ROUGH WATERS
4/27/2007 10:26:14 AM by Yoshi Sanz
We trace the final moments of the first tournament in the BXRL 07 series for an exclusive of the unpredictable April Fool’s Day victory that has the world buzzing from the dramatic finish — and that’s no joke.
Photos by Vincent Daniello
Before the sun rose on the final day of competition during the 2007 BXRL Tournament at Marathon Key, no one knew what to expect. And it was April Fool’s Day. A team called Galati had accumulated 1,325 points and was closely followed by Spencer Yachts’ 1,000. Behind them was a new team, Michelob Ultra, with 700 and they were followed by none-threatening tallies from the tournament’s other teams: Cay Clubs, American and Sharky’s Revenge. The top three teams would go down in history for the toe-to-toe match that ensued that day.
In the end, a total of 75 sailfish were caught during the tournament. But the final point tally at Marathon crowned Spencer Yachts the winner with 1,775, followed by Galati with 1,675 and Michelob Ultra with 1,600, bringing the season totals to Spencer Yachts: 10; Galati: 8; Michelob Ultra: 6; Cay Clubs: 4; American: 2; and Sharky’s Revenge: 0.
The Spencer Yachts team, owned by Robert McCullough of Destin, Florida, fished aboard Sweet Release during this series. Sponsor Paul Spencer, owner of Spencer Yachts of Wanchese, North Carolina, is the customary captain but took a backseat at this event to local captain Chris White of Ocean Reef. Spencer opted to attend church services on Sunday while his young crew including sons Daniel and Cliff Spencer, team partner Rob McCullough and his daughter, Jordan, and Joseph Krawczynski, worked in energetic unison to catch as many billfish as they could before racing back to Marathon Marina.
According to organizers, the BXRL potential total prize money to be won is $2.9 million this year, up from $1.4 million last season. Last year, Team Galati prevailed for the championship series prize of $500,000 that is now $1 million.
“The BXRL is the most exciting, premiere billfishing television series, offering anglers the opportunity to prove that they are the best at catching the ocean’s most deceptive predators: blue and white marlin, swordfish and sailfish,” says Executive Director Mike Gautreaux. “Team members work together to tag-and-release within an ‘xtreme’ set of very precise rules that aid research and conservation, including penalties for improper tag placement and broken lines. In addition to points awarded to determine winners of each event, points are also accumulated over the course of the season and totaled to decide the overall series champion.”