Date: 3/05/07
From: Raul V Miranda
"Zephyros", the Nassau based 63' Bertram captained and owned by Basil Goulandris are the overall winners of the 2006-2007 Bahamas Wahoo Championship. "Zephyros" fished all four tournaments of the series and the total weight of their best nine wahoo totaled 503.5 pounds. In order to earn the Champion of Champions title "Zephyros" survived a late tournament rally by "Joint Adventure", a boat which accumulated 499 points. In order to do this, "Zephyros" managed to win the Championship by weighing in a very nice 69.5 pound Wahoo on the last day of the last tournament! This fish helped them edge "Joint Adventure" by 4.5 points!
Tournament Director Raul Miranda pointed out that this is the fifth consecutive series of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship in which five points or less separated the first and second place finishers. "It is a tightly contested series and the final results seem to all come down to the final weigh-in on the final day of fishing. This is remarkable when you take into account that the series is comprised of 12 days of fishing, nine hours a day! This is also the consecutive year in which a Bahamas based boat has won the overall Championship. John Hynes won the 2005-2006 series on "Predator" based out of Grand Bahama Island".
Second place finisher "Joint Adventure" is a 50' Viking owned by Ed Rosario of Port St. Lucie, Florida. The boat, captained by Shawn Olds fished only three legs but did manage to qualify nine very heavy Wahoo.
Third Place went to "Predator", captained by Peter Rose while fourth place went to "Savanna Lynn", captained by Billy Thomas. "Reel Easy", owned by Robert Keifner earned fifth place honors.
The Heaviest Wahoo of the 2006-2007 series was a 95 pound fish caught by Marshall Leeds on "Svengali" during the 4th Leg at Port Lucaya Marina. A total of 57 boats fished one leg or more of the series.
The first leg of the 2007-2008 Bahamas Wahoo Championship is scheduled for November 28- December 1, 2007 at Port Lucaya Marina.
For further information please contact Raul V Miranda at 305-234-7386, rvmiranda@hotmail.com. Or Sue Graves at 954-456-4468.
All results and history of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship are posted at www.bahamaswahoo.com. RVM
BAHAMAS WAHOO CHAMPIONSHIP
TREASURE CAY RESORT, ABACOS, BAHAMAS
WAHOO TOURNAMENT- SECOND LEG OF THE BAHAMAS WAHOO CHAMPIONSHIP
January 14, 2007
PRESS RELEASE-FINAL RESULTS
"ZEPHYROS", a Bahamian registered 63' Bertram captained and owned by Basil Goulandris won the second leg of the 2006-2007 Bahamas Wahoo Championship series at Treasure cay in the Bahamas.
"Zephyros" managed to weigh in only one Wahoo on the first day of fishing and was promptly relegated to fourth place. They added 68.5 more points on the second day and moved to third place. On the third and final day of fishing they weighed in the Heaviest Wahoo of the tournament, a 61 pound fish giving them a total of 91 points for the day and the overall lead in the tournament with 192.5 points.
"Predator", another Bahamas registered vessel owned by John Hynes and captained by Peter Rose finished in second place with162 points, edging out "Reel Easy" who had 149 points. "Predator" was the winner of the overall Bahamas Wahoo Championship in 2005-2006.
The tournament was fished in less than optimum fishing conditions and the participating boats had to face waves of 10 to 15 feet with the occasional 20' monster as a result of a cold front that had passed earlier through Florida. However, the boats showed true grit and determination and managed to fish every day of the three day tournament.
The third leg of the Wahoo series now moves to Chub Cay, Berry Islands on February 7-10, 2007. "Zephyros" now leads the overall Bahamas Wahoo championship accumulating 300 points after two days of fishing. "Reel Easy" is in second place with 273 points and "Predator" in third place with 265 points.
For further information please contact Raul V Miranda at 305-234-7386 or rvmiranda@hotmail.com. The full results and updates may be ween at www.bahamaswahoo.com.
Date: 11/15/2006 The 2006-07 Wahoo Tournament
1st Leg-Bahamas Wahoo Championship
Press Release
"Sand Bob", a 61' Viking owned by Bob Moss of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and captained by Joe Kane won the First Leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship held at Port Lucaya Marina on Grand Bahama Island November 9-11, 2006.
The tournament was fished under some idyllic fishing conditions as the weather cooperated by growing progressively better each fishing day. For the first time in many years, the boats weighed in more fish each day as the days progressed.
Under the tournament scoring system, the heaviest five qualifying fish for "Sand Bob" totaled 235 points, giving them the lead over second place finishers "Ditch Digger" and Nassau, Bahamas based "Zephyros" who tied for second place with 224 points, 11 points behind "Sand Bob". Third place went to "Barefoot" with 203 points.
34 of the 37 participating boats caught qualifying fish and were up on the board in what turned out to be an excellent competition and catch. The heaviest Wahoo of the competition was a 78.5 pound Wahoo caught on "Reel Easy", followed closely by a 75 pound Wahoo on "Salt Shaker" and a 73.5 pound Wahoo on "Reel Determined". Three Wahoo were weighed in the 60 pound range and 11 Wahoo weighed in over 50 pounds.
Each boat will now carry forward their heaviest three Wahoo of the competition, and headed into the Second Leg at Treasure Cay (Abacos- January 10-13, 2007) , "Sand Bob" leads "Zephyros" by only 2.5 points, 173.0 to 170.5.
For more information on the tournament, please visit www.portlucaya.com or www.bahamaswahoo.com. Photos may be found at www.saltwatervideos.com.
You may also contact Sue Graves at 954-456-4468 or sgraves@moneypit.net.
Date: 2/6/06
From: Raul V. Miranda
Re: Press Release-Final Results of the 2005-06 Bahamas Wahoo Championship
Port Lucaya Marina, Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas
The Bahamas Wahoo Championship crowned a new Champion in another extremely close finish. After 9 days of fishing in three tournaments at two venues in the Bahamas, only three points separated first and second place. Also, this was the first Championship series won by a Bahamian owned boat.
"Predator", a 39' Intrepid, owned by John Hynes of Grand Bahama Island, and captained by the legendary Peter Rose accumulated an overall total of 405.5 points of their seven heaviest Wahoo caught during the series.
Right behind "Predator", in second place, with 402.5 points was "Savannah Lynn", owned by William Thomas of Clermont, Florida. "Savannah Lynn" is a former overall Bahamas Wahoo Championship winner.
Twice former Bahamas Wahoo Championship winner Duane Gosset, on "Triple Crown" was the third place winner with 355.5 points. Fourth Place went to the Bermuda based "Off Piste" owned by Brian Lines with 352 points. The fifth place award went to Stephen Lanning's "Moustache" captained by the very popular "Captain Chris".
Overall, 55 boats participated in the 2005-2006 Bahamas Wahoo Championship series. The heaviest Wahoo of the competition went to "Domarlo", who tied the BWC record of 101.5 pounds.
The first leg of the 2006-2007 series will be held at Port Lucaya Marina commencing on November 30, 2006. This will mark the start of the 10th year of competition for the Bahamas Wahoo Championship.
Second Place-- "Savannah Lynn"-- William Thomas-- 402.5 points
Third Place-- "Triple Crown"-- Duane Gosset-- 355.5 points
Fourth Place-- "Off Piste" -- Brian Lines-- 352 points
Fifth Place -- "Moustache"-- Stephen Lanning-- 302 points
For further information please contact Raul Miranda at 305-234-7386 or bahamaswahoo@hotmail.com.
Date: 2/4/06
From: Raul V. Miranda
Re: Press Release-Results of the Third Leg
The cold front system was passing through the Island when the boats left for the third and final day of fishing. The conditions were windy and rainy but the majority of the participants went fishing.
Former Bahamas Wahoo Championship winner (twice) Duane Gosset came to the weigh-in with two big Wahoo, a 71 pound specimen (heaviest Wahoo of the day) and a 38 pound fish, sufficient weight to give him a grand total of 243.5 points and the overall win for the tournament.
Newcomer "Zephyros", owned by Basil Goulandris of Nassau, Bahamas had an excellent catch of a 42.5 pound Wahoo and a 40 pound Wahoo to give him sufficient points to capture second place pverall in the tournament with a total of 207.5 points.
Half a pound off second place, at 207 points was "Savannah Lynn", owned and captained by William Thomas. "Savannah Lynn" is also a former Bahamas Wahoo Championship overall winner.
28 of the 33 participating boats weighed-in eligible Wahoo in what was a very hotly contested tournament. Forth Place went to another former Bahamas Wahoo Championship series winner, "Scatterbrain", skippered by Sef Stuparof of North Miami Beach, Florida. The average weight of all Wahoo weighed in during the tournament was 39.4 pounds.
First Place --Triple Crown --Duane Gosset-- 243.5 pts
Second Place --Zephyros --Basil Goulandris-- 207.5 pts
Third Place --Savannah Lynn --William Thomas-- 207 pts
Fourth Place --Scatterbrain --Roger Rex-- 195 pts
For further information, contact Tournament Director Raul V Miranda at 305-234-7386 or bahamaswahoo@hotmail.com.
Date: 1/15/06
From: Raul V. Miranda
Re: Press Release-Results of the Second Leg
Twenty-two of the world's finest wahoo sport-fishing boats answered the 8:00 AM start for the first day of fishing of the wahoo tournament at Treasure Cay Marina, Abaco, Bahamas. The weather conditions were picture perfect. Expectations ran high amongst the fleet that this would lead to a great day of fishing, and, indeed, that is what occurred because the big wahoo of the Abacos did show up in full force.
At the end of the first day of fishing, "Domarlo", a 47' Riviera owned by Doug MacDonald and Heather Rintoul, had weighed in a 101.5 pound wahoo (tying the overall Bahamas Wahoo Championship record) and a 60.5 wahoo, giving the Palm Beach based-boat the lead with 162 points. Under the scoring rules of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship, only the two heaviest fish caught on a boat per day are eligible for official weigh in.
Second place for day one went to "Predator," a Bahamas-based 39' Intrepid, owned by John Hynes. In what can only be termed as a very unusual set of fishing circumstances, "Predator" weighed in two wahoo with identical weights, 61 pounds each for a total of 122 points. One wahoo was caught in the morning, the identical "twin" was caught in the afternoon in the same spot. Stephen Lanning's "Moustache" caught a very nice 75.5 pound wahoo, plus a 36.5 pounder giving them 112 points and third place for the day. All in all, fourteen boats weighed in fish on the first day (22 fish) for a total of 1,000 pounds or an average weight of 45.45 pounds per wahoo. Six wahoo were over 60 pounds for the day.
Fishing for the second day of the tournament once again started under optimum weather conditions. A Treasure Cay Chamber of Commerce picture-perfect 8 A.M. start and day. The "big" wahoo catch continued to dominate the talk on the docks during the weigh-in of the second day of fishing. "Predator," was the first boat to get to the scales. John Hynes and Peter Rose brought seven wahoo to the scales. The two heaviest, and the ones that would count for the day, weighed 71 pounds and 67.5 pounds (totaling 138.5 points) for the daily lead. The Bermuda-based boat, "Off Piste," a 47' Cabo, captained by Brian Lines, had two wahoo, 71 and 55 pound, for a total of 126 points and second spot for the day. Twenty wahoo were weighed in on the second day. The average weight of the fish was 45.475 pounds, slightly heavier than the first day. Again, six wahoo weighed in at over 60 pounds, same as the first day.
A cold front which passed over Florida and The Bahamas, brought some very high winds to the third and final day of fishing. In what can only be termed as extremely windy conditions, the wahoo sport-fishing fleet attempted to fish the third and final day, but by mid-morning, it was obvious that in the interest of safety, all boats should head back to the marina.
Four boats did manage to catch and bring one wahoo each to the scale. "Rebaits" topped the day with the heaviest, a 33 pound fish. "Off Piste" got on the board with a 28.5 pounder, ""Domarlo" 22 pound, and "Nothin's Wild" a 20.5 pound fish. The final standings for the Second Leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship:
Second - Domarlo: 253.5
Third - Savannah Lynn : 184.5
Fourth - Off Piste: 154.5
Fifth - JR.: 152.5
The third and final leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship will be held at Port Lucaya Marina, Grand Bahama Island, February 1-4, 2006. For further information, contact bahamaswahoo@hotmail.com or Raul Miranda, 305-234-7386 or Sue Graves, 954-456-4468.
Date: 12/10/05
From: Raul V. Miranda
Re: Press Release-Results of the First Leg
Thirty four boats answered the starting call for the First Leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship tournament held at Port Lucaya Marina, Grand Bahama Island, November 30th to December 3rd. The tournament had been postponed from November 9th due to the effects of Hurricane Wilma on South Florida, the home base for the majority of the participating boats. Tournament organizers were delighted with this turnout in view of the postponement.
After three days of fishing, the winning boat was "Savannah Lynn", a 36' Yellowfin owned by William Thomas from Clermont, Florida. They accumulated 232.5 points which was the sum of the weight of their heaviest five wahoo weighed-in. The average weight of the wahoo was 46.5 pounds. This was the same team that came very close to winning the overall Bahamas Wahoo Championship last year and the results in this tournament indicate that they have not lost their touch for catching wahoo.
Second place went to a surprising entry, a 46' Cabo named "Off Piste" which came to the tournament on its own bottom all the way from Bermuda! Owner/Captain Brian Lines and first mate Ian Card (son of the famed Alan Card) were 10 points behind the leaders with the sum of their 5 best wahoo being 222.5 pounds. Their average weight of the wahoo was 44.5 pounds.
Miamian Ernie Valdes on "Weekly Sails" was the third place recipient with 189.5 points and "Predator", a Bahamian based boat was fourth with 177.5 points.
The Heaviest Wahoo of the competition was an 86 pound wahoo caught on "China Girl", a West Palm Beach boat owned by Dan Swanson.
In the Bahamas Wahoo Championship, only the weight of the heaviest three fish can be carried forward towards the next leg and the overall Bahamas Wahoo Championship victory. Taking this into account, the leaders going into the Treasure Cay leg are:
1. "Off Piste" 161.5 points
2. Savannah Lynn 154.5 points
3. "Predator" 146 points
All of the results are available at www.bahamaswahoo.com
The Second Leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship will be held at Treasure Cay Resort and Marina in the Abacos. This is a stand alone Wahoo tournament that will produce a separate slate of winners.
The dates for the Treasure Cay Wahoo tournament are January 11-14, 2006.
For further information on this tournament at Treasure Cay, please contact Lynn June at lynn@treasurecay.com. or Raul V Miranda at rvmiranda@hotmail.com.
All results of the First Leg are found at www.portlucayamarina.com or www.bahamaswahoo.com.
Photos of the First Leg at Port Lucaya Marina may also be viewed at www.saltwatervideos.com.
Press Release
For Immediate Release
29th of October, 2005
The first leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship tournament which was scheduled for November 9th-12th at Port Lucaya Marina on Grand Bahama Island has been re-scheduled for November 30th- December 3rd at the same venue.
Raul Miranda, Tournament Director for the event stated that "due to the tremendous damage inflicted by Hurricane Wilma on the South Florida area we feel that it is the best interest of all participants to re-schedule the event at a later date during the same month."
The Bahamas Wahoo Championship comprises a series of three Wahoo tournaments during the months of November, January and February. The second and third legs are not affected by the re-scheduling of the first leg.
For further information please contact Raul Miranda at 305-234-7386 (rvmiranda@hotmail.com), www.bahamaswahoo.com or Port Lucaya Marina 242-373-9090 www.portlucaya.com.
February, 2005
PRESS RELEASE Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas- February 2005
"Scatterbrain" wins the 2004-2005 Bahamas Wahoo Championship
Captain Sef Stuparoff from North Miami Beach guided Roger Rex's "Scatterbrain" to the overall win of the 2004-2005 Bahamas Wahoo Championship. Once again, the margin of victory was extremely competitive with only 33.5 points separating the winner from second place runner-up "Rebekka Lynn", last year's overall Championship winner. "Scatterbrain" won the first leg of the Championship series at Port Lucaya Marina in November. They won again at the second leg in Chub Cay in January and built enough of a lead that they were able to withstand a strong challenge in the third and final leg by "Rebekka Lynn" and "Salt Shaker".
Another success story of the 2004-2005 Wahoo series is that of newcomer Anthony Comparato's "Salt Shaker" to the Bahamas Wahoo Championship. "Salt Shaker" was the overall winner of the third leg of the series held at Port Lucaya Marina. They delighted the huge crowd of spectators at the weigh-in by weighing in a 101 pound Wahoo on the third and final day of fishing! This 101 pound Wahoo set a new Bahamas Wahoo Championship record for the heaviest Wahoo caught in the series.
This was the series of big Wahoo, with "Salt Shaker's" Wahoo at 101, "Castoff" with a 96 pound Wahoo and "Captain Video" with a 95 pound Wahoo.
Bobby Rigg's "El Cazador" (ninth overall) and Anthony Comparato's "Salt Shaker" (third overall) were named co-rookie boats of the year.
Longtime supporters of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship series were recognized with special "Admirals of the Seas"- Friends and Supports Awards.
The 2005-2006 Bahamas Wahoo Championship series, the ninth year of competition, kicks off November 9th to the 12th, 2005 at Port Lucaya Marina on Grand Bahama Island.
For information regarding the series please contact Raul Miranda at 305-234-7386 or Sue Graves at 954-456-4468. All of the final results are available at www.bahamaswahoo.com.
January 15, 2005
RESULTS OF THE WAHOO TOURNAMENT HELD AT CHUB CAY, BERRY ISLAND, BAHAMAS - JANUARY 12 TO 15, 2005
THE BIG WAHOOS SHOWED UP AT CHUB CAY
When does a 95 pound Wahoo not win the Heaviest Wahoo award in a tournament? Answer: When it gets beaten by a 96 pound Wahoo! As highly improbable as it seems, Jim Roberts, owner of "Captain Video", weighed in a 95 pound Wahoo on the second day of fishing and everyone felt pretty confident that fish would win the Heaviest Wahoo award. Lo and behold, on the third and last day of fishing Jack Winter and the crew of "Cast Off" were the second boat to weigh-in and much to everyone's amazement and delight, their heaviest Wahoo weighed 96 pounds, edging "Captain Video" by one pound for the Heaviest Wahoo award!
The Big 'Hoos showed up at Chub Cay and the bite was not only red hot, it was exceptional. Heading into the last day of fishing, Championship leader "Scatterbrain/Double Trouble" were in seventh place with 115 points and it seemed that they were out of the running for this tournament. Well, to prove the old adage that "it is not over until it's over" Captain Sef Stuparoff weighed an 87 pound Wahoo and a 51 pound Wahoo for a score of 138 points and the overall win of the tournament. They edged out second place "Rebekka Lynn" by a total of 13 points. Third place went to "Cast Off".
Aaron Rubenstein, Manager of Chub Cay Marina and Resort was delighted with the turn out for the tournament (21 boats) and the superb fishing. "This has been some of the best Wahoo fishing that I have ever seen at Chub" commented Aaron. "One other important fact about the tournament is that every participating boat weighed in at least one fish. Every boat was up on the board". Preparations got under way immediately after the tournament was over to host the Wahoo tournament again in January 2006.
The third and final leg now moves to Port Lucaya Marina, February 2 to 5. Eight boats have carried forward a total of six fish to the final leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship. "Scatterbrain/Double Trouble" is in the lead, followed by "Captain Video" and "Rebekka Lynn". Once again, it looks as if there is going to be another thrilling finish to the Bahamas Wahoo Championship.
Please contact Raul V Miranda for any additional information and/or photos.
Thirty-two boats where on hand to participate in the first leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship at Port Lucaya Marina (November 10-14) despite some really rough weather due to a passing cold front over the Island. Tom Malone, on the "Justice" was the only boat to make the crossing on Wednesday and he joined the 31 other boats waiting in the Marina.
The winds were still nasty on Thursday for the 8:00 AM Bimini start and indeed it turned out to be a long hard day of fishing for the participants. The inclement weather influenced the fishing and only 14 boats weighed-in fish on the first day. "Captain Video", a 70' Hatteras owned by Jim Roberts and captained by Paul Poirier managed to weigh a 40 pound Wahoo and a 29.5 pound Wahoo to capture the lead.
The winds abated overnight and the second day of fishing was considerably calmer. "Weekly Sails", owned by Ernie Valdes weighed in a very nice 61 pound Wahoo and a 53.5 pound Wahoo, giving them a total of 114.5 points which added to their 58 points caught on Day One gave them a comfortable lead with 172.5 points heading into the third day of fishing.
The third and final day of fishing turned out to be a spectacular day, with perfect weather and hot fishing. 18 boats weighed 31 qualifying fish making it a very exciting weigh-in. "Scatterbrain/Double Trouble", who had not weighed in a fish on the first day but had 81.5 points on the second day, weighed in a 64.5 pound Wahoo and a 49.5 pound Wahoo on the last day for a daily winning total of 114 points and an overall 195.9 points. The large crowds at the weigh in waited with anticipation to see what "Weekly Sails" would weigh in but this was not meant to be "Weekly Sails" day as they failed to weigh in an eligible fish. "Scatterbrain/Double Eagle" edged out "Weekly Sails" by 10 points to capture thewin. Harry Sargeant's "Black Gold", a proven veteran of the Billfish circuits and a novice to the Wahoo Championship captured third place with 175.5 points. The "Scatterbrain" team of Capt. Sef Stupakoff and Todd Nezwek utilized Harvey Smade's "Double Trouble" to fish the first leg while new engines are being installed on "Scatterbrain".
A total of 70 Wahoo where weighed in during the three days of the competition and the average weight was 34.7 pounds. The heaviest Wahoo was the 64.5 pound fish caught on "Scatterbrain/Double Trouble".
Raul Miranda, Tournament Director, praised the Management and Staff of Port Lucaya Marina for working so hard in order to put the facilities together following two devastating hurricanes in one month. All participants contributed generously towards a benefit raffle to assist the Marina staff in recovering from personal losses caused by the hurricanes. The raffle was made possible by the generosity of Marine Artist Steve Goione who assisted the staff by donating a one of a kind specially painted original as the Grand Prize. Marine Biologist Dr. Jay Baldwin continues his important research on Wahoo populations as part of the BWC series and providing insights of Wahoo biology to tournament participants.
The competition now moves to Chub Cay where the second leg will be held January 12-15, 2005.
All results may be found at www.portlucayamarina.com and www.bahamaswahoo.com
Information on the Chub Cay Leg at www.chubcay.com or www.portlucayamarina.com
General and background information at www.bahamaswahoo.com
Raul V Miranda at rvmiranda@hotmail.com 305-234-7386
Noel Clarke: nclarke@portlucayamarina.com
Sue Graves : 954-456-4468.
Steve Goione: www.stevegoione.com
Dr. Jay Baldwin : www.wahooproject.org
"Anglers seem to be very happy with last year's format" says Raul Miranda, member of the Organizing Committee, "so we are not envisioning making any major changes to the competition"
The 2004-2005 series will be comprised of three different Wahoo tournaments. The opening and closing legs will be held at Port Lucaya Marina in November and February, while the middle leg will be held at Chub Cay in January. Each leg is run as an independent tournament with its own winners and trophies and anglers are not obligated to fish all three legs in order to participate in the Bahamas Wahoo Championship series.
"The scoring system is fantastic", says Miranda "and it will definitely will remain the same." The new scoring system, designed by Jack Holmes of has provided the closest results yet of the Wahoo Championship. "Three of the last Bahamas Wahoo Championship series were decided by ten points or less separating the first and second place teams. In all three cases, the overall winners were not decided until the final weigh-in of the last day of competition. It is amazing how close these tournaments can be after nine days of fishing."
The Bahamas Wahoo Championship is the brainchild of angler Tom Malone and Marsh Harbour resident Penny Turtle. Both of them wanted to create a competition series that would take advantage of the bountiful Wahoo action in Bahamian waters. The Bahamas Wahoo Championship is strongly supported by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism who see this series as a means of developing a sport fisheries for the Bahamas during the winter months, which is when the major Wahoo runs occur.
There is some serious Wahoo research being conducted during the series by Florida Atlantic University Marine biologist Dr. Jay Baldwin of the Wahoo Research Project. While Wahoo are believed to be highly migratory, genetic studies just being completed by the Wahoo Research project are expected to provide additional data. Next step on the agenda will be the creation of a program utilizing pop-up satellite archival tags.
The defending champion this year will be "Rebekka Lynn", a 36' Yellowfin that became the first ever center console boat to win the Bahamas Wahoo Championship. Lady angler Linda Thomas was instrumental in catching some of the winning Wahoo including the 92.5 pound fish which was the heaviest Wahoo of the competition.
For more information on the 2004-2005 series contact Raul Miranda at 305-234-7386 or Sue Graves at 954-456-4468. The web site for the Championship is www.bahamaswahoo.com and the e-mail address is bahamaswahoo@hotmail.com.
Another fantastic finish happened at Port Lucaya Marina, host resort of the First Leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship. Once more, the tournament came down to the final day of fishing between the top boats.
However, day one proved to be an exciting day, not only was the weather and seas a challenge, but the competition was extremely high. Thirty eligible wahoo were weighed in. William Thomas and the Rebeka Lynn crew brought in a 92.5 pound wahoo to lead in the heaviest fish division. Duane Gossett on the "Double Eagle" brought in a 79 pounder and so did the crew aboard the "Emotional Rescue."
Although the seas had settled some, day two only saw 11 eligible wahoo at the scales, but the Florida Yachts International Team out of Miami brought the largest fish, a 75 pounder, for weigh in.
The third and last day of fishing had 19 wahoo at the scale. Ocean Alley out of Hollywood, Florida weighed in a 65.5 pounder that propelled them into second place overall for the tournament. Rebeka Lynn was able to win the tournament, beating out Ocean Alley and last year's top competitor, Dale Jacobs' team aboard the "Double Down".
The overall standings appear on www.bahamaswahoo.com while www.portlucayamarina.com has extensive coverage of the first leg as well as numerous photos of the event. The second leg will be held at Chub Cay, January 14-17, 2004 and third leg will return to Port Lucaya Marina, February 4-7, 2004. For additional photos or information, contact Raul Miranda, 305-234-7386, rvmiranda@msn.com or Sue Graves, 954-456-4468, sgraves@fitertown.com.
Port Lucaya Marina
Another fantastic finish at Port Lucaya Marina, host resort of the Third Leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship. Once more, the tournament and the overall standings for the 2002-2003 Bahamas Wahoo Championship series came down to the final day of fishing, the last boat to weigh-in and the only Wahoo they caught that day.
Entering the third and last day of fishing, previous overall Bahamas Wahoo Championship winner Duane Gossett on "Double Eagle" held a 37.5 point lead over Dale Jacobs' "Double Down". Duane could not bring a qualifying fish to the scale on the last day and "Double Down" only had one fish to weigh-in. A tremendous excitement at the docks and with the very large crowd gathered at the Marketplace square. Would "Double Down's" fish weigh more than 37.5 pounds? The crowd roared as weigh master Raul Miranda called: 41.5 pounds! Double Down won the Tournament by 4.5 points and the Overall Championship by 5 points.
A tie for third place was in the overall standings, with Martin Bookstone's "Double Eagle" tying with Homero Meruelo's "Juguete" at 286 points. The Florida Yachts International entry was a very close fifth place with 281 points and Kaye Pearson's "Showpiece" was right behind them in sixth place with 248 points.
Five boats fished three legs and were able to score the seven qualifying fish. Amazingly, "Juguete", who did not fish the first Leg , managed to tie for third place even after being scoreless during the first two days of the last leg. The last Leg of the Championship attracted more boats (22) than the first Leg (21) and overall, 33 boats participated in the 2002-2003 Championship, many of them fishing more than one Leg.
The largest Wahoo of the series was caught by "Juguete", a whopping 91.5 pound fish. Second heaviest wahoo was also caught by "Juguete", an 82 pound fish, while "Aedoa II" weighed in the third heaviest wahoo at 77.0 pounds.
The Awards ceremony for the Third Leg and the Overall Championship was combined into one Gala affair at "Our Lucaya Resort" after the last day of fishing and more than 190 people attended the event.
The overall standings appear on www.bahamaswahoo.com while www.portlucayamarina.com has extensive coverage of the last leg as well as numerous photos of the event. For additional photos or additional information, contact Raul V Miranda (305) 234-7386 or Sue Graves, 954-456-4468, sgraves@fitertown.com.
Valentine's Resort and Marina
Harbour Island, Eleuthera, The Bahamas
Press Release- Results of the Second Leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship
Some very big Wahoo were caught at Harbour Island during the second leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship. The day before the tournament started, a 118 pound Wahoo was weighed-in at the Marina dock. During the tournament, Wahoo's of 91.5 pounds, 82 pounds and 77 pounds were weighed in during the tournament.
Those big Wahoo enabled "Juguete" to stage a remarkable come from behind victory and win the tournament. "Juguete", a 60' Ocean based out of Miami Beach, suffered mechanical problems on Day One of the tournament and were unable to reach the weigh-in on time. Working with the disadvantage of no fish on the first day, owner Homero Meruelo and co-captains Ricardo Benitez and Carmelo Torres did manage to weigh in two respectable wahoo during the second day, a 56.5 and a 44.5 wahoo, putting them back into the running. However, it was not until the final day of fishing that anglers Carlos Pendola, Weslie Pendola and Tony Menendez managed to bring to the weigh-in scale a whopping 91.5 pound wahoo and an 84 pound wahoo. These two monster wahoo enabled "Juguete" to overcome the zeros of the first day, accumulate 274.5 points and win the tournament overall.
"Juguete" edged out second place finisher "Aedoa II" by 26 points. "Aedoa II", owned by Oscar Vazquez, is based out of Coral Gables, Florida but the boat has extensive knowledge of the Harbour Island waters. They also caught the third heaviest wahoo of the competition, a 77 pound wahoo.
Third place went to Kaye Pearson and his Ft. Lauderdale based "Showpiece". Kaye weighed-in a very nice 66 pound wahoo which contributed to his overall total of 216.5 points. Defending Bahamas Wahoo Championship champion, Duane Gossett came in fourth place on his "Double Eagle", managing to weigh-in a 63 pound wahoo.
And now, the action moves to Port Lucaya Marina and the third and final Leg of the Championship which will be held February 5 to 8, 2003. Four boats have qualified six fish each and although Duane Gosett leads after two legs with 337.5 points, "Double Down" is right behind him with 296.0 points, "Double Eagle" (Martin Bookston) in third place with 238.5 and Florida Yachts International with 231. Boats may qualify three more fish during the third Leg for a total of nine fish, and then the best seven will determine the overall winner of the Championship. With all of the different scenarios to be played out, it is still a wide open Championship. "Juguete" is expected to mount a strong challenge in the Third Leg, as well as "Showpiece". With 16 boats expected to participate, it looks like the overall winner will not be determined until the final day of fishing.
The Awards banquet for the Bahamas Wahoo Championship will be held on Saturday night, February 8th at "Our Lucaya " Resort on Grand Bahama Island.
The 5th Annual Bahamas Wahoo Championship recently concluded with the Awards ceremony crowning the 2001-2002 champion, Duane Gossett, on "Double Eagle".
Under the new scoring system, only 4 pounds separated the first and second place boats after 4 tournaments and 16 days of fishing! It's really amazing and further proof that the new scoring system works and has been praised by all competitors. Had more boats fished three or more legs it is conceivable that six or eight boats would have been within 10 pounds of each other fighting for first place!
"Double Eagle's" seven best fish of the competition weighed 423 pounds at an average of 60.43 pounds per Wahoo. The second place boat, David and Paul Mellor's "Sea 'N Double" best seven fish weighed 419 pounds for an average of 59.85 pounds. The winner of the 16 days of fishing of the Championship was determined on the last day by the last fish!
The Bahamas Wahoo Championship will hold it's 6th Annual Championship series in 2002-2003. The only major rule change will be that we will fish THREE straight days instead of four. There will be four tournaments and an Awards dinner.
First Leg Port Lucaya Marina, Grand Bahama Island November 13-16,2002
The Organizing Committee would like to thank all of the participants, their crews, the wonderful sponsors that we had this year, the great Media coverage, and we look forward to welcoming all of you back for the 6th Annual Series.
SEA-N-DOUBLE'S FIVE FISH AGGREGATE OF 271 POUNDS TOPS 2ND LEG OF BAHAMAS
WAHOO CHAMPIONSHIP AT PORT LUCAYA MARINA ON GRAND BAHAMA!
Grand Bahama's Paul and David Mellor and Brian Buckley fishing their 42 foot Smith, the "Sea-n-Double", needed over 88 points to capture the win going into the final day in the second leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship at the Port Lucaya Marina on Grand Bahama. They ran to the south, fishing near the Gingerbreads, a popular fishing spot on the northern tip of the Great Bahama Bank, where they caught 62 and 46 pounders to move past the previous tournament leader, Duane Gossett's "Double Eagle."
While teams fished in 6 to 12 foot seas for the first three days of the four day event, they still managed to scale some real impressive wahoo. Gossett had the big boy, a 76 pounder, and David Mellor and Kaye Pearson each scaled 67 pound wahoo.
The new tournament format allows each team to weigh just two wahoo per day over the four days with their best 5 counting toward the tournament victory. The "Sea-n-Double's" five fish included a 67, 65, 62, 46, and a 31. In fact the average overall size of wahoo weighed in the tournament was nearly 38 pounds. That's some impressive fishing!
The "Double Eagle", a 50' Viking, nabbed second place honors with five fish totaling 247 pounds. "We fished Stirrup Cay but couldn't find that one fish that would have won this thing," said Duane Gossett from Apopka, Florida. Their 76 pounder caught on the third day by Kevin Krueger moved them into the lead but they just couldn't hold on. The "Double Eagle" team won the 1999 - 2000 BWC Championship.
The "Commitment", a 34' Atlantic, captured third with a five fish stringer totaling 170.5 pounds. "We fished the White Sand Ridge to the north all four days," said team leader Jay DePotter from North Palm Beach. "We found fish but they just weren't the big ones we needed but we're happy, we're still in the hunt for the Championship." Their largest fish, a 43, was caught by Richard Hennigan using Bullethead and Islander Lures.
Fourth place fell to Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show promoter
Kaye Pearson aboard his "ShowPiece" with a four fish aggregate of 158.5 pounds. He just edged out Lighthouse Point's Art Rhomberg fishing his "Art Attack" by a half a pound.
The Captain's Meeting, a Wahoo dinner, and the awards ceremony were held at the Our Lucaya Beach and Golf Resort, located across from the Port Lucaya Marina and Marketplace. Participants praised the facility and the superb quality of food served. Several participants were quoted as saying that After years of fishing many of the resorts in the Bahamas, this event offered the best amenities thanks to Our Lucaya and Port Lucaya Marina. The much anticipated Our Lucaya Casino will open this spring. Everyone wants more events held here and the BWC committee agreed.
The overall winner of this years Championship can carry over their Biggest 3 fish from each of the four legs with their best 7 fish counting for the overall Championship honor.
The "Sea-n-Double" moved into the series lead with a six fish total of 286.5 followed by the "Double Eagle's" 272.5 points. The leader was in 11th place following the first leg in Bimini while the "Double Eagle" moved from eighth to second. Third is Tom Malone's "Justice" with 219.5 points. The "Commitment" is fourth with 205.5 followed by the "Art Attack" with 205
points.
The third leg of the BWC moves to the Abaco Beach Resort & Boat Harbour Marina January 15th thru the 19th, 2002 and is open to the general angling community.
The BWC is sponsored by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Hatteras Yachts, Raymarine Electronics, Simrad Electronics, Release Marine, Chalk's Ocean Airways, Captain Harry's Fishing Supply, Crook and Crook Marine Supplies, Salt Water Sportsman Magazine, and Texaco Bahamas.
For more information on the series, contact the BWC at 904-819-0360 or visit their web site at bahamaswahoo.com
PRESS RELEASE: June 1st, 2001
NUMEROUS CHANGES IN STORE FOR THE 2001-2002 SERIES
The Bahamas Wahoo Championship has institutes a new scoring system in order to make the series more competitive and give each participating boat the opportunity to win. The Wahoo Championship will now stress the quality of the fish caught rather than the quantity. "Our anglers have already proven that they are the best Wahoo fisherman in the world by catching over 14,000 pounds of Wahoo in 11 days of fishing last year" says Raul Miranda, one of the Organizers of the Championship. "We know that they can catch Wahoo but what we want now is for them to concentrate on catching good size Wahoo. This scoring system levels the playing field between fast boats and slow boats, experienced boats vs. less experienced boats. Everyone has the chance to catch two good qualifying fish per day!"
Under the new scoring system for each tournament, the "daily" award will go to that boat that weighs in the heaviest TWO Wahoo of the day. After four days of fishing, a boat will have eight qualifying Wahoo. The OVERALL winner of the tournament will be that boat accumulating the most weight of their heaviest FIVE qualifying Wahoo out of the possible eight.
In scoring for the OVERALL Bahamas Wahoo Championship title, each boat will be allowed to carry forward to the next tournament their heaviest THREE Wahoo from their possible eight qualifying Wahoo. At the end of the four legs a boat might have accumulated twelve qualifying Wahoo. The top SEVEN heaviest Wahoo will determine the overall winner for the Championship.
Jack and Deona Holmes, founders of the highly successful Southern Kingfish Association (SKA) and now members of the Organizing Committee support this new scoring system. "It is a good scoring system that treats each participant on an equal footing. This will help improve the competitive aspect of the Championship."
The Bahamas Wahoo Championship has also raised the minimum weight of allowable Wahoo from 15 pounds to 20 pounds in an effort to promote conservation.
One more important change to the 2001-2002 rules of the championship will be that establishment of "boundaries". "This was one of the most controversial issues that we had to address but a survey of participating boats showed an overwhelming sentiment for the establishment of fishing boundaries. We will therefore establish boundaries at each of the participating resorts which will include the major fishing areas in that location and be reachable by all boats."
The Bahamas Wahoo Championship has also expanded the Organizing Committee. Jack and Deona Holmes as well as marine artist Steve Goione will join Raul Miranda and Sue Graves. "This is a highly experienced Committee that is constantly looking for ways to improve the Championship."
The Bahamas Wahoo Championship is a series of four Wahoo tournaments designed to promote the excellent fisheries for the Islands of the Bahamas from November to February.
The first leg will be held at the Bimini Big Game Fishing Club, a resort that pioneered Wahoo fishing in the Bahamas. Date: November 6 to 9, 2001
The second Leg has been moved to Port Lucaya Marina in Freeport, Grand Bahamas. This is the first time that Port Lucaya Marina hosts a tournament of this magnitude and already the anglers are looking forward to all of the amenities available in Port Lucaya plus the new casino. Date: December 4 to 8, 2001
The third leg will usher the New Year at the Abaco Beach Resort and Boat Harbour Marina, a first class destination with excellent Wahoo fishing. A great way to start the year 2002 and the ideal "stress reliever" after the Holidays. The family will enjoy this tournament because of the numerous amenities available in the Abacos. Date: January 15 to 19, 2002
The fourth and final leg, the one that promises to be a thriller and will most probably decide the overall champion will come back to the Bimini Big Game Fishing Club, a destination which is easily accessible and closer to "home". Date: February 5 to 9, 2002.
Once again, the Gala Awards Dinner will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami of February 13th, 2002, the night prior to the start of the Miami Boat Show. This event is growing in stature and popularity with 150 people in attendance at the last event. Date: February 13, 2002
The Bahamas Wahoo Championship Organizing Committee
The Bahamas Wahoo Championship - a series of Wahoo tournaments held at different locations in the Out Islands of the Bahamas combines the finest Wahoo fishing in the world with the unique ambiance and climate that November thru February bring to the Islands of the Bahamas. Enjoy the thrill of action packed fishing for the magnificent Wahoo gamefish in the friendly and competitive atmosphere during the months that make the Bahamas the ideal destination for you and your boat.
This is where it all started and where Wahoo legends are born. Hemingway's own Island in the Stream. The largest Wahoo tournament in the world!
For further information on the Bahamas Wahoo Championship please log-on to our web site : www.bahamaswahoo.com
Press releases from the 2000-2001 Wahoo Championship Tournament can be found here! 2000-2001 Press releases!
Results and press releases from the 1999-2000 Wahoo Championship Tournament can be found here! 1999-2000 Results!
November 17th, 2004
June 10, 2004
The Bahamas Wahoo Championship will be entering its 8th year of competition when the 2004-2005 season gets underway at Port Lucaya Marina on Grand Bahama Island November 10th to 13th, 2004.
Port Lucaya Marina
Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas
November 30, 2003
CC: Organizing Committee Members, Press
From: Raul V Miranda
RE: State of the 2003 Wahoo Championship
Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas
Press Release- Results of the Third Leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Championship and Overall Results of the 2002-2003 Bahamas Wahoo Championship
To: Participants
CC: Organizing Committee Members, Press
From: Raul V Miranda
RE: State of the 2003 Wahoo Championship
To: Participants
Cc: Organizing Committee Members, Press
From: Raul V Miranda
RE: State of the Wahoo Championship
Second Leg Venue to be announced December 11-14,2002
Third Leg Venue to be announced January 15-18, 2003
Fourth Leg Port Lucaya Marina, Grand Bahama Island February 5-8, 2003
Awards Presentation Miami, Florida February 12, 2003
PMB 337-6619 SOUTH DIXIE HWY
MIAMI, FL 33143
www.bahamaswahoo.com
Bahamaswahoo@hotmail.com
E-mail: Bahamaswahoo@hotmail.com
Web Page: www.bahamaswahoo.com
2001-2001 SERIES
Bimini Big Game Fishing Club, Bimini, Bahamas
Port Lucaya Marina, Freeport, Grand Bahama Island.,
Combine superb Wahoo fishing with excellent facility and the exciting nightlife and Casinos of Freeport. Duty Free Shopping. A great pre-Holiday destination.
Abaco Beach Resort and Boat Harbour Marina, Abaco, Bahamas
Enjoy all of the amenities of this world class resort with everything that Marsh Harbour and the Abacos have to offer. Outstanding Wahoo fishing. Lots of fishing grounds to cover. An ideal tournament to bring family and close friends and unwind after the hectic Holiday season.
Bimini Big Game Fishing Club, Bimini, Bahamas
An exciting and satisfying finish to the Championship, close to home!
The Awards Dinner. Miami, Florida. THE function to be at the night prior to the Miami Boat Show. Great music and entertainment. A truly Bahamian celebration for all participants in the Bahamas Wahoo Championship. The Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami. Black-tie optional.
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The Bahamas
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