Cowpoke takes top honors at 11th Annual Boat Harbour-HMY Billfish Blast
Two Viking Yachts teams place in top three
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Laurie Bass
Telephone: (888) 883-2890
E-mail: LBass@hmy.com
Website: www.billfishblast.com
MARSH HARBOUR, ABACO, BAHAMAS (June 9, 2010) – The Boat Harbour-HMY Billfish Blast was presented by HMY Yacht Sales and Abaco Beach Resort at Boat Harbour from May 31-June 4, 2010. The Blast returned for its eleventh anniversary to Abaco Beach Resort at Boat Harbour Marina in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas.
Fourteen teams joined the competition with themed events including the Memorial Day Kick-Off Dinner, Sports Night Dinner, Rockstar Karaoke/Talent Competition Dinner, Lay Day Pool Party and Lunch, and the Awards Banquet. Tournament Coordinator Laurie Bass states, “We added a few new contests for participants and we kept the tradition of morning and afternoon gifts as well as an hourly raffle drawing on the VHF. I believe our formula for family, fun and fishing create a hybrid event like no other.”
Kicking off in patriotic fashion on Memorial Day, registration and team check-in provided a smooth transition to the Kick-Off Dinner sponsored by Viking Yachts. Immediately following dinner, the Fireworks Extravaganza sponsored by Pirate’s Cove Resort and Marina provided a special treat for everyone in Marsh Harbour along with a definite feeling that the Blast is back and underway.
The first day of fishing resulted in several hookups and two blue marlin releases. Aquaholic’s Jason Suzar released the first and Cowpoke’s Cruiser Crews released the second. The action doubled the second day with seven hookups and three releases. Perry Osman on Sea N Double released the first blue on Wednesday, and then after several pulled hooks, Dave Meyer on Cowpoke fought and released the team’s second blue marlin. Closing out day two, Bill Byers on Intents released the day’s final blue at 3:48 PM.
Day two concluded with the annual Rockstar Karaoke/Talent Contest and Dinner sponsored by Atlantic Marine Electronics, Palm Beach Towers and Christi Marine Insurance. The Most Talented trophy was earned once again by Alan Colantuano on Bam-Boo for the second year in a row. All teams enjoyed the mandatory lay day by taking part in the Pool Party and Lunch sponsored by Ransome/Caterpillar. The lay day games included a Top Model competition for males wearing board shorts, a Bloody Mary Competition, and Iron Chef Challenge. The Iron Chef trophy was presented to Ben Martin on Coastal Angler for his tasty grouper entry; the Bloody Mary winner was special tournament guest, Lisa Barber on the Uptick for her “Remote Control” Bloody Mary; and finally, the Top Model honors were taken by Tigger from Three Dog Night.
The final day of fishing offered the hottest bite of the entire week. A total of eight hookups resulted in six blue releases and one white. Cowpoke’s strong showing of two blue releases and one white by female angler Christy Crews pushed the team over the top and kept them in the top spot at lines out. Perry Osman on Sea N Double
released a blue which secured second place. Junior angler, Van Wichers, on Outlaw released a blue to capture top honors for the Doc Austin Memorial Top Junior Angler award, and other blue marlin releases came courtesy of Kim Domel on Dequello, and Tracy Paterson on Coastal Angler. However, based on release time, Aquaholic held on
for a third place finish.
Overall results are as follows:
1st Place Overall, 1st Place Release, 1st Place Crew: Cowpoke, 61’ Viking
Owner Cruiser Crews
Captain Mike Brady
Mate Mike “Dewey” Price
Anglers Christy Crews, Cruiser Crews, Dave Meyer, Greg Jones
Four blue releases and one white marlin release
2nd Place Overall, 2nd Place Release, 2nd Place Crew:
Sea N Double, 61’ Viking
Owner Perry Osman
Captain Rich Stallings
Anglers Perry Osman, Shane Davenport, Kyle Osman, Sabrina Davenport
Two blue releases
3rd Place Overall, 3rd Place Release, 3rd Place Crew: Aquaholic, 50’ Hatteras
Owner/Captain Michael Rogers
Anglers Jason Suzor, Rob Davenport, LeAnne Rogers, Dan Suzor
One blue release
Christy Crews on Cowpoke took home top honors in the ladies and overall angler categories with her releases of two blue marlin and one white, totaling 1400 points. Christy’s win makes her eligible to enter the Grand Championship of the World Billfish Series in December of this year.
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