{"id":24454,"date":"2012-08-08T07:56:31","date_gmt":"2012-08-08T11:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/?p=24454"},"modified":"2012-08-14T08:54:44","modified_gmt":"2012-08-14T12:54:44","slug":"black-gold-wins-bvi-billfish-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/2012\/08\/black-gold-wins-bvi-billfish-tournament","title":{"rendered":"Black Gold Wins BVI Billfish Tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"
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1st place: Black Gold<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Virgin Gorda, BVI \u2013 \u201cThat last one about wore me out!\u201d Those were Harry Sargeant\u2019s words when he returned to the Bitter End Yacht Club at the conclusion of the 2012 BVI Billfish Tournament.<\/p>\n

After releasing two blue marlin earlier on the final day, Black Gold reported to the committee boat that they were \u2018hooked-up\u2019 at 2:01. Unlike the earlier blues, this one, estimated at over 600 pounds, required a great deal more time and effort to subdue. Sargeant fought the big blue for one hour forty minutes before releasing the fish with only nineteen minutes remaining in the tournament.<\/p>\n

That last blue marlin for Sargeant and Black Gold was the team\u2019s eighth blue of the three-day tournament. The Boca Raton, Florida based Black Gold, an American Custom Yachts 65, released two blues on day one; three on day two and three again on the final day to give the team 4,000 points and the tournament win. Harry Sargeant is no stranger to the winner\u2019s circle at the BVI Billfish Tournament having won the inaugural event in 2007.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has always been a fun tournament for us,\u201d said Sargeant after the win. \u201cYou cannot ask for a better facility and the Bitter End staff really cares.<\/p>\n

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2nd place: Therapy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of course having the \u2018bite\u2019 at nearby Anegada certainly makes this tournament special for us.\u201d George Lorton and teammate Mike Callahan released six blues for 3,000 points and a Second Place finish for team Therapy. Lorton, whose Tampa, Florida team won the BVI Tournament in 2011, had their best fishing on day three when they went three for four. \u201cThe fish are here,\u201d said veteran Virgin Island captain Ray Walters. \u201cWhen the top three boats release eighteen blues in three days, that\u2019s some good fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary Domel and sons Chris and Mason released four blue marlin to earn team Deguello Third Place. Mason\u2019s blue, one of two released by team Deguello on day two, was the young angler\u2019s first blue marlin. Gary Domel said, \u201cOur whole crew had a ball. The fishing was great; the food is superb and the view from our North Sound Suite is spectacular.\u201d The Cabo 48 from Spicewood, Texas first participated in the BVI Billfish Tournament in 2008.<\/p>\n

Bitter End Yacht Club\u2019s general manager Mo Sallah said, \u201cThere is an atmosphere of excitement around the Bitter End when the BVI Billfish Tournament is underway. This is particularly evident each afternoon as the fleet returns. How many release flags are flying? Did they top yesterday\u2019s numbers?<\/p>\n

The enthusiasm permeates the resort guests and the staff as well.\u201d At the awards banquet, Vernon Wheatley, representing Premiere Dr. D. Orlando Smith\u2019s office, expressed the thanks of the people of the British Virgin Islands to the tournament participants. He also conveyed the desires of the Ministry of Tourism to heighten awareness of the excellent recreational sport fishing throughout the BVI.<\/p>\n

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3rd place: Deguello<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tournament host, Bitter End Yacht Club, presented team Black Gold with a one-week Admiral\u2019s Vacation Package, a handmade, custom cutting board from Soundview Millworks and a Shimano Tiagra TI-50 Reel.<\/p>\n

Team Therapy also received Soundview Millworks cutting board and a Shimano Tiagra TI-30 Reel for finishing in Second Place. In addition to a custom Soundview cutting board, Third Place finisher Deguello was the recipient of a gift certificate to Neptune Fishing Supplies.<\/p>\n

The tournament\u2019s social sponsor, TICO BVI, made sure that all the winners were well supplied with Bacardi 8, Greg Norman Sparkling Wine and Red Stripe Beer. Each evening during the tournament, prior to a sumptuous meal, TICO BVI hosted a cocktail reception featuring one of the brands the company represents.<\/p>\n

Traditionally the BVI Billfish Tournament is held immediately after the St. Thomas July Open. This year\u2019s dates were selected because of the two full moons in August. Next year, the BVI Billfish Tournament will return to being immediately after the July Open. Mark your calendars now for the 2013 BVI Billfish Tournament. Team check-in and anglers meeting will be July 22nd and the fishing days will be July 23rd through 25th.<\/p>\n

Visit the tournament website www.bvibillfishtournament.com to see pictures from the 2012 tournament and come back frequently for updates on the 2013 BVI Billfish Tournament at Bitter End Yacht Club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After releasing two blue marlin earlier on the final day, Black Gold reported to the committee boat that they were \u2018hooked-up\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[55,100,39,131],"class_list":["post-24454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","tag-awards","tag-caribbean-2","tag-fishing","tag-sports-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24454\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}