Cabo San Lucas, Mexico — The 10th anniversary edition of the IGFA Offshore World Championship kicked off in beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with 43 teams from 19 countries hoping to claim the coveted title of World Champions.
The all-release billfish tournament represents the largest international field of competitors in the world of offshore sport fishing. To qualify for the Offshore World Championship teams must first win one of 120 qualifying tournaments held around the globe. With such a wide international field of competitors, the Offshore World Championship has earned the title of the “Olympics” of offshore fishing.
Teams traveled to Mexico from as far away as Australia, South Africa, Tasmania, Papua New Guinea, Italy, Brazil, the Caribbean and throughout the United States. As the teams made it to Cabo, the weather looked prime for fishing with calm seas and ideal water temperatures for striped marlin action. Festivities began with a captain’s meeting at Cabo’s popular Squid Roe bar and restaurant. Cabo San Lucas is home to one of the world’s largest, highly skilled charter fleets and the cream of the crop signed up to guide anglers in the IGFA Offshore World Championship. The captains all got together on Saturday evening to receive their official tournament bags and partake in the event’s official briefing to go over the rules and prepare for a smooth event.
As the teams began to descend on Cabo and check into Hotel Finisterra, the official tournament hotel and headquarters, they were treated to a welcome reception, tournament retail store and a wide range opening-day kickoff activities including bait casting seminars, a rules meeting and boat draw. Teams then showed off their skills in a casting competition, sponsored by Accurate Reels and mingled with their competition. Steve Levi from the team representing the Mobile Big Game Fishing Club’s Labor Day Tournament walked off as the casting champ and won a brand new Accurate rod-and-reel package.
Once the sun began to set over beautiful Lands End, the official kickoff party got underway in the open-air Finisterra palapa overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Sponsored by the Los Cabos Visitor and Convention Bureau and the state of California Baja Sur, the banquet featured a massive buffet, cold Coronas and traditional Mexican dancers swaying to live music. The music, food and entertainment put everyone in a partying mood, but anglers retired early, with an early morning start and fast billfish action on the agenda. The mood of the event was high as anglers anticipated four days of great fishing in perfect conditions.
