August 17, 2008

 

The International Billfish Tournament of Club Náutico de San Juan was a huge success with 63 releases and the historic turnout of Pink Lady, the winning boat for a second year in a row.

 

Gonzalo Miguel Ferrer, chairman of 55th edition, explained that Pink Lady, owned by Alberto "Pipo" Gual, won for the second consecutive year the highly coveted first place in the boat category, releasing four marlins equivalent to 1,600 points.

 

"This is one of the few times that a boat wins twice in a row the International Tournament. They did their best," said Ferrer, referring to the historic win.

 

Meanwhile, the Amirita, owned by Ecuadorian Pepe Anton, came in second place with four marlins released, or 1,600 points. While both Amirita and Pink Lady had the same number of points, in big game fishing the one who ties is the loser. Other winners were the Little Elo, owned by Joe Ramirez Alzamora with 1,200 points reeled in by his brother Rene; the Tatiway, owned by Osvaldo de Leon; and Evemar, belonging to Herbert Soto.

 

In the anglers category, Rene Ramírez Alzamora remained in first place from early on in the competition, followed by Gual, the Ecuadorian Anton, statesider Robert Browning, and Puerto Rican Rafael Delgado. In the visiting angler category, the winners were Pepe Anton from Ecuador, followed by Roberto Browning and Tony Carrizosa, both from the U.S., who took second and third place, respectively.

 

The top female angler was María Perez, a resident of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, who has been fishing for five years. She won the top prize in the female angler category with two marlins or 800 points, aboard the boat Doña Lucy.

 

COMPETITION BY TEAMS

The international phase of the event was won by team US 2 with Browning, Carrizosa and Bob Hickson, followed by San Juan Club Nautico 06 (CNSJ) with Gual, Gustavo Hermida and Raymond Garffer. In third place: Ecuador with Pepe Anton, Jose Cucalon and Francesco Zunino. US 2 received a pass to enter the IGFA Tournament to be held at Cabo San Lucas in May 2009 and airline tickets to Costa Rica, courtesy of COPA Airlines.

 

In the interclub division, the winners were San Juan Bay Marina 02 (Claudia Ferrer, Luis Pérez González and Luis Umpierre), followed by CNSJ 07 with Mike Benítez, Eugenio Belaval and Ralph Christiansen, Jr., and Cangrejos 03 with Ricky and Frankie Jaén and Manuel Suárez.

 

“We worked hard but it was an excellent tournament with wide support from international anglers," Ferrer said.

 

The 55th edition of the International Billfish Tournament of Club Náutico de San Juan attracted anglers from 12 countries, 51 boats, and 199 anglers, including 39 international anglers. A total of 63 marlins were released back to the sea.

 

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