Following Seas, a 58-foot Viking run by Capt. Charlie Vanderbeck, claimed top honors at the 2023 Chub Cay Classic billfish tournament. The third annual event was held March 9-11 at the Chub Cay Resort and Marina. Following Seas released a blue and white marlin to earn 700 points to top the field. Under the all-billfish release format, blue marlin scored 500 points each. White marlin would have count for 200 points, and sailfish were worth 100 points.
(Photo/Crooked Island Lodge)
With its nearness to the southeast coast of the U.S., the Bahamas isn’t a new billfish destination. However, exploring the outer reaches of the islands can provide a break from the norm for anglers looking to expand their horizons. Crooked Island is in the far southeast corner of the Bahamas. It has a newly upgraded marina that provides close access to some of the best blue marlin fishing in the region. And when I say close, it’s no exaggeration. Crooked Island Lodge & Marina General Manager Andrew Barksdale tells me that their record was 19 minutes from picking up a customer at the nearby airstrip to hooking up a blue marlin!
Carl Allen, the owner of Walker’s Cay, stands with his new marina in the background. (Photo/Brendan Chavez)
If you build it, they will come … back. This recast movie quote rings true for Walker’s Cay, the 100 northernmost acres of the Bahamas, where a new 96-slip marina opened last year. Famed as a sportfishing destination since the 1930s, due to its location on the edge of the Little Bahamas Bank combined with a 1200-foot-plus drop-off eight to 10 miles to the northeast, Walker’s field was bought in 2018 by American businessman and philanthropist Carl Allen, who is bringing the hurricane-ravaged island back to life as his Field of Dreams for sportfishing.
(Photo/Richard Gibson)
The moon and stars shone brightly in the pre-dawn night as Capt. Eddie Herbert started the engines on the 80-foot Merritt Reel Tight. His destination, the Virgin Islands’ North Drop. Reel Tight owner Jim Lambert Sr. took his passion for fishing seriously. He wanted to be first off the dock so he could catch and release two to three blue marlin before sun-up and the rest of the fleet arrived.
Photo courtesy Brian Spence
The Islands of the Bahamas, June 16, 2022—Effective Sunday 19th June 2022 The Bahamas Travel Health Visa (BTHV) will no longer be required to travel to The Bahamas. However, all present COVID-19 Testing, and Vaccination Protocols will remain in effect and will need to be presented at check-in.
Diana, Joseph and Tripp together onboard the Fishing Tripp.
By Zachary Granat
“He looked at boats the way most guys look at women,” says Diana Allbritton of Charleston, South Carolina about her late husband, Joseph. But he had eyes only for her.
Almost four years after his death in a private plane crash headed to the Bahamas on Oct. 25, 2018, Diana remembers when she first visited his bachelor pad in 2006.
The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation has taken note of the recent increase in COVID-19 cases around the world and is implementing new testing requirements for all persons entering The Bahamas as a precautionary effort to continue to keep the destination safe.
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(L to R) Chris and Casey Pranckun in the middle of the Gulfstream
By Dale Wills
Paddle boarding from the Bahamas to Florida may sound like a crazy idea. Keep reading and you’ll understand why this trip made sense. A friend of mine asked if I could help co-captain his boat for the fundraiser, The Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis, as he and his family volunteered to be a support boat for 3 paddlers attempting to cross 80 miles of open ocean from Bimini, Bahamas to Lake Worth, Florida. What I witnessed as a result of taking part in the crossing was a heroic effort by everyone involved. The main goal was to increase awareness and money for the foundation and that they did. Over $600K was raised.
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.
Capt. Billy Black (left), with a 694-pound blue marlin caught in 1981. Photo courtesy Billy Black
By Dale Wills
Ask Captain Billy Black about his fondness with red bottom paint or saving a seven-year-old boys life from drowning ten feet under the ocean’s surface in choppy seas or running around Walkers Cay at wee hours hour in the morning with former President Nixon unbeknownst to the secret service or outfitting his boat dogs with sunglasses so they could spot fish from the bridge of the Duchess. For a captain who has invested over 50 years of his life to his sportfishing craft, these stories and countless others are worthy of a comfy dock box and your favorite beverage any time you cross paths with Captain Billy Black.
