The release of five blue
marlin won Capt. Tony DeMoya’s 48-foot Viking, No Excuse, Best Boat at
the Caicos Classic Release Tournament, fished July 15 to 21, out of
Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The
Turks and Caicos Islands have a reputation for world-class billfishing and this
summer was no exception for contestants in the annual Caicos Classic
tournament. Twenty boats from South Florida, Charleston, the Bahamas and the
Turks and Caicos Islands entered the four-day tournament, an official
Rolex IGFA Offshore Championship Qualifying Event.
The
weather was fair and sunny as the boats headed out of Turtle Cove for the first
of the four-day event. It’s a short trip from the shallow Caicos bank to the
deep blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean just offshore and it didn’t take long
for the action to heat up.
No
Excuse took an early lead with three blue marlin releases while Jared
Fulton’s local favorite, Long Distance, a 36-foot Riviera scored two
quick releases. Steve Crammer’s 56-foot Viking, Blue Sky, rounded out
the action with one blue marlin before the first day’s fishing was complete.
The
second day proved to be even more exciting as Long Distance released two
blue marlin and No Excuse scored one more release — putting both boats
in a dead heat with 4 releases each.
After
a relaxing lay day spent playing golf and enjoying the amenities in
Providenciales, the anglers returned to fish the third day without results.
It
all came down to the wire on the last day as No Excuse hooked up a large
fish at 11:45 a.m., but before they could release their catch Lee Taylor’s
46-foot Ocean, Troublemaker, called in a hook up and released their fish
first, knocking No Excuse out of the running for the daily winner. Troublemaker
went on to release another large marlin putting them in third place.
In
the end, No Excuse’s scoring of five blue marlin releases landed them in
first place as Best Boat, while Long Distance with four releases placed
Second Best Boat and Troublemaker took third place with two scored
releases.
“Every boat had
their shot at the title with quite a few pulled hooks and plenty of excitement
throughout the week. And while they were not out on the water, the anglers and
friends were kicking it up at parties every night at all the best restaurants
and watering holes in Providenciales,” says tournament organizer, Art
Pickering.
Turtle
Cove Marina in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, hosts the Caicos
Classic Tournaments. The full service marina and international port of entry
features a protected harbor with 65 deep-water slips and all the amenities,
including restaurants, bars, hotels, auto rentals and shops immediately on the
premises.
