The release of three Blue Marlin led
Roxy, captained by Juan Torrullas, to win the Torneo de Pesca Interclub de Caribe, held
August 18 to 21, out of the Cangrejos Yacht Club in
Puerto Rico. The club is located 8 miles east of El Morro in Old San Juan, with
fishing grounds primarily along the north shore of the island.
“Roxy was one of
only two boats to release three Blue Marlin,”
said tournament director, Jose Quiñones.
“They caught theirs all on the first day, two in the morning and one in
the afternoon.”
Roxy remained
fishless during the final two days of the three-day event, while anglers aboard
Eileen, captained by Pedro Martin,
reached the boat’s total of three, too, by releasing two Marlin on the
tournament’s last day. Thus, Roxy won on time.
In
addition to being the Overall Winner, Roxy also earned the top title for the Outboard Division.
“This was a new division we added this year to boost
participation,” Quiñones said.
Sixty nine
boats and 276 anglers competed in this 49th annual event, which is
the second longest consecutively held Big Game fishing tournament in the world.
This year marked the first that the tournament was all-release, meaning no Blue
Marlin were boated.
“We
decided to have daily prizes. So, that meant every day was like a different
tournament. The anglers really liked this,” Quiñones
explained.
Day One,
the fleet released 25 Blue Marlin, one Sailfish and one White Marlin. Daily
winners were: Roxy,
Cristy and Aguha. On Day
Two, 12 Blue Marlin were released along with one White Marlin.
Eileen led, followed by
Paolo and
Pilliro. This evening was the
night of the big Noche Caribena
party, an event anticipated by all participants. Finally, on Day Three, 8 Blue
Marlin were released. Sonrisa
took the top spot, followed by Alecantra and Fishing
Legend.
Torneo de Pesca Interclub de Caribe is a qualifier for the Rolex/IGFA Offshore
Championship.
“This means that the winning team is invited to participate in the
2005 Championship that will take place in Cabo San
Lucas Mexico next year. This year’s winning team was from the Cangrejos Yacht Club and they named themselves "Las Boricuitas." They were Olga Piñero,
Elizabeth Braegger and Vanessa Ortiz,” Quiñones said.
Next
year, the tournament will celebrate its 50th anniversary. It will be
held in August, 2006.
