Caribbean Waterman – Youth Souljahs Contest 2010

Caribbean Waterman and Souljahs International will be releasing a brand new youth action sports DVD entitled “YOUTH SOULJAHS” in December 2010. We are inviting all youths, parents, and coaches to submit high quality video of athletes under the age of 18 performing their sport of choice. The main focus of the contest is Surfing, Fishing, and Skateboarding. However, we will be looking for footage of any action sports… even rip sticks!

The video will feature youths in age divisions and we are looking for performers “doing their thing” from as young as 5 years old. We encourage starting out early! Of course, you must use your discretion and safety is the number one priority. All contributors must have their parents’ permission in the form of a signed waiver to be considered. All official contributors will feature in the final video, in some form or another, so we welcome your input regardless of what level of performance you are at. ENTRY IS FREE!

All entries must be submitted to Caribbean Waterman by November 1^st, 2010. We are looking for high quality video, which means:

1) Steady Shots – Use a tripod whenever possible!

2) Clear Picture – Use Optical Zoom over Digital Zoom whenever possible and get as close as possible to target.

3) Shoot in 16:9 mode or wide screen mode – HD is even better!

4) Shoot on Mini-DV tapes and be prepared to send the tapes to CW. It will also be possible to send DVDs, as long as no quality is lost in the digitalization process.

5) This is a VIDEO CONTEST – no photos will be considered, no matter how good the quality is.

<!

6) In addition to the action sport performance, we want a short video interview of the “young souljah” talking about his/her name, age, favorite sport, favorite maneuver, favorite pro athlete, and why he/she loves doing the sport he does

Caribbean Waterman will be starting an official mailing list and a facebook page, in addition to the information that is available on www.caribbeanwaterman.com. All persons interested in participating or finding out more information can pre-enroll by e-mailing souljahs@caribbeanwaterman.com . We will continuously update you with progress reports.

There will be an official prize giving and video premier in Trinidad in December 2010. This is be broadcasted over the internet so that the entire Caribbean, and World, can see the video as soon as it is released. As of right now, the official prizes being offered for the contest:

Best Surfer Performance: Custom Made Surfboard and Invitation to premier.

Best Fishing Performance: Custom Rod and Reel, and Invitation to Premier.

Best Skateboarding Performance: Custom Skateboard and Invitation to Premier.

Best Cinematography: USD$150 Gift Voucher.

In addition to these prizes, this video will be distributed to action sports apparel companies, agencies, and media houses in order to gain exposure for the youth’s performances, and hopefully open door for future sponsorships!

ANGLER AGAR LANDS THE WINNING WAHOO

By Steven Valdez

Angler Ryan Agar, fishing on the boat, “Po-Ke-Men” landed the biggest Wahoo in the 2010 Beacon Insurance Wahoo Tournament. His catch on the second day of the two day tournament came in at 48.1 lbs and won himself $3,000 in prize money along with Shimano 50lb rod and Reel courtesy Beacon Insurance, lures from Reel Tackle and Seafood Ltd. and the prestigious trophy.

Reginald Mac Lean placed second and fourth with his 44.9 lbs and 37 lbs Wahoos caught on “Done Diggin”.

Mark De Verteuil came in third with his 37.8 lbs Wahoo on board “Lady M” and Alan Sheppard on “Pair-A-Dice” placed third with his catch of a 29.2 lbs Wahoo on the first day.

Thanks to Reginald MacLean’s two Wahoos his team placed first overall with 81.9lbs of Wahoo.

“Po-Ke-Men” placed second with 66.5 lbs of Wahoo and “Lady M” came in third place with 60 lbs of Wahoo. Fourth place went to “Pair-A-Dice. “Anticipation” came fifth with “Fancy Man” and “Mamzelle 11″ placing sixth and seventh respectively.

TTGFA President, Richard De Verteuil who fished on board “Southern Cross” recognized that the tournament’s catch for this year was disappointing but was none the less pleased at the level of participation as the tournament which was also sponsored by Subway and Copy-Rite had a total of ninety six (96) anglers competing on twenty (20) boats. He commented that the water on the North Western Coast of Trinidad was not clear and as a result the catch may not have been good this year as in previous years. He admitted that his team traveled as far as 36 miles off Trinidad’s North Coast in search of clearer water and the hope of catching the tournament winner.

Tournament Chairman, Chris Mouttet indicated that the hosting of the Beacon Insurance Wahoo tournament at the Trinidad and Tobago Yacht Club continues to attract large crowds that come to see the catch after each day’s fishing. Though there was not the usual large quantities of Wahoo to be seen at the weigh station the visitors and anglers feasted themselves to doubles which was provided by the sponsors.

The prize giving ceremony was held at the Trinidad and Tobago Yacht Club on Monday 8th of March where the winners received their prizes totaling over $35,000.

**THIS WAS THE SECOND SPORT FISHING QUALIFICATION EVENT IN THE CARIBBEAN WATERMAN CHALLENGE 2010!!

15th Annual Tobago International Game Fishing Tounament 2010!

The action begins tomorrow and goes all weekend long.  That’s right, one of the greatest fishing tournaments in the Caribbean is celebrating its 15th anniversary and the action will be red hot!  With it’s home in the quaint fishing town of charlotteville, this event has a reputation as must-do on the tournament circuit each year.  The vibe is surreal and most hardcore anglers would not miss it for the world.

This event will also be the third (3rd) qualification event for the Caribbean Waterman Challenge 2010 (1st - Spice Isle Billfish Tournament Grenada and 2nd - Beacon Wahoo Tournament Trinidad), and the second (2nd) of the Southern Caribbean Billfish Circuit 2010 (1st - Spice Isle Billfish Tournament Grenada).  That means that performance points secured at the event are extremely valuable to an overall standing at the end of the year.

We invite you to come back to this page regularly for updates.  We will also be working with the TGFT committee to keep you in the loop.  They will be posting video updates as they become available on their website: www.tgft.com .  Tight Lines!

Thompson and Dennis Take Top Honors in CW Challenge 2009!

CARIBBEAN WATERMAN CHALLENGE 2009

The final results are in for the Inaugural Caribbean Waterman Challenge 2009! With some serious water sports action over the last 12 months, the Sport Fishing and Surfing Categories now both have crowned champions in several categories. It was a long year with many events spread over the Caribbean, from Jamaica to Martinique to Trinidad & Tobago, with many more scattered in between.

In an effort to have a level playing field for evaluating waterman’s performances throughout the year, we have tried our best to have the hosts of all these events supply detailed information on all participants. In some case, like the Spice Island Billfish Tournament, reporting was very detailed and helped our competition tremendously. In other cases, we were only able to get information of top performers in many categories. Nonetheless, the results of the CW Challenge 2009 accurately reflect the true significance of the top performances.

In the Surfing realm, CW summarized several surfing events Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, and the ISA World Surfing Games 2009. In Jamaica there were the Jamaican Surfing Association (JSA) National Open Series event 1 and 2, and the Caribbean Surfing Network (CSN) Makka Pro 2009. In Barbados there were the Barbados Surfing Association (BSA) Surfer of the Year events 1 through 4, BSA National Surfing Championships 2009, and the Barbados Independence Surf Festival 2009.

In the Sports Fishing Realm, CW summarized several Sports Fishing events, both International and local (to Trinidad and Tobago). International tournament results were used for the Tobago International Game Fishing Tournament, the TTGFA Marlin Madness Tournament, the Spice Island Billfish Tournament (Grenada), the St.Lucia International Tournament, the Barbados International Tournament, and the Martinique International Tournament.

In addition, results from the Beacon Insurance Wahoo Tournament, The Well Services Kingfish Tournament, and The TDC Tarpon Thunder Tournament, which were all TTGFA events, were used. Finally, results from the Unit Trust Fishing Tournament, an independently run fundraising event, we also tabulated.

Overall, the Challenge summarized the performances of sixty four (64) Caribbean Sport Fishing Vessels/Crews, one hundred and six (106) Sport Fishing Anglers, and eighty seven (87) competitive surfers. These athletes represented (7) countries, which included Jamaica, Barbados, T&T, Grenada, St.Lucia, Martinique, and the UK. We are confident that there were more participants and more countries represented throughout these events and with improved reporting techniques in the 2010 edition of the Challenge, this will be better reflected in the final results.

The stand out overall performance by a Caribbean Waterman in 2009 was young Brett Thompson that won the Best Angler Performance Category, and Heaviest Grouper Shot Free Diving Category. Another name worth mentioning was Chris Dennis who won the Best Competitive Surfer Performance Category, he surfed one event less than his closest rival. Both of these athlete’s are from Trinidad and Tobago.

The Final Results of the Caribbean Waterman Challenge 2009 have been summarized in an Online Audio Visual Presentation that can be viewed via our website at www.caribbeanwaterman.com . The breakdown of the official results is as follows:

OFFICIAL RESULTS

	SPECIES AND INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES - FISHING
Category	Winner	Size	Country
Biggest Grouper Free Dive	Brett Thompson	102 lbs	T&T
Biggest Tuna Free-Fishing	Badger Dearman	169lbs	GND
Biggest Cobera Snapper / Parge	Stuart Hutton	67 lbs	T&T
Sailfish	Don Thomas	62.2 lbs	T&T
Tuna	Miss Abbie	163 lbs	T&T
Dolphin	Peter Gibbs	51.5 lbs	BDS
Wahoo	Nicholas De Souza	92.2 lbs	T&T
Marlin	Jovan Jangoo	825 lbs	T&T
Best Fishing-Action Photographs	Christian Hadeed
	INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES - SURFING
Category	Winner	Country
Best Free Surf Performance	Icah Wilmot	Jamaica
Best Surf-Action Photos	2nd - David Wears	T&T
	1st - Billy Wilmot	Jamaica
Best Photo of Caribbean Surfer (Intl.)	Jason Apparicio	T&T
	TOP VESSEL / CREW PERFORMANCES
Place	Name	Country
1	Hard Play II	T&T	4040
2	Blue Fever / Mappapie	T&T	2730
3	Luhrd Away	T&T	2192
4	Magic Lady	T&T	1785
5	Moon Shadow / D Rog	T&T	1690
6	Afunday	T&T	1675
7	Ega Beaver	T&T	1631
8	Barbie Doll Too	T&T	1610
9	Reel Finatic	T&T	1583
10	Why Worry	T&T	1561
11	Temptation	T&T	1525
12	Southern Cross	T&T	1378
13	Legacy	BDS	1370
14	Par-t-Time	T&T	1315
15	Houdini	T&T	1255
16	Pair a Dice	T&T	1225
17	Viking 4	T&T	1225
18	Big Deal	BDS	1083
19	Step Ah Side	T&T	1025
20	Blood Shot	T&T	1000
21	Done Diggin	T&T	878
22	Hard Play	T&T	873
23	De Reel Viking	BDS	860
23	Limited Edition	MART	860
23	Finesse	T&T	860
23	D Jep	T&T	860
23	Free Enterprise	St L	860
23	Anger Management	T&T	860
29	Miss Abbie	T&T	835
30	Fun Now	T&T	730
30	Bobby Breen	T&T	730
32	Grand Slam	T&T	670
33	Challenge II	BDS	610
33	Equity	T&T	610
33	Fancy Man II	T&T	610
33	Dream Catcher	T&T	610
37	Trendsetter	T&T	583
38	Radical	T&T	555
39	Grey Ghost	St L	555
39	Mama Mia	T&T	555
41	Archrival	T&T	528
41	Crazy Horse Again	GND	528
43	Mark Up	T&T	500
44	Arabian Princess		488
44	Lyrics		488
44	Ruby’s Joy II	GND	488
47	Terminated	T&T	475
48	Blue Magic		450
49	Risky Business	GND	425
50	Fever	T&T	413
51	Grand Slam II		395
52	Maya	T&T	380
53	Rebel		380
54	Crazy Baldhead	GND	375
55	Catalyst	T&T	370
56	Reel McCoy	T&T	360
57	Contendress	MART	350
58	Gecko	UK	340
59	Two Thou	MART	335
60	Papasan	T&T	330
61	Cherrio	T&T	325
62	Big Swordfish	MART	320
63	Shennel	GND	310
64	Yes Aye	GND	305
	TOP ANGLER PERFORMANCES
Place	Angler	Country
1	Brett Thompson	T&T	1788
2	Francois Mouttet	T&T	1610
3	Jovan Jangoo	T&T	1370
4	Michael DeFreitas	T&T	1325
5	Edward Aboud	T&T	1253
6	Andrew Crooks	T&T	1250
7	Christian Hadeed	T&T	1012
8	Andrew Llanos	T&T	1000
8	James Harris	T&T	1000
8	Mathew Armstrong	BDS	1000
8	Nicholas DeSouza	T&T	1000
8	Ryan Agar	T&T	1000
8	Mark Villain	T&T	1000
14	Fernando Navarro	T&T	930
15	Oma Davis	T&T	860
16	Richard de Verteuil	T&T	780
17	Geoffrey Pollard	T&T	765
18	Adrian Johnson	BDS	730
18	Don Thomas	T&T	730
19	Timothy Skinner	T&T	730
20	Johnathan Delarosa	T&T	710
21	Peter Reid	T&T	670
21	Shammon Walker		670
23	Godfrey George	GND	610
24	Roger Aleong	T&T	590
25	Ansil Ramsaroop		555
25	Brendan Bernard		555
25	Gerald Lai Quan		555
25	Joe Andary		555
25	John Inniss	BDS	555
25	Kirk Agar		555
25	Lennox Tang Yuk		555
25	Peter Webster		555
25	Reginald Maclean		555
25	Teressa Jack		555
35	Mark Telfer	T&T	545
36	Jeane Aleong	T&T	528
37	Jim Lee Young	T&T	500
38	James Brathwaite	GND	488
39	Leslie DuBoulay	STL	475
40	Andrew Rapson	T&T	462
41	Matthew Roach Jr.	BDS	450
42	Wayne Roach	BDS	438
43	Ian Hamel-Smith	T&T	425
44	Jarrod Skeete	BDS	413
45	Alan Jeffries		400
45	Clifford Orr		400
45	Derick Tardieu		400
45	Gerard de Silva	T&T	400
45	Gregory Farah		400
50	Gregory Mendes	T&T	385
50	Darion Herbert		375
50	Mickey Kirton		365
50	Ronald Wortman	T&T	365
50	Brendon Farfan		360
50	Sheldon Wong Chong	T&T	360
50	Andre Patterson	GND	355
50	Sherwin Thomas		355
50	Glen Thoren	STL	350
50	Goran Qvarfordt	T&T	345
50	Donald MacLean	T&T	340
50	Justin Ammon		340
50	Anthony Chamly		335
50	Christopher Morris	T&T	335
50	Mark Thomas		330
50	Victor Tardieu	T&T	330
50	David Wong		325
50	Gordon Mitchell	T&T	320
50	Danny Swanson	T&T	315
50	Mark Thompson		315
50	Robert Johnson		315
50	Arnaud Fontaine	MTQ	310
50	Andre De Lapreyouse	T&T	305
50	Bernard Clarke		305
50	Derrick Tardieu	T&T	300
50	Mark Simmonds		300
50	Christopher Kelshall	T&T	295
50	Nigel Garcia	T&T	290
50	Michael Otway	GND	285
50	Tim Lambert	END	280
50	Gordon Dalgleish	T&T	275
50	Mark LaQuis	T&T	270
50	Godfrey Thomas	GND	265
50	Matt Kisler	T&T	260
50	Brooke Smith	GND	255
50	Dominic DeLima	GND	250
50	Timothy Paty	T&T	245
50	Max Maugee	MTQ	235
50	Luke Thoren	T&T	230
50	Colin Hamel-Smith	T&T	220
50	Mark DeGannes	T&T	215
50	Clive Howell	BDS	210
50	Jeff Smith	T&T	205
50	Spencer Tardieu	T&T	200
50	Derrick Steele	GND	195
50	Ken Sylvester	GND	190
50	Terry George	T&T	185
50	Robert Evans	T&T	180
50	Norman Sabga	T&T	175
50	Marc Cheekes	T&T	170
50	Mark Gransaull	T&T	165
50	Adam Conyers	T&T	160
50	Stanley Dillon	T&T	158
50	Georges BennaRoche	MTQ	156
50	Johnathan Jones	BDS	154
50	Avi Paul	T&T	150
50	Ferdinand Lossl	GND	148
	TOP SURFERS PERFORMANCES
Current
RANK	Surfer	Country	Total
1	Chris Dennis	T&T	5940
2	Shane Simmonds	JAM	5640
3	Inilek Wilmot	JAM	5121
4	Icah Wilmot	JAM	5061
5	Chris Clarke	BDS	4991
6	Che Lovelace	T&T	4511
7	Luke Williams	JAM	4456
8	Lewis St John	BDS	4443
9	Alan Burke	BDS	4180
10	Ackeam Phillips	JAM	3913
11	Jake Corbin	BDS	3865
12	Eneson Lightbourn	JAM	3716
13	Stefan Corbin	BDS	3635
14	Jason Pusey	JAM	3510
15	Simon Coles	BDS	3471
16	Alan Davis	T&T	3448
17	David Hoad	BDS	3365
18	Jason Apparicio	T&T	3108
19	Shane Hennaman	T&T	3014
20	Bryan Ramcharan	T&T	2888
21	Shawn Rostant	T&T	2885
22	Jonathan Reece	BDS	2793
23	Michael Panton	JAM	2531
24	Ackeam Taylor	JAM	2120
25	Garren Pryce	JAM	2110
26	Jordan Heaselgrave	BDS	2040
27	Kendall Francis	T&T	1993
28	Shama Beckford	JAM	1900
29	Conrad Smith	JAM	1900
30	Andrew Awai	T&T	1835
31	Ronley Lewis	JAM	1826
32	Oshane Usher	JAM	1800
33	Keith Lewis	T&T	1794
34	Chad Hamelsmith	T&T	1768
35	Mikey ‘Bully’ Phillips	T&T	1725
36	Armani Green	JAM	1676
37	Dwight Roberts	JAM	1670
38	Jamoy Hall	JAM	1636
39	Eugene Miller	JAM	1570
40	Ronald Hastings	JAM	1570
41	Barry Banfield	BDS	1535
42	Kevin Setai	T&T	1413
43	Simon Cabral	T&T	1400
44	Stefan Lue Chin	T&T	1385
45	Ryan Chin	T&T	1350
46	Peter Hill	BDS	1285
47	Christian Boos	BDS	1010
48	Carlos Wharton	BDS	1005
49	Gawayne Gallimore	JAM	1000
50	Sherrard Spiers	T&T	975
51	Dwayne Tracey	JAM	950
52	Lennox Wright	JAM	900
53	Mark De Verteuil	T&T	888
54	Ivah Wilmot	JAM	876
55	Gatey Dawkins	JAM	876
56	Michael Mair	JAM	876
57	Sean Mrouff	T&T	863
58	Warren Lewis	JAM	770
59	Sanjae Lewis	JAM	770
60	Sam Taylor	BDS	670
61	Gavin Fernandes	BDS	555
62	Daniel Edghill	BDS	500
62	Eduardo Oropeza	BDS	500
63	Simon Thompson	BDS	500
64	Darren Farfan	T&T	500
65	Jamie Phillips	T&T	500
66	Dario Jordan	T&T	500
67	Glen Ferreira	T&T	500
68	Brian Gooding	BDS	488
69	Dominic Persy	T&T	488
70	Andre Stuart	T&T	462
71	Javier Lemoine	BDS	450
72	Mathew Kieffer	BDS	450
73	Josh Lewis	T&T	450
74	Tristan Richardson	T&T	450
75	Craig de Freitas	T&T	450
76	Alan Fitt	T&T	450
77	Kiwan Landreth-Smith	T&T	450
78	Simeon Cupid	T&T	450
79	Clint Lewis	T&T	425
80	Christain Chin	T&T	400
81	Shane Spiers	T&T	400
82	Sheldon Francis	T&T	375
83	John Author	T&T	370
84	Jason Oliver	BDS	360
85	Justin Tang	T&T	64

PAPASAN WINS 41st SPICE ISLAND BILLFISH TOURNAMENT!

Sixty Eight Billfish Released at the 41st Spice Island Billfish Tournament
Grand Slam Grenada 24-28th January 2010

The 41st “Grand Slam Grenada” Spice Island Billfish Tournament attracted a joint record turnout of Fifty One boats (last time we had this many was 1994!) carrying 244 anglers which somehow squeezed into the Grenada Yacht Club, home of the event. Boats entered from Trinidad & Tobago (27 boats – more than half the entry!), St Lucia (2 boats), Barbados (6 boats), Martinique (4 boats), United Kingdom (1 boat), and Grenada (10 boats). One boat “Rum n Coke” made the long voyage down from Antigua just to take part. The fishing was somewhat slower than last year with the official results showing sixty nine billfish released and only two blue marlin landed (biggest being four hundred and seventy three pounds by Cool Runnings from Trinidad and Tobago). Of course many more billfish escaped and additional catches of yellowfin tuna to 167 lbs and Dorado to 47lb kept anglers busy.

The large number of boats made an awesome spectacle as they paraded out through the Carenage, St George’s on the way to the bimini start across the harbour mouth on Monday 25th January. At the cannon they all roared off safely and fishing commenced 5 minutes later. First release was a blue marlin for Par T Time Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) followed by 2 sailfish for Surf n Turf (Grenada). Temptation (T&T) had an excellent day releasing 3 blues to take an 1800 point day one lead, while Wahoo (T&T) and Crazy Baldhead (Grenada) had two blues each to take 4rd and 5th places respectively. Papasan (T&T) were already on fire releasing two sails and a blue to take 3rd place with 1400 points while Blue Fever (T&T) had the most releases - a hat trick of white marlin and one blue, great action which put them in second place on 1700 points. Steady catches continued with numbers of dorado and yellowfin tuna coming to the boats. In all 32 billfish were released on day one, 18 blue marlin, 6 white marlin and 8 sailfish.

Day 2 saw lines in at 7.00am and shortly afterwards Ring Leader (T&T) called in a blue marlin hook up – over 3 hours later the marlin came up dead and was boated – it weighed 359 lb which was below minimum weight and so scored no points. Cool Runnings also bought in a blue marlin of 473 lb which scored 495 points – if they had released it they would have scored 500… Crazy Baldhead had a good day in the generally slower fishing conditions – they released a blue marlin and a sailfish to increase their day one tally to 2100 to take first place at end of day 2. Blue Fever added a sailfish release to take 2nd place with 2000 points, Papasan released a blue to take 3rd with 1900 points, Temptation remained on 1800 points in 4th place ahead of Wahoo also on 1800 and Big Swordfish (Martinique) on 1400. Total billfish releases for day 2 were 19 - 10 blue marlin, 5 white marlin and 6 sailfish, plus 2 marlin landed. In the evening everyone crowded around the burger and hot dog cook out courtesy of “Anything on the Water” a Florida based yacht brokerage and a new sponsor for the event.

Wednesday 27th was the lay day with food and drinks in a relaxed atmosphere at Grenada Yacht Club beach where the Minister of Tourism walked the docks meeting and chatting with the visiting anglers.

Thursday 28th was final days fishing and an early start with lines in at 6.30 am. Unfortunately conditions were not good with a heavy northerly swell and winds gusting to 20 knots. However with so many boats separated by very few points the event was still wide open to be won or lost. Magic Lady (T&T) ventured out 40 miles to find fish – they succeeded catching seven yellowfin tunas (although one was mostly eaten by a very large mako shark next to the boat!) – this was enough for them to take the boat pool prize with over 800 lbs of tuna! The crucial tournament winning blue marlin was released at exactly mid day by Anthony Brash on Papasan – this gave them 2400 points and jumped them ahead of Blue Fever and Crazy Baldhead neither of whom scored points on the final day. When lines up was called at 3.00pm 15 billfish had been released - 9 blue marlin 2 white marlin and 4 sailfish.

Tournament totals were 18 Sailfish, 13 White Marlin and 37 Blue Marlin = 68 billfish were released and 2 Blue marlin landed = 70 billfish caught.

For comparison in 2009 the final figures for the tournament were: 69 Sailfish, 14 White Marlin and 21 Blue Marlin released and 1 Blue marlin landed = 105 billfish caught – so this year it was a case of more marlin but where did all the sailfish go??

The awards ceremony and closing dinner was held at the Grenada Yacht Club and attended by anglers, sponsors and the Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, the Hon. Glynnis Roberts and Minister of Health the Hon. Ann Peters. The Minister of Health gratefully accepted a donation of an automatic defibrillator (AED) from SIBT sponsor Tim Mills of First Call Surgical Services Fort Lauderdale.

The results were as follows:

First place boat Papasan (Trinidad & Tobago), second: Crazy Baldhead (Grenada), third: Blue Fever (Trinidad & Tobago).

First place angler: Anthony Brash (Papasan Trinidad & Tobago) second: David Gibbon (Wahoo Trinidad & Tobago), third: Michael De Freitas (Blue Fever Trinidad and Tobago).

Top Release Boat – Blue Fever (Trinidad & Tobago)
Top Release Angler – Michael De Freitas – (Blue Fever Trinidad & Tobago)
Top Female angler: Liz Whitman (Surf n Turf Grenada)

Boat pool (weight of fish brought to the scale): First: Magic Lady (T&T), second: Cool Runnings (T&T), third: Orion (Barbados), fourth: Southern Cross (T&T)

Top Grenadian boat: Crazy Baldhead
Top Martinique boat: Big Swordfish

The SIBT committee would like to thank all the participating boats and anglers for supporting the event, and to thank all their sponsors and especially Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, Island Water World, Moody Marlin Tackle Co and Carib Beer for making this competition possible.

Gary Clifford
SIBT Committee 1/2/10

***THIS WAS THE FIRST FISHING QUALIFYING EVENT FOR THE CARIBBEAN WATERMAN CHALLENGE 2010! LOOK OUT FOR THE OFFICIAL RESULTS OF THE CARIBBEAN WATERMAN CHALLENGE 2009 COMING SOON!

T & T Fishermen Dominate Regional Tournaments in 2009

Tobago Surfers Rule at CW COCRICO PRO!

CARIBBEAN WATERMAN – COCRICO PRO TOBAGO

DEC 29 2009 – JAN 1 2010

MT.IRVINE, TOBAGO – From December 29^th 2009 – January 1^st 2010, Caribbean Waterman (caribbeanwaterman.com) and the local surfing community in Tobago successfully ran a surfing event in Tobago that highlighted the quality of the surfers and their performances in the high quality waves of the Sister Island, with support from SURFINGT&T (surfingtt.org).

This spectacular event, which coincided with huge waves (2.5 – 3.5 Meters)formed by a North Atlantic Low Pressure System, was blessed with surfing conditions that dreams are made of, at least for the surfers. Many of Tobago’s beaches were too rough for swimming and this encouraged many spectators to gather on Mt.Irvine Beach to witness the first Surf Contest in Tobago in over 20 years.

The goal of this event was to have minimal negative impact on the surf break at Mt.Irvine and the great beach culture that already exists. Instead, the organizers wanted the event to have a great positive impact on the performance quality of surfing in Tobago. Surfers and watermen who would not normally compete in traditional surf contests were encouraged to take part in this event due to its new and innovative format.

Traditionally surf contest are purely judged by non-competing judges, in a rigid schedule of 20 minute heats, whereas a large portion of the CW COCRICO PRO TOBAGO was judged based on the observations and opinions of the competing surfers themselves through a voting process. This meant that credit was given where credit was due, and the athletes that were awarded prizes knew that they had truly gained the respect of their peers.

Additionally, a large focus of this event is was the youth factor. SURFINGT&T has made it clear that our country needs a lot of attention focused on youth development. Tobago has shown potential in this area far beyond its size and population, and they did not disappoint at the event with 4 of the top 5 U18 surfers coming from Tobago.

The positive feedback from the Tobago Community in the wake of this event has been overwhelming and many have volunteered their support for growing the event into an annual gathering with significant additional resources and infrastructure. Tobago surfing legend and winner of Best Big-wave Surfing Exhibit and Best Overall Waterman Performance, Barry St.George had this to say:

“This event has come as a true blessing to surfing in Tobago and has brought recognition where it is long overdue. All critics who downplayed the potential of this event are humbled by its great success!”

RESULTS

Voted

(CATEGORY – WINNERS NAME – PRIZES RECEIVED)

Monster Drop / Biggest Wave – DUANE KENNY – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Best / Biggest Barrel Ride – ALAN DAVIS – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Worst Wipeout – SCOTT TUCKER – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Best High-Performance Surfing Exhibit – ANDRE STEWART – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Best Big-wave Surfing Exhibit – BARRY ST.GEORGE – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, and DVD.

Best Overall Waterman Performance – BARRY ST.GEORGE – Medal, Free Weekend at 4Bdrm Villa.

Most Improved Performer (OPEN) – ANDRE STEWART – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Most Improved Junior (U18) – MATHEW MILNE – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Best Master Performance (35+) – CHE LOVELACE – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

SPIRIT OF SURFING AWARD – EAMON HEALY-SINGH – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Best Still Photo of a surfing performance. – TO BE DETERMINED (MEDIA BEING COLLECTED)

Best Video Clip of a Surfing performance. – TO BE DETERMINED (MEDIA BEING COLLECTED)

Please submit media for the best Still and/or Best Video Clip to the e-mail address below, or call me to arrange pick up of media.  We sincerely appreciate any media you can submit!

Judged

Super-Session 1^st (OPEN) – ALAN DAVIS – Ticket to THE SHADE NEW YEARS PARTY (TTD$500)

Super-Session 2^nd (OPEN) – JASON APPARICIO

U18 juniors 1^st (Male) – ADRIAN DE SILVA – Ticket to Trinidad to Compete in SURFINGT&T EVENT.

U18 juniors 2^nd (Male) – MATHEW MILNE

U18 juniors 3^rd (Male) – DARIO JORDAN

U18 juniors 4^th (Male) – CAELUM BLANDFORD

U18 juniors 5^th (Male) – IAN ROSS-SCHWEDEN

THANKS

This event was made possible by the generous contributions of CARIBBEAN WATERMAN, SOULJAHS INTERNATIONAL, THE SHADE, SURFINGT&T, TIM LAVESQUE at NETWORK SURF AUSTRALIA, RAIN SCHNIDER REAL ESTATE, and THE TOBAGO SURFING COMMUNITY.

You can contact Caribbean Waterman via Keith Lewis 775-1001 or onamission420@yahoo.com

Lewis St.John clean sweeps CSN Pro Tour!

by HEATHER-LYNN EVANSON // xtremedegreez.com

LOCAL SURFERS reigned when the curtain came down on the Barbados Surfing Association (BSA)/Caribbean Surf Network (CSN) 2009 Independence Surf Festival over the three-day weekend. Despite strong challenges from international and regional surfers, as well as from their compatriots, Lewis St John, Chelsea Tuach and body-boarder Paul Larrier took top honours at the Soup Bowl, Bathsheba.

Conditions at the Bowl were almost perfect on Saturday with the arrival of a much-anticipated North Swell. However, conditions on Sunday and Monday petered out, leaving surfers fighting for the perfect wave or, at times, stranded in the line-up waiting for any swell to pop up. But, temperamental conditions aside, the quality of the competition was high, even more so with the addition of surfers from the United States, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Puerto Rico.                                                                                                                                                                   Hard-hitting manoeuvres, big air and floaters, as well as barrel rolls, became the order of the day as surfers and body-boarders pulled out the stops on the final day of the competition. The event also featured repercharge rounds, and it’s a testimony to his skill that eventual two-event winner Lewis St John surfed his way through those rounds to end up taking the grand final title in the Open Division.

Not only did he take the top prize in that event that featured two Americans and a Puerto Rican, he also won the Junior Under-21 event, which saw local boy Jordan Heaselgrave sandwiched between second-place Jamaican Shane Symmonds and fourth-place Jamaican Ackeam Philips.

The win cemented St John’s dominance on the CSN Caribbean Tour.

Also proving her dominance on the local surfing scene tour was 13-year-old Chelsea Tuach. She not only took the top podium position at the weekend’s Ladies’ final but ended the year as the CSN women’s champion, the BSA Surfer Of The Year women’s champion and the BSA Surfer Of the Year Under-18 Girls’ champion.

This weekend’s event was also special for local bodyboarding force Paul Larrier. Everyone expected him to three-peat in the B3 Bodyboard Series, and he did not disappoint. In driving rain, he capped the day in the top spot in a year that has seen the re-emergence of bodyboarding into a full surfing event. 

The event also featured the Hot Twist 2009 Miss Bikini Competition, won by Tia Grant, and entertainment by local band Threads of Scarlet.

Final results

Bodyboarding: Paul Larrier, Mark Newhoff, Kwame Griffith, Jason Parkinson.

Junior Under-21: Lewis St John, Shane Symmonds (JAM), Jordan Heaselgrave, Ackeam Philips (JAM).

Ladies: Chelsea Tuach, Chelsea Roett, Ametza Nicholls, Melanie Pitcher, Jade Niccolls.

Open: Lewis St John, Josie Graves (PR), Jensen Callaway (US), Robert Roman (US).

CW:“Congratulations to Lewis on another great victory, 3 wins in a row on the CSN Tour is a first, and will surely be a hard record to beat.  This young athlete is an outstanding Caribbean Waterman, and we look forward to seeing him recognize his potential on the international pro surfing stage.  Keep up the great surfing Lewis!”

Photo: Jennifer Allen.

Another Great Performance by a T&T boat!

The good news keep rolling in as Trinidad and Tobago sport fishing teams continue to dominate the southern Caribbean fishing circuit.  The PRI Game Fishing Team on board Finesse went to Martinique to fish their annual International Fishing Tournament and came home with just about every prize possible, short of the first place Trophy.

They managed to take the 2nd place overall best boat, first place best angler (Gordon Dagleish), 1st place most fish released, Heaviest Wahoo (Mark Lazzari, 38lbs.), and 3rd place boat pool.  Well done fellas, another great performance!

RIP - SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN LOSES A GAME FISHING PIONEER

The Trinidad and Tobago Game Fishing Association (TTGFA) has lost one of it’s founding members and former Secretary, Sid Johnson.

When he passed away due to illness on November 6th 2009 it came as a great shock to the Game Fishing fraternity in Trinidad and Tobago as Sid has been involved in many ways for the betterment of the sport in the Southern Caribbean region. Sid was a part of the TTGFA management committee from inception in October 1986 to 2007.

Sid always advocated conservation efforts in the region and was concerned about the long liners and industrial trawlers operating in these waters. He lobbied against these practices in the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and was included as a member of the task force which produced a document that was presented to the Trinidad and Tobago Cabinet to assist in dealing with these matters.Sid’s passion for conservation led him to taking several photographs of Taiwanese large scale pelagic driftnet boats seen at National Fisheries in Sea Lots,Port Of Spain, Trinidad and sent them to the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA). These photos were later published on the cover of the New York Times. This feature article turned out to be the first time that a conservation story was featured on their front cover. Through this effort one of the biggest coalitions was formed by conservationists of which Sid was an active member. As a direct result of this the United Nations banned large scale pelagic drift net fishing and Sid received an individual conservationist of the year award from the IGFA based on his involvement.

Another award was given to him by the Billfish Foundation for individual of the year in 1991. These accolades were showered on him as his work for the TTGFA and fisherfolk in general continued. He was part of a Trinidad and Tobago Cabinet appointed committee that was formed to deal with foreign fisheries and related matters. A few years later he was able to work with the North Coast Fisherfolk to stop trawling in the Gulf of Paria and restrict them to no more than 2 miles off Trinidad’s North Coast and no further than Saut d’eau (an Island just off Trinidad’s North Coat) during the months of February to November.

Sid will always be remembered as being the Southern Caribbean Pioneer of Billfish tag and release fishing. He also was instrumental in having the Institute of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Division in Trinidad and Tobago conduct samples of fish caught in various local tournaments. At the time of his passing he held a cabinet appointed post on the National Monitoring Committee on Foreign Fishing and related matters and was also a member of the Trade and Industry Fish and Fish processing team of the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister’s Vision 2020 committee.

Article by Steven Valdez.

Next Page »