The 20th anniversary of the Custom Shootout held May 12-15 at the Abaco Beach Resort and Boat Harbour assembled an exclusive fleet of 51 custom sportfish yachts – the finest found anywhere in the world. Competing teams represented 17 builders in an all-release format awarding 600 points for blue marlin, 150 points for white marlin, 100 points for sailfish, and 300 points for a single-day grand slam.
Abaco Beach Resort Marina
By Dale Wills
I recently returned from a visit to Marsh Harbour, Bahamas for the Production vs. Custom Shootout run by legend Skip Smith. This was my first time returning to the islands since Dorian devastated the Abacos in September 2019. I stayed at the Abaco Beach Resort and the marina looks better today than it ever did. The new tournament scale is awesome and I’d bet a giant sea monster couldn’t tear it down as it is now made from steel beams. If only that precious ground under the scale could talk. I have fond memories of big marlin and boats backing under it to celebrate.
The Bahamas Customs & Excise Department has launched its electronic submission portal for cruising permit applications on the Click2Clear platform. Visitors traveling by boat can now complete and submit declaration forms and make a cashless payment in advance of arrival. “This is all a part of our digital transformation agenda. It addresses a long-standing pain point for boaters who have been clamoring for a fully digital process. It also minimizes the opportunity for revenue leakage,” says Minister of State for Finance Kwasi Thompson. While we love living on island time, the new Cruising Permit module is expected to dramatically improve the processing time for boaters when clearing customs at the various ports of entry across the archipelago.
Captain of the Year Glenn Cameron (2011) recently won the first ever Bahamas White Marlin Roundup fished April 28-30, 2016. Fished out of Marsh Harbour in the Abacos, Capt. Cameron found the White Marlin before others in the fleet and never relinquished the lead. Congrats to Cameron and the Floridian crew. If you are interested in fishing with Capt. Cameron he is available for charter out of Stuart, Florida.
To visit his website Click Here
See White Marlin Roundup for final score Click Here
