The 43rd Annual Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Tournament and the 3rd Annual Florida Fish For Life Sailfish Tournament made history last
week by bringing competition anglers a totally new and unique event.
“The idea behind the Double Shot was to format these two popular events so that the rules were the same, the dates concurrent and
the schedules compatible,” said Fred Miller, FFL tournament chairman. “This gave teams the opportunity to fish both events
simultaneously with only a single commitment in time and expenses.”
The initial pairing of the two tournaments attracted a wide range of sponsors, including Palm Beach’s legendary yacht builder,
Rybovich as the Buccaneer Cup premiere sponsor and Caterpillar Inc. as the FFL name sponsor, and 45 of the finest yachts and
fishing teams to compete. It was also the first time the Buccaneer Cup was 100% nonprofit, donating all the proceeds to the
Recreational Fishing Alliance.
“To say the Double Shot format was a success is an understatement,” said Gary Caputi, Saltwater Sportsman offshore editor and
chairman of this year’s Buccaneer Cup. “All but four boats signed up for both tournaments. From the captain’s meeting, through the
four available fishing days, and ending with 225 people at the Sailfish Club of Palm Beach for a five-star awards dinner, this was a first
class event from start to finish. Our competitors fished with a greater purpose than every before knowing that all the money generated
by these tournaments was going to causes they cared about.”
At the awards dinner Fred Miller presented a check to the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania for $30,000 and
another to the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation for $20,000! That is more than double the amount of money donated by
the event last year. He was followed by Gary Caputi who presented a check to the Recreational Fishing Alliance in the amount of
$32,000. These checks represented the proceeds from the tournaments, but additional money will be donated once the amount
generated by the silent auction is finalized.
Planning for next years event is already underway and includes a questionnaire to all the captains and owners aimed at getting their
input to make 2007 bigger and better. The winning boats for the two events are as follows:
43rd Annual Buccaneer Cup
1st Hatterascal (64 Hatteras) 1200 points*
2nd SEVEN (61 Viking) 1200 points*
3rd Viking 68 (Viking 68) 1200 points*
*Winners were determined by time of catches
3rd Annual Florida Fish For Life
1st Viking 68 (68 Viking) 1200 points
2nd Gina Lisa (75 Jim Smith) 1000 points
3rd Streaker (44 Gillikin) 800 points
week by bringing competition anglers a totally new and unique event.
“The idea behind the Double Shot was to format these two popular events so that the rules were the same, the dates concurrent and
the schedules compatible,” said Fred Miller, FFL tournament chairman. “This gave teams the opportunity to fish both events
simultaneously with only a single commitment in time and expenses.”
The initial pairing of the two tournaments attracted a wide range of sponsors, including Palm Beach’s legendary yacht builder,
Rybovich as the Buccaneer Cup premiere sponsor and Caterpillar Inc. as the FFL name sponsor, and 45 of the finest yachts and
fishing teams to compete. It was also the first time the Buccaneer Cup was 100% nonprofit, donating all the proceeds to the
Recreational Fishing Alliance.
“To say the Double Shot format was a success is an understatement,” said Gary Caputi, Saltwater Sportsman offshore editor and
chairman of this year’s Buccaneer Cup. “All but four boats signed up for both tournaments. From the captain’s meeting, through the
four available fishing days, and ending with 225 people at the Sailfish Club of Palm Beach for a five-star awards dinner, this was a first
class event from start to finish. Our competitors fished with a greater purpose than every before knowing that all the money generated
by these tournaments was going to causes they cared about.”
At the awards dinner Fred Miller presented a check to the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania for $30,000 and
another to the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation for $20,000! That is more than double the amount of money donated by
the event last year. He was followed by Gary Caputi who presented a check to the Recreational Fishing Alliance in the amount of
$32,000. These checks represented the proceeds from the tournaments, but additional money will be donated once the amount
generated by the silent auction is finalized.
Planning for next years event is already underway and includes a questionnaire to all the captains and owners aimed at getting their
input to make 2007 bigger and better. The winning boats for the two events are as follows:
43rd Annual Buccaneer Cup
1st Hatterascal (64 Hatteras) 1200 points*
2nd SEVEN (61 Viking) 1200 points*
3rd Viking 68 (Viking 68) 1200 points*
*Winners were determined by time of catches
3rd Annual Florida Fish For Life
1st Viking 68 (68 Viking) 1200 points
2nd Gina Lisa (75 Jim Smith) 1000 points
3rd Streaker (44 Gillikin) 800 points
| PALM BEACH DOUBLE SHOT Makes Tournament History! |
| CLICK ON THE LOGO ABOVE TO GO TO THE FISH FOR LIFE SITE |
| Stay tuned as we hope to bring you some fantastic photos of all the action taking place within these tournaments. We encourage you to please take a look at their website!! These folks are doing some phenomenal work and they deserve our attention and praise. Pappy |