DOCK MAARTEN--"Pa Kouri” from Sint Eustatius emerged champion boat at the conclusion of the 13th Annual Wahoo Tournament organised by St. Maarten Sport Fishing Foundation when results were announced Saturday evening at Grumpy’s Bar.
The nine-metre Guadeloupe-built “Pa Kouri” was one of 29 boats contesting the tournament, one less than last year. The crew reeled in 397.2 lbs of Wahoo to take first place in the top three winners category. Second place went to “Lady Carolina” from Saba with 345.2 lbs of Wahoo, and third place to “O’ Top Sea” from Saint-Barthélemy with 231.6lbs of Wahoo. First time winner “Pa Kouri” with crew Annika de Gannes, William de Gannes, Kenny Coutar, and Ryan Woodley claimed the bragging rights from the winner of the past two years, “Navigator” from Saba, and will have their name engraved on the perpetual trophy. “We went out very early, leaving the dock at 3:20am, and the fish were biting but after 10:00am it was not so good,” said “Pa Kouri’s” captain and owner, Kenny Coutar. “We were fishing mostly to the south. This is the second time I am participating. I was last here in 2023 with a single engine 22ft boat. People said we were crazy to compete with such a small boat. We were the smallest boat in the tournament.” In other results, the Junior Angler prize went to Joel Hassell (12) from “Navigator” and the Female Angler prize to Rhianna Haynes from “Second Wind” for her 38.2lb Wahoo.
The largest Mahi Mahi of the tournament went to the boat “Jupiter” while “Ti-Feya” broke the record for the largest Tuna caught, a 75.3lb specimen, eclipsing the previous record of 66.5lbs. “Jupiter” also won the Best Dressed Team prize. The St. Barths boat “Jenny 2” landed the largest Wahoo of the tournament at 59.7lbs, winning the team a Suzuki Outboard Engine, and the Wahoo Jackpot to make the team’s trip over from St. Barths very lucrative. In a change to the rules that previously applied only to the champion boat, all three of the top winning boats are invited to the 2025 Offshore World Championships in Costa Rica. The aftermath of the stormy weather of the past few days turned out to be blessing for most of the boats with a considerable amount of Wahoo brought ashore. Teams went home laden with cash prizes, trophies, and other gifts courtesy of the sponsors.
“We had really bad weather the past two days, and usually just before a storm, or just after, you get good fishing, and on top of that we had a moon change two days ago and all that comes into play to get the fish biting and we saw that today,” said organiser Dean Hodge Jr. “We had a lot more fish than normal, and bigger.” Organisers expressed sincere appreciation for the support given to the tournament from Dock Maarten, New World Shipping, Sol, Suzuki Marine, Amstel Bright, Oyster Bay Resort, Windward Islands Bank (WIB), FKG, Lacoste, Windward Roads, Print & Sign Express, Tackling Insurance, Island Life, and JM Web Services, and volunteers
