Magic Lady tops Spice Island Billfish

The 49th annual Budget Marine Spice Island Billfish Tournament is the longest-running continuous sport-fishing tournament in the Southern Caribbean.

The tournament experienced its first scare since its inception when one of the vessels, GODDA GO out of Trinidad and Tobago, sank during the last day of the competition. Luckily no one was injured and the boat Cool Runnings cut its fishing short to rescue the crew.

Despite the incident, the tournament was once again labelled a success, with 56 boats participating. The big winner was a TT boat, Magic Lady, scoring 3,000 points with one blue marlin, two white marlins and five sailfish to claim the Top Boat prize. Magic Lady and its team also earned the right to take part in the Offshore World Championship Tournament in April in Costa Rica.

Glen Chartlett, fishing aboard Magic Lady, brought in the most releases, earning him 1,500 points and the title of Top Angler. Second place was won by Ryan Agar from EZ Axcess, also of TT. EZ Axcess was second among boats with a total of 2,700 points. The top female angler was Tricia Thompson and Top Junior Angler was won by Amelee Mayers, both on board Remember Me Now from Barbados.

For next year’s tournament, the format will change, according to chairman of the organising committee Richard McIntyre. “We are going to have a half-day the first day, then we will have a full second, third and fourth day, so it’s literally three half-days,” McIntyre said.

They are also looking into adding another dock to accommodate the growing number of participants who enjoy the Budget Marine Spice Island Billfish Tournament. Organisers have also taken steps to ensure the tournament continues by continuing to catch and release billfish below the required weight. This year, 80 billfish were released, with the heaviest yellow fin to scale being 165lb – just ten pounds short of the current record of 175 lb – brought in by Avi Paul from Grenada on Black Child II. Nicholas George, manager of Budget Marine and member of the organising committee, said, “The Budget Marine Spice Island Billfish Tournament is very well organised and we are proud to be the main sponsor of such a big Caribbean fishing event with boats coming from all over the Caribbean. Next year will be the 50th anniversary. Make sure you are part of this great event!”