Dec 13, 2010 – Coconut Grove, Florida - There was plenty of action in the sailfish world in the off-season. Teams changed boats. Captains changed crews. Boats got wrapped, while others got un-wrapped. We saw new teams and old teams along with some mixtures of old and new. Once again, the Sailfish Kickoff kicked-off the season right.
The Riviera Yachts Captain’s Party had that unmistakable feeling of the holidays. The Rum Atlantico was flowing, the Yachting Experts promo girls were doing their rounds, and teams were checking in and getting their swag; what else says “holidays” like that? This year we ushered in a new era of South Florida sailfishing as Dan Kipnis was not doing our radio calls. Nothing is wrong with him; he is on hiatus from the scene for a bit. Some think he took time off to write a pamphlet “All I Know about NASCAR,” or maybe traveling to Madagascar where they idolize ponytails, or maybe he’s spending time with his family. Whatever the reason, he was missed at the rules review and radio room.
The first day of fishing saw the small boats taking the top two spots. “High Standards” was red-hot all day releasing 11 sailfish. “Rock Star” was close with 8 releases, followed by three bog boats all with 7 releases: “Get Lit,” “Jichi” and “Sandman.” In the Amateur Division, “Always Something” led the field with 4 releases followed by “VooDoo Child.” Conditions were less-than perfect with helium being used midway through the day. Reports of “fish not eating” were pouring in. We heard of several teams missing fish in the double digits.
Sunday promised to be better with more favorable conditions for sailfishing. But once again, we were reminded that fishing is not an exact science. Although on paper, it seemed that Sunday would be a better day, there were less releases overall. That memo did not get to the teams on “Kimbuktu” and “JIchi” who each had 9 releases. This action propelled “Jichi” to the top of the Big Boat Division where they stayed with 16 releases. “Get Lit” had 14 releases and third place was “Sandman” with 11 releases. In the Small Boat Division “High Standards” padded their lead and ended with 13 releases, “ the Mercury-powered “Encore” led a few times on Sunday, but ended in second with 12 releases and “MD2020/Night Prowler” beat out “Kimbuktu” for third on time. Each had 11 releases.
The teams were working out their kinks in the first major tournament of the season. What’s next on their agenda? It’s the Sea Vee/Mercury Mayor’s Cup being hosted in downtown Miami this January 27-30. For more info on the Mayor’s Cup click here.
For top-to bottom standings, check out the live scoring system here.
