Innholdsfortegnelse for June/July 2018 i Marlin

GUNSMOKE SHOOTS TO VICTORY IN LOS SUEÑOS The overall series win goes to Tarheel Ask any successful tournament team and they will say persistence is an important ingredient in the recipe for a big win. Phil Arklin’s Gunsmoke team has been fishing in the Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown since he built the 43-foot Maverick in 2010, and he will be the first to say that they have had their ups and downs on the leaderboard. However, it all seemed to come together for the third and final leg of the 2018 Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown, held in Los Sueños Resort and Marina on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Gunsmoke anglers Arklin, Curtis White and Carlos Gonzalez caught nearly all their bites, and Capt. Warner Porras kept them…

Guatemala is well-known for its vast number of Pacific sailfish; anglers from across the globe venture to these fertile waters in search of fast action. However, sometimes the unexpected happens, even with the most experienced crews. And while we do not advocate removing billfish from the water, this is admittedly a very interesting catch from a professional captain. On February 5, Capt. Luis “Wicho” Ramirez and deckhands Emerson Torres and Danilo Fajardo had two novice bluewater fly anglers aboard for the day: Lutz Minich and Michel Jeannelle. The pair of German fishermen had caught a bunch of other species on fly and were keen to try their hand at billfish, so they booked a few days with us. They were avid fly-fishermen for sure, just no offshore experience for either…

In the mid-1990s, I was a new arrival to the wonders of billfishing. I outfitted a 41-foot aluminum-hulled sloop named Elan with outriggers and tackle, put my Florida Keys-based charter business on hold and sailed through the Panama Canal to see what I could discover in the wide Pacific Ocean. One cluster of idyllic, verdant islands in the middle of the South Pacific called the Vava‘u group particularly captured my imagination. It belongs to the last Pacific monarchy, the Kingdom of Tonga, and I felt going there might be similar in many ways to visiting Hawaii 100 years or so ago. During my second visit there in 1998, I met a Kiwi captain named Steve Campbell, who’d stopped en route from a season in Samoa with his 46-foot custom Alan…

For electronics buffs, the big news at the Miami International Boat Show was about software more than hardware. In the past few model years, navigation companies have boosted the power of microprocessors and given their navigation displays plenty of chops to adapt to and adopt new features as they are designed into firmware updates. A good deal of this firmware innovation looks and functions like smartphone apps on your chart-plotter screen. HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE? Navigation electronics are basically battle-hardened PCs capable of taking heavy spray without shutting down. Internally, electronic brains are bigger and faster, and internal memory is beefy enough to multitask like a laptop. And increasingly, just like the laptop, tablet and mobile phones on your desk, new firmware updates periodically turn your old machine into something very…

The second hull of Bayliss Boatworks’ new GameBoat series will be GameChanger, a stunning 62-footer from the Wanchese, North Carolina, builder. The Bayliss GameBoat concept was created with the goal of chasing marlin and sailfish as efficiently as possible. GameChanger’s power will come from a pair of MTU M96L engines rated at 1,920 hp each, while faux-teak components, including toe rail, transom and drip molding, mean easier upkeep and maintenance while traveling to foreign destinations. A three-stateroom/two-head interior layout includes an easily accessible day head and cavernous tackle room, each situated just off the main companionway. Other systems will include a single 20 kW Northern Lights generator, a Seakeeper 16 gyrostabilizer, a pair of 1,000-pound-per-day ice makers and a 1,200-gallon-per-day watermaker. “In terms of construction, fit and finish, the GameBoat…

WHERE JUNE/JULY The tournament spotlight shines brightly on the Gulf of Mexico this summer as a series of high-profile events takes center stage from the Florida Panhandle to Texas. Elsewhere, the beautifully scenic island nation of Bermuda hosts the Bermuda Triple Crown in July, attracting some of the world’s top teams, and the seamounts off Costa Rica remain a consistent blue marlin hot spot as well. BITE TRACKER Stay current with the best bites from the top billfish destinations around the globe at marlinmag.com/travel.…

In my October column last year, I asked Marlin readers to participate in a survey to obtain information on anglers’ perceptions about billfish fisheries in the Caribbean. This survey is just one component of a large multiyear study funded by the World Bank and the Food and Agricultural Organization to take a deep dive into how billfish resources are utilized in this part of the world. The Caribbean Billfish Project is a multiyear program with partners that include the World Bank, the FAO and the International Game Fish Association. The goal of the CBP is to develop new fishery policies to reduce billfish mortality and increase billfish stocks. It will conduct a series of pilot projects to develop conservation actions that can be scaled up to the entire Caribbean region…

I began my obsession with sport fishing in Ocean City, Maryland, when the queens of the local charter fleet were boats in the 40-foot range that cruised at just over 20 knots. Today, a 60-footer cruising at 35 knots doesn’t even get a second look. Over the years came more definitive transducers, higher gear ratios on our reels, better satellite imagery and more. The need for something bigger, faster and better has not gone unnoticed in the world of dredges either. THE EVOLUTION The first sailfish dredges in Florida were modified striped bass umbrella rigs with four arms and a single tier of mullet. These were cleated off at the transom or pulled from either a manual downrigger or 11/0 Penn Senator on a broomstick rod. We’ve progressed to the…

With a coveted invitation to Viking Yacht Company’s annual VIP preview event in hand, I set out to see what the company had in store for 2018 and beyond. The New Gretna, New Jersey, builder’s new 68 Convertible undeniably proves that Viking is living up to its company motto of building a better boat every day. After my sea trial, I caught up with Viking vice president of sales Joe Schwab and senior project engineer Bill Gibbons, who offered insight on the company’s newest addition to its fleet of sport-fishing thoroughbreds. At first glance, there is no mistaking the sleek styling and clean lines of a Viking Yacht; the new 68-footer is no exception. In fact, the boat’s profile is quite striking. “Our evolution from one model to another incorporates…

Being a boat captain for so many years and now being an insurance agent nerd, I had to start repairing and checking off the surveyor’s recommendations as I continued the rebuild of my 48-foot G&S, The Hooker, in Panama. I am really safety conscious these days, so I called in companies to inspect the fire-quenching system, fire extinguishers and the Zodiac life raft mounted on the bow. Meanwhile, I had set a goal of being ready to fish out of Tropic Star Lodge in August and September for its great blue marlin season. Cleaning the boat’s interior was crazy too. I dumped out every drawer and sprayed inside the cabinets for bugs. I peeled off the wallpaper, pulled up the carpet and threw away two really beat-up old couches too.…

BIRDS AHEAD While fishing off Costa Rica, freelance photographer Jessica Haydahl Richardson witnessed one of the most memorable sights of her career. “Late in the day, the bait came to the surface, chased by packs of striped marlin,” she says. “Thousands of birds also joined the party. It turned into a feeding frenzy, with marlin cutting through the bait and the birds attacking from above. It was incredible.” LOCATION Haydahl took the photo during the first leg of the 2017 Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown in Costa Rica. TECH SPECS CAMERA: Nikon D3 LENS: Sigma 150-600mm Sport ISO: 400 APERTURE: f/8 SPEED: 1/2000 sec…

A blue marlin weighing 899.6 pounds on Cotton Patch won the 2015 Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic. A year later, an 806.8-pound blue on You Never Know won the 2016 Blue Marlin Grand Championship. In 2017, the heaviest blue marlin weighed only 654.2 pounds, yet it helped Capt. Jeff Shoults capture the Gulf Coast Triple Crown for his team on Mollie. Each of these quality Gulf of Mexico tournament fish had one thing in common: They were all caught on live bait. The only thing more impressive than the size of these fish was the size of the checks that were cashed. Live-baiting for blue marlin is not a new technique. In Hawaii, there is a rich history of pulling lures for big blues, but captains there have been using…

Stepping onto the airport tarmac, the fragrance in the air is unmistakable: The clean tropical breeze is scented with hints of cloves, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg, mixed with salty sea spray. You’ve just arrived in Grenada, the Caribbean’s legendary island of spice. Adventure awaits. I was invited to this incredibly beautiful nation to cover the 49th annual Budget Marine Spice Island Billfish Tournament and learn more about the offshore opportunities available here. While doing a bit of pre-trip research, I discovered that the SIBT is not only one of the Caribbean’s longest-running tournaments but one of its most popular as well (this year’s event hosted 56 teams from throughout the region and well beyond). I also didn’t realize there is a great multispecies billfish bite here nearly year-round, plus some…

Most of us dream about running our own boat one day. It’s in a fisherman’s DNA, and there isn’t a deckhand alive who hasn’t at least once thought they could do a better job than the skipper on the bridge. But making the transition to the helm isn’t for the faint of heart. With the title of captain comes a whole new set of challenges, and most of those are never seen or shared with the crew. Going from a neck-down, mostly physical position as a deckhand to a neck-up job that requires expending mental energy isn’t easy. Instead of taking direction, you are giving it. Not only are captains responsible for a very expensive boat and all its maintenance and repairs—preventive, emergency and otherwise—they are also responsible for the…

Construction is now underway on Hull No. 140 from Paul Mann Custom Boats in Manns Harbor, North Carolina. The 63-footer will feature a three-stateroom/two-head layout and twin Caterpillar C32 ACERT engines rated at 1,600 hp each. Other notable features are a 1,700-plus-gallon fuel capacity, full galley and roomy salon, plus gyrostabilizers and more. Much of the interior detail is still to be determined by the boat’s owners and the Paul Mann design team, but look for teak accents on the exterior and cherry joinery work inside. The boat will be home-ported in Sarasota, Florida, and will travel extensively. “We are very excited and grateful to build this new 63-footer in our 30th year,” says Mann. “She will be well-appointed, fully equipped and tournament ready, but also designed for traveling in…

Many vessel owners employ full-time captains, mates, stewardesses and engineers. However, most owners are unfamiliar with their obligations and responsibilities to crewmembers under maritime law. THE DEFINITIONS Maintenance and cure are the basic benefits an injured seaman receives from an employer during his or her recovery from an injury or illness. Maintenance pertains to day-to-day living expenses, which include food, lodging and transportation to and from a treatment facility, while cure is a seaman’s medical expenses. The doctrine has been around for many years, and was created because seamen are prone to injury and were traditionally thought to be ill-equipped to handle such expenses. It is similar to workers’ compensation, but is far more expansive because it is not restricted to injuries or illnesses directly caused by the seaman’s employment.…