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With less than two weeks before the start of the 2013 Bahamas Billfish Championship season, the reports of good billfish action off of the Abacos fuels the anticipation that the BBC's 40th Anniversary year will be an exciting one. Who will get the Championship Ring? Will it be  one of the teams that have participated in the past? Or will one of the many new teams that are fishing their first BBC tournaments win the coveted crown?
For the BBC veterans and newcomers alike, Guana Cay is a great place to get reacquainted or be introduced to the BBC and the Out Islands of The Bahamas. Guana Cay has a certain Out Island charm; miles of white sand beaches with great snorkeling on numerous reefs. At the same time, the Cay has some of The Bahamas' most famous and 'interesting' watering holes; notably, Nipper's and Grabber's.
In addition to four days of fishing, the Guana Cay Championship has a full schedule of social activities for the week. You can party hardy at Nipper's on Tuesday evening after enjoying one of Johnny's world famous pig roasts. Then on lay day, Wednesday, you will be able to test your 'mixology' prowess by participating in a uniquely different drink contest. Jimmy and Melanie Albury at Orchid Bay Yacht Club & Marina are asking for our help in creating and naming a signature drink for the resort's new 'SunSetter' restaurant and deck area.
Contest details will be provided at tournament registration on Sunday afternoon. Of course the contest will take place on SunSetter's deck overlooking the Sea of Abaco while watching a picturesque Abaco sunset.
Remember that BBC Registration is now from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM on Sunday afternoon. Sign-up for the 'awards pool' runs concurrently with registration.Explore the complete Guana Cay Championship schedule of events by clicking here.
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The Story Behind the Championship Ring
By Jan Fogt
With a heritage dating back to the 1700s when, as British loyalists, the Pinder family emigrated from New England to the then British Crown Colony of The Bahamas, it's been one of the most famous names in the Americas. From Europe to the New World, Pinders helped shape history. The clan includes Congressional Medal of Honor (1944) recipient  John J. Pinder, Canadian writer Leslie Hall Pinder and Moody Blues rock musician Michael Pinder. Scattered along Florida's east coast from Key West to Stuart the name is associated with pioneering commercial fishermen and with respected seafood purveyors and nurseries. In the Bahamas, Pinder remains one of the most famous names as well and includes the Catholic Church's first Bahamian Bishop Patrick Christopher Pinder. It also identifies the nation's first family of jewelry. Since the late 1980s, Monica Pinder and her brothers Andrew and Christopher have been fueling trends in marine jewelry design, starting with their first sand dollar pendants and necklaces and conch pearl rings in 1989 at the inaugural store on Green Turtle Cay. Started principally by Monica, now Monica Pinder-Higgs, the store grew out of a passion for jewelry and design that coalesced after several years working after school for a Nassau jewelry store specializing in native conch pearl and pink coral stone designs. The only daughter of Sherry and Percival (Percy) Pinder - a former director of Solomon Brothers in Nassau - no doubt her parents expected their daughter to become a lawyer or banker but Monica had other ideas.
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Season Fishing Forecast for 2013:
Conditions Recently Improved Substantially
By Mitchell A. Roffer, Ph.D.
In years past, we have been asked to forecast the BBC season from data available at the end of February and first week of March. However, this year, we had almost another month to accomplish our task. One of the challenges of producing such an early forecast is that  these exciting and entertaining fishing events extend over a relatively long time period. Conditions are likely to change dramatically from one event to the next without any proven methods to predict the changes. This is confounded by the fact that there still are no reliable numerical oceanographic models or even atmospheric models to use to make accurate and reliable high resolution localized oceanographic forecasts that extend the entire season.
At ROFFS™ we believe that the conditions observed now are generally likely to continue into the short-term future (days - weeks time frame) unless we can see reasons that the trend in present conditions would dramatically change. Comparing the preseason conditions annually provides insight into whether or not we are observing "normal" or climatologically mean conditions or anomalies.
For example, the SST (sea surface temperature) and ocean circulation features in the Bahamas over March 04-07, 2013 shows the relatively unfavorable conditions for blue marlin that existed over this region at that time. The Gulf Stream water was moving southeastward along the northern Bahamas island chain from Walkers Cay to the eastern Abaco Islands. By comparison, the SST and ocean circulation features in the Bahamas derived for March 27-29, 2013 shows the substantial changes and improvements in the ocean for blue marlin conditions during March.
As of March 29th a clockwise eddy centered near 76°15'W & 25°45'N continued to pull the "blue marlin" water in a southwestward direction toward Eleuthera, which in turn was being pulled northward along the eastern side of the Islands due to the circulation north of the island chain between the Great Abaco and Walkers Cay. We anticipate that this blue water will remain in the BBC area for the next few weeks. While the SST is not particularly warm (74.5°F-75.5°F), these conditions are expected to remain favorable for a combination of white marlin, sailfish and blue marlin to be in the BBC area.
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If You Are Going to Pay for It ...
By Capt. Skip Smith
Insurance that is ... you might want to get your money's worth.
People do not like paying for insurance! We all say, "We will never put in a claim ... unless it's the big one." But what's worse is to pay your premium and then have a claim only to find out that you do not  have the proper coverage for your loss. If you are going to pay the premium, you may as well make sure you have all the coverage you might need! We tell clients that they are paying for a claim they hope never happens; a policy isn't just a document to show their lender or dock master.
In my 20 years in the business, I have seen too many claims declined for reasons that could have been avoided. Most are due to late reporting. It is the classic scenario where you do not want to put in a claim so you start to repair the damaged props. You send them off to the prop shop, and they come back repaired; all nice and shiny. Meanwhile, the boatyard mechanics tell you that it looks like the shafts are bent and a strut is out of line. You ask for an estimate to repair the running gear and you find out the total cost of the repairs went from an amount just under your deductible to an amount way above it!
You finally call your agent to report the claim but, when the adjuster shows up, the damaged props are no longer available to be inspected. It's the same as fixing your car after a fender bender and then calling your auto insurance agent. What damage? When the estimate for the shafts and strut come in (minus the declined props) the total repair is just under the deductible. Now the entire repair cost comes out of the owner's pocket.
Read Ship's advice about timely insurance claims click here.
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Jim Lambert Memorial Trophy Announced
Long-time Bahamas Billfish Championship major sponsors Smith Merritt and International Special Risks have teamed with Travelers to create the Jim Lambert Memorial Trophy. The trophy will be presented annually to the top overall BBC angler for the season.
Jim Lambert was an avid BBC competitor for more than ten years and won the Championship in 1998. As a member of the BBC Steering Committee, Jim was instrumental in establishing the BBC Scholarship Fund and a strong advocate of the BBC's move to time and date stamped digital images to verify the species of released fish.
"The BBC is extremely honored to be able to present this trophy in the memory of someone that, while being a strong believer in teamwork, was himself a tough and dynamic individual competitor," said Al Behrendt, BBC president. Smith Merritt, ISR and Travelers will award a Carey Chen print to the top individual angler at each tournament.
The Jim Lambert Memorial Trophy presentation will take place at the overall awards ceremony at the conclusion of the Marsh Harbour Championship. Behrendt went on to say, "We are extremely thankful to Smith Merritt, ISR and Travelers for their generosity in creating this new award category.
Since the Bahamas Billfish Championship is a team competition, the new Jim Lambert Memorial Trophy gives the individual angler an opportunity to be recognized for his or her outstanding performance throughout the Series."
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Remember When?
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Ray Huizenga, Jim Lambert, Capt Ray Walters and
Bernie Boniface at the 2001 Chub Cay Championship.
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We continue to get email and phone calls about the BBC photographic yearbooks, first published online in January. Enjoy these albums from the past 40 years of Bahamas Billfish Championship tournaments. Review the pictures as individual images or as a slide show then save as many images as you like. Simply click on the volume (below) that you wish to review.
Vol I - 1973-1983 - Vol II - 1984-1993 - Vol III - 1994-2003
Vol IV - 2004-2008 - Vol V - 2009-2012
It's not too late for you to make your mark in the BBC history books. Join us for any or all of the action packed 2013 BBC tournaments. Click here to register!
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BBC 40th Anniversary Reunion
All past Bahamas Billfish Championship participants are cordially invited to join this year's anglers and crewmembers at the Marsh Harbour Championship for a BBC 40th Anniversary Reunion.
Whether you have a boat or not, if you fished the BBC in the past, plan on being in Marsh Harbour June 9th through 14th. We're planning a full week of fishing, fun and reminiscing and, of course, many old photos and video/slide shows of BBC days gone by! Get a feel for what's in store by viewing the BBC Photographic Yearbooks available above or on the BBC website.
Watch upcoming issues of The Teaser and BBC e-Updates for the latest information and details.
Mark your calendars for the BBC 40th Anniversary Reunion. And it's not to soon to make your reservations. Call or email the BBC office for more information.
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As The Propeller Turns ...
Tabby Watt of International Special Risks says the BBC Yearbook pictures covering the BBC past 40-years inspired her to pursue the creation of the Jim Lambert Memorial Trophy ... Watch for the  Android version of the BBC App and updated iPhone app in time for the Guana Cay Championship ... Wave Paver owner Jr Davis is juggling June BBC tournaments with his daughter's wedding ... The picture of Charley Wade (right) that appeared in the January BBC e-Update indicated that it was taken in 1997 when it was actually taken at Chub Cay in 1977.
Paul McIlhenny, long-time friend and supporter of the BBC and head of the Tabasco empire, passed away in March ... Capt Rich Helmuth of the Wani Kanati in Harbour Island reports, "Lot's of mahi here along with some sails and whites. I've been covered up a couple times with both!"... Capt Kim Manning emails that he is trying to make it to the BBC's 40th reunion celebration ... Speaking about the 40th reunion, Steve Goione will sign prints of the original BBC 40th anniversary art for all those attending ... Frank Murray is rumored to be getting a new passport just so he can travel to The Bahamas for the 40th reunion ... Watch for an article about the BBC 40th anniversary in the July edition of The Bahamas Investor (www.thebahamasinvestor.com).
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Dolphinfish Research Newsletter
San Juan Fish Is a Wealth of Information
On November 10, 2012, Wess Merten, a graduate student at the University of Puerto Rico and assistant on the DRP, joined Capt. Manuel Botello's crew of Irvin Baez and Alexis Alfalla aboard the Missing Angel  for a fishing trip off San Juan, Puerto Rico, to tag dolphinfish. In addition to deploying conventional streamer tags on dolphin, this trip also had the challenge of catching a fish at least 25 pounds in size that could carry a satellite tag.
As luck would have it, only the satellite tag was deployed this day. At 12:25 local time, a 43-inch female dolphin was released carrying the fifteenth pop-off satellite tag to be attached to the species. The tagging process requires the fish to be brought into the boat using a dipnet where the instrument is quickly attached and the fish is lowered back into the water. Once in the water, the fish is slowly led along beside the boat until it regains strength. Only then is it released, exposing it to the ever-present predators that inhabit the deep blue waters.
This fish represents many milestones in the study of this great game fish. It is the first of its species to carry a satellite tag off the northern coasts of the Caribbean Islands. This fish is only the second female dolphin to be fitted with the high-tech instrument and is the first cow to carry the tag for the full 30-day monitoring period. Its travel also represents the longest distance moved by a dolphin tagged off Puerto Rico.
To read the complete newsletter click here.
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