- See More About:
- Kite Linens
By Julieta Laham
The 2010 Signature Billfish Series closed at Los Sueos Resort and Marina on the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica and certainly was an exciting week for all! The series wrapped up the second and final leg of competition on February 20, 2010.
This is truly an international event as a total of 43 teams from the United States, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Russia battled it out and released a combined total of 1,014 billfish with 994 sailfish and 20 marlin.
We met with a couple of the teams early on in Leg 2, who were in great spirits in spite of some missed opportunities and less-than-terrific luck.
Newcomer Layla a 72 Jim Smith owned by Jim Derrick of Buffalo, NY and his team just recently moved the boat to Los Sueos after several visits here and a newfound love for fishing out of Los Suenos. Their luck was not with them that first day of competition but their enthusiasm was off the charts and the team was ready to tackle the next days challenges.
On their fishing trips to Los Sueos , the team from the Layla likes to be right in the center of the action and enjoys renting fully-equipped luxury condominiums for their stays at the resort.
We also chatted with co-owners of the Ol Salt, Shawn Kooyman and Los Sueos resident Michael Topp whose team fought quite a battle. They ran into a variety of pitfalls and finally arrived exhausted about 11 PM after the first day out knowing that Thursdays catch would be disqualified from the count as they missed the cut off time to turn in their daily score sheets. The second day of tournament week was a tough one for the old Salt as well with only a few bites for the day, they did manage to get on the board scoring 100 points with one sailfish on Friday. The boys from the Ol Salt still had a great attitude and were ready to head out for the final day, finishing with another sailfish on Saturday for a Second Leg total of 200 points.
Both legs of the 2010 tournament had some very close scores throughout the competition. In Leg 1, some of the scores were so close in fact that with so many teams tied, the winners had to be decided by time. Those with the earliest, official times of release break the ties and determined who came out on top.
This was the case for the Top Angler award in the first leg going to Los Sueos Developer and Innovator, Bill Royster.
This years 1st leg winners on the Cerveza are relative newcomers to the Los Sueos Marina but definitely no strangers to fishing or to taking top awards! The Cerveza team, although did not make it this time as far as money, fought hard again in the 2nd leg and did finish respectably in the top ten.
Owner Tom Russell, a regular guest with CR Luxury Rentals is on a great run in the competition here in Costa Rica. Hes been fishing the Cerveza here since December of 2008.
The guys say they owe so much of their success to the Captain of the Cerveza, Butch Davis who is called The Secret Weapon & El Capitan by his team.
Spanish Fly tied with Fuujin at 1700 points but beat their last time taking the 3rd Place position in Leg II and team member Ronnie Fields was Leg IIs Top Angler.
Owner Jeff Cohens, Los Sueos based Da Bait, a 61 Spencer, moved up from 16th place in Leg I to a spectacular 2nd Place win in Leg II with 13 Sails and a late surprise Marlin nabbed by Angler Bob Burnside which threw the team into the second place position. Da Bait finished with 2,700 points and taking 2nd place prize money of $28,000. Captain Curt Lind of Palm Beach, Florida, dubbed Captain Marvel by his teammates also led Da Bait to win the Daily with 800 points on Saturday of Leg II.
Cohen says there are many factors that helped them reach their position in the tournament. When asked how they rose to the occasion he said that fishing with his closest friend and business associate, Pat Parenty as well as the tremendous amount of love and camaraderie among the entire team is the real key that helped them shoot to this years success.
It seems 2nd Place may hold some magic along with luck, skill and hard work. In Leg 1, the 2nd Place team aboard another newcomer, Big Oh, missed the win by only 300 points. Although definitely happy with finishing in the top three they werent going to settle for second best!
In Leg 2, they took the lead on Thursday and held steady and even with a really slow Saturday they still came out on top. The Big Oh finished in first place without a single Marlin, not only taking 1st Place in Leg II but taking top honors as Overall Winner with total prize money of $144,000.
Costa Rica Luxury Rentals congratulates all the participants in the tournament and are here to help with luxury accommodations, tours, airport transportation, tee times or just good advice about almost anything you may think of while visiting Costa Rica. Feel free to contact our Diamond Concierge Service Toll Free 7 Days a week to fulfill your requests.
Well look forward to seeing all the familiar teams and some fresh new competitors beginning in November 2010 at the Los Suenos Marlin Invitational.
CR Luxury Rentals condos and villas are situated on the property of the 1,100 acre Los Sueos Resort and Marina; on the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, with easy access from major airports throughout the Americas.
About the Author: CR Luxury Rentals is the premier choice for the discriminating traveler who expects and demands 5 star luxury and customer service, plus we offer fantastic Costa Rica condo rentals that are perfect for any type of vacation.
Costa Rica Condo Rentals
Source:
isnare.com
Permanent Link:
isnare.com/?aid=507506&ca=Recreation