Highlight: The Chapel take the win with 10 tags from 56 tags during the tournament!
Daily updates as well as the final results and all the action from Townsville!
Day 1
After the traditional BBQ breakfast and sailpast the 25 teams competing raced to the grounds where the first billfish of the day was reported for angler Matt Murphy on Ruffian (a sail). But it was the team on The Chapel, who were 2018 event winners, that were out of the blocks fast and into the lead with 2 fish on the first sked and 4 for the day.
All up there were 12 tags for the first day. Other boats on the scoreboard are Kiama, Reef Raine, Ruffian, Shindig, Gunslinger, Relapse, Deja Vu and True Blue with 1 tag each.
Day 2
On Day 2 The Chapel showed they weren’t taking the lead for granted as they tagged the first tag of the day at 7:42am (start fishing at 7am). They soon added another to make it another 2 fish on the first sked. Meanwhile while it was a bit slower in the middle of the day, the team on Utopia had an unlucky 5-4-1 on the second sked. There was another late afternoon flurry that resulted in two fish tagged after the final sked but before cease fishing at 5:30 pm being a marlin for Caboss and sail on Emma Kate.
A total of 21 tags for the day.
Day 3
The final day of fishing again started early with a black marlin for Ben Thorley on Eldorado at 7:15am! And 15 tags by the 11:10am sked made for a busy morning of fishing including another 4 tags for tournament leaders The Chapel. The period to the last sked (Day 3 is a shortened day of fishing with just the two skeds) was a more quiet period probably a relief to the winners!
Final Results
Champion Team – The Chapel with 10 tags
Runner Up Team – Utopia with 5 tags
Champion Boat under 7.5m – Nek Minut with 2 tags
Champion Male – Craig Dykstra from Reef Raine with 3 tags
Champion Female Angler – Karen Phillips from Shindig with 2 tags
Champion Junior – Seth Hatrick (Utopia)
Final stats: Total 56 tags – 49 blacks and 7 sailfish
A huge thank you to Renee McKenzie for keeping us all up-to-date!
