Photo: EFSA European Championship Big Game Fishing Tournament
By Toine van Ierland, Tournament Director
In both 2020 and 2021, we were forced to postpone the tournament thanks to COVID-19, but on the night of April 24, 2022, we finally kicked off the 2022 EFSA European Championship Big Game Fishing Tournament, AKA The PENN Challenge.
And what a tournament it was.
Bluewater Movements, April 14—Record Breaking. That’s the best way to describe the 2022 Final Sail tournament weekend in Miami on April 6-9, 2022. 479 releases across a 41 boat fleet and the top 5 teams combined released 121 fish! Going into Final Sail, all eyes were on the five teams in contention to win the coveted burgundy jacket and this year Michael Jordan’s Catch 23 team was in the mix, going neck and neck with Contender One/Costa. Throughout the two day long competition, stakes and tensions ran high with a $600,000 purse and burgundy jackets on the line, two teams would emerge victorious at Miami Beach Marina on Saturday.
March 24 – 27, 2022 – Quepos, Costa Rica—Hosted by world class Marina Pez Vela, in Quepos Costa Rica, International anglers from Australia, Costa Rica, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and South Africa joined those from across the United States including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas, to participate in the first Bluewater fishing tournament of its kind.
The team on the Valhalla 46 Trust Fun shows their spirit.
Valhalla Boatworks, April 13, 2022—The eighth annual Viking Key West Challenge (VKWC) was a smashing success, with 50 boats and more than 500 people attending the three-day event. “The Viking Key West Challenge is an amazing event that just keeps getting bigger and better, with more boats and more people participating every year,” says Viking President and CEO Pat Healey. “It’s now the largest tournament on the island. Key West is really the perfect location where everyone can thoroughly enjoy the boating and fishing lifestyle that we all love.” Valhalla Boatworks has become an important part of the festivities as more owners are discovering the great family fun and fishing camaraderie of the VKWC. Trust Fun features triple Mercury 600s, a custom Palm Beach Towers gap tower and a host of accessories for live bait fishing.
Chub Cay Invitational
©Los Sueños Resort and Marina | Photographers: Pepper Ailor or Ronald Rojas
Los Sueños Resort and Marina, April 12, 2022—There were thirty five teams that ended up participating in all three legs of the 2022 Signature Triple Crown and which were therefore eligible for the title of Series Champion. In the end though, there can only be one Champion and that honor was earned by Team Sea Angel on Rum Runner. They earned 14,100 points over the three legs of the series and ended up winning on time. Max Bet released four marlin on Day 3 of the third and final leg alone to tie on points, but released their last fish four hours and 23 minutes after Sea Angel on Rum Runner.
Photo: Teddy Hoogs
Capt. Keith Robinson and the Sea Genie II team won largest marlin at the 2022 Lazy Marlin Hunt with their blue weighing in at 942.5 pounds.
Photo: Marina Casa de Campo
Photo: Chub Cay Resort
