Huge haul of Billfish in Classic
Third place winners team ‘Wave Walker’ collect their trophy and R30 000 cheque from SADSAA President - Marius Vermaak
Team ‘Trinity’ collect their R50 000 cheque for second place
The winners of the SADSAA Billfish Classic - ‘Sea Ducer’
Day one
A fleet of 80 boats set off with a spectacular mass start early last Wednesday.
A light NE wind was blowing, which picked up in the afternoon, but this did not deter the majority as the Billfish were on the bite.
A total of 21 Billfish, comprising eight Blue Marlin, eight Black Marlin, two Sailfish and three Shortbill Swordfish were released on day one.
Three boats - ‘Casper’, ‘Trinity’ and ‘Reel Magic’ - released two Marlin each, giving them 200 points.
Day two
Thursday was beautiful, with light variable winds and flat seas; the NE only picking up late in the afternoon.
Again it was an excellent day’s fishing, with 18 Billfish released (12 Marlin, one Sailfish and five Shortbill). ‘Ludolf’ bagged 200 points with two Marlin, while ‘Big Sea Hunter’, ‘Lady Rose’ and ‘Seducer’ took their second Marlin, leaving seven boats tied at the top of the board.
Day three
Early on Friday morning, the NE wind started to blow, but most boats decided to launch. However, by 9am the wind had picked up and the competition was called off for the remainder of the day.
Only one fish was released - a Sailfish on ‘Shumwari III’.
Day four
As predicted, the wind turned to the south overnight and all boats were able to launch on Saturday.
With seven boats tied, it was now going to come down to which boat caught their third or fourth fish.
In the case of a tie, the rules state that the boat that caught their last fish first is the winner (if three boats have three fish, the first boat to catch their third fish wins).
The majority of boats stayed out until the cut-off time at 5pm, so there was a rush to check photos.
Ten Marlin and a Shortbill were released on day four, giving an overall total of 51 Billfish released during the tournament.
Prizegiving
Both ‘Trinity’ and ‘Sea Ducer’ managed to release their third Marlin and at prize-giving on Saturday night, no one was certain who had won. ‘Sea Ducer’ caught their third fish at 10.14am, while ‘Trinity’ their third at 10.31am, so ‘Sea Ducer’ walked away with the R100 000 cheque. ‘Wave Walker’ was third with two Marlin and a Shortbill on a time-out over fourth placed ‘Lady Rose’.
The winning team receive an invitation to the International Gamefishing Association Offshore World Championships in Cabo St Lucas, Mexico in 2011 and we hope they fly the flag for South Africa.
SADSAA would like to thank the sponsors, the Richards Bay Ski-Boat Club and their committee for hosting the event.
