The Bahamas Billfish Championship Quarterly

In This Issue

Preparations Underway

Champion Trophy

We Love Our Sponsors

Let's Get Social!

Changes!

As The Propeller Turns

Dolphinfish Research Newsletter

40 Years of BBC on DVD

Preparations Are Underway for 2014!

The excitement is building as the 2014 Bahamas Billfish Championship series quickly approaches! We have a great schedule this season including the new location - Green Turtle Cay. I personally visited Green Turtle in December and the whole island is a buzz about the return of the BBC. I can't tell you how much the two host resorts, Green Turtle Club and Bluff House, are really looking forward to hosting the 2nd leg of the BBC. They are truly planning to roll out the red carpet for us! The channel was completely dredged this past year and provides adequate passage for all of our sportfish boats with 7' at mean low tide. Even the fuel tanker can get in at low tide! If you haven't been to Green Turtle in a while, now is the time to come back!

We have new t-shirt artwork being designed by renowned marine artist R.J. Boyle especially for the 2014 BBC series. Look for pictures of his artwork in the next E-Update. Also new for 2014 are the trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place at each leg. Artist Chris Costello is hand carving trophies out of wood for the winners. A very talented artist, his trophies will be a hit with the winners!

These are just some of the things to get excited about for the 2014 Bahamas Billfish Championship! More announcements and surprises await! Sign up now - you don't want to miss this year!

Online BBC Tournament Entry is convenient and secure. Access the entry portal through the BBC website or you can click here to Enter Now! The BBC website is also where you will find links to our 2014 Angling Rules, entry procedures, and contact information for slip reservations and shore accommodations at the host resorts.

Print the 2014 Schedule

One-Of-A-Kind Murano Glass Trophy Awaits the 2014 Overall BBC Winner!

We are excited to announce that this year's overall trophy has been designed by the fine glass craftsmen of Italy's Orovetro Murano. This hand blown, 24" glass blue marlin was commissioned exclusively for the BBC. The trophy will be awarded to the 2014 Bahamas Billfish Champion at the Marsh Harbour Championship in June. The piece has a serial number and comes with a certificate of authenticity from Orovetro Murano. It is a piece of art that will be proudly displayed by this year's Champion!

We Love Our Sponsors!

The BBC is pleased to welcome back these sponsors for the 2014 tournament series:

We thank them for their continued support and encourage you to visit their websites and see what they can do for you!

There are still sponsorship opportunities available. Look for more to be announced in the next issue!

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Quick Links: BBC Rules Resort Info Online Entry

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Let's Get Social!

The Bahamas Billfish Championship has several ways for you to stay connected to the latest BBC news, results and photos. Our Facebook page is a great place to socialize with fellow anglers and find fishing updates and photos during the tournaments.

The BBC web site has a live scoring page which is updated as fish are caught. Our iPhone and Android apps post live results and you can sign up for notifications when your boat posts a score! Both are great resources for keeping up with the action!

Finally, the BBC has an Instagram page. Photos will be posted by the BBC and we invite you to share your photos as well! When you post any BBC photos be sure to use #bahamasbillfish.

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Changes!

by Capt Skip Smith

They say change is good, but unfortunately we have had too many bad changes like with the economy, politics and way too many terrorist groups rising up around the world.

There is some hope on the horizon! The changes I have seen in the boating and fishing industry have all been very positive over the past few years.

We have more places to fish for marlin and more records are being broken for billfish caught in a day, in a year, by one angler and Royal Slams in the shortest time.

Boat sales seem to be on the rise again and we even have a few more insurance companies entering the yacht insurance market to keep rates from going up!

Fishing techniques have really changed, too. Gone are the days... Finish reading Skip's article

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As The Propeller Turns...

Abaco Beach Resort, our host for the Marsh Harbour Championship, has a new Dockmaster! David Knowles is looking forward to working with the boats fishing the final leg ... Speaking of Abaco Beach Resort, 16 rooms have received renovations and the pool bar has a new counter top! ... In Treasure Cay, Cliff Bootle is the new Marina Manager. Many of you are familiar with Cliff who has worked on the marina staff for years. Cliff replaces Mike Sawyer who retired in November....Call Cliff now to take advantage of a special BBC dockage rate - Stay in Treasure the week before, during and after the Treasure Cay Championship and only pay $1.50 per ft for dockage and get a free room night!

Congratulations to these BBC competitors for their success in recent tournaments: Pelican Yacht Club Tournament - Cowpoke 2nd place and Fa La Me 3rd place ... Silver Sailfish Derby - Miss Annie 1st place ... Buccaneer Cup - Miss Annie 1st place and Fa La Me 2nd place!

Look for the new Mama Who fishing the BBC. They are so excited to fish they were the first ones to register!....It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of Jim Connor. Jim was a big supporter and friend of the BBC.

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Dolphinfish Research Newsletter

January 2014 Newsletter

This issue of the newsletter reports on the results of the angler survey regarding the abundance of young-of-the-year dolphin in 2013, comparing the perception of private anglers with that of full-time charter captains. It also examines an incident where a dolphin tag is found on a beach. There have been seven such reports in this study. Tags have been picked up on beaches from the Florida Keys to South Carolina. They have been recovered from as long as four and a half years after being placed in a fish to as recently as just two days after being reported used. Such occurrences are expected especially since dolphin are high on the menu for many of the ocean's apex predators. There are other reasons for tags to separate from their host fish, with some being easily avoided.

To read the complete newsletter click here.

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BBC 40 Years in Pictures DVD

Own a piece of fishing history!

The DVD features over 2,000 pictures from the last 40 years of the Bahamas Billfish Championship! The anglers, the crews, the fun, the fish and, best of all, the memories ... They're all here on one DVD.

Click here to order your copy!