daily release on Thursday of the tournament. WilliamFarrior, Jr. won Top Junior Angler with 525 points aboardhis family’s Viking 55, Job Site . William has been fishing the Big Rock with his dad Bill since the age of 6. Over the last 10 years, he has won Top Junior Angler four times with several more awards for top meatfish. William has by far set the record for most junior angler accomplishments in the Big Rock, along with winning numerous awards in other tournaments such as the Billfish Classic. 2018 was his final year as a Junior Angler and he proudly racked up enough points to also win this category in the NC Governor's Cup Series! Both Fender Bender & Carterican Finished in the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament Winner's Circle TOURNAMENT ROUND-UP 28 BLUEWATER