12/05/2026
Good morning all,
It is an old saying that is easy being a fair-weather captain and there were plenty of events that conspired against our 2026 Garmin Blue Marlin Classic, and as such this year’s tournament was certainly one of adapting to the challenges that were sent. We postponed twice previously and then with a marginal weather outlook for the Sunday, consensus from the committee and our loyal teams, was that a one day shootout format would be the best outcome for this year’s heavy tackle tournament.
The weather inshore was blue skies, however the crews were soon belted back into reality once they hit the 50’s, to be met with some challenging sea and wind conditions. Soon after logon it was clear that the ever-unreliable repeater channel 82 was up to its usual tricks and reception was depleted to zero out on the shelf. We again adapted to the situation and the clarity from the briefing of Gamebase being available via text was soon found a god send with many boats texting in there scheds and relaying for other boats. By the end of the first sched we had adapted with a group message that was working well thanks to a multitude of boats with some form of reception. This brought about the "Mr Adaptable Award" to Scott on Odyssea, who was a constant savior for the day, and for many messages throughout the day.
Not to be deterred by the conditions, it was the juniors that struck first blood with Charlie Strong capturing a Mahi Mahi to ultimately take out the heaviest other species junior category. The early call from Gamebase was that the bite time would fire from 11.00am and like clockwork there was a flurry of hookups soon thereafter. First on the board was Aurora with a nice Blue Marlin to "Caravan" Dan. Not to be out done Hardaraddit tagged a nice Blue Marlin to Teagan Holmes followed up by a second Blue Marlin to "Caravan" Dan on Aurora.
From here on it was game on for the fleet, with Largo and Caboom joining the party, with junior angler Taj Ferris tagging his first Blue Marlin on Largo followed by a guest appearance from David Green on Caboom. The chase was hard for the afternoon bite with Tegan Holmes snagging a second on Hardaraddit followed by Graham McCloy tagging a second for Caboom. The race to the line was tense with all three boats having opportunities for a third, going swimming off into the swells.
Not to be out done by the guys chasing down the Marlin line honors, Reality Cheque managed to capture two nice Yellowfin tuna to take out the heaviest other species category and the Caleb Chalk Trophy for the First Yellowfin of the season.
Ultimately, it was one of our clubs stalwart teams Aurora, skippered by Brad Carlin, that took line honors, chased hard by Denis Lucardie on the crew on Hardaraddit and Graham McCloy and his crew on Caboom.
The final wash up of prizes was.
Champion Boat Overall – Aurora
2nd Boat Overall – Hardaraddit
3rd Boat Overall – Caboom
Champion Male Angler – Daniel Russell
Champion Female Angler – Teagan Holmes
Champion Junior Angler – Taj Ferris
Heaviest Other Species – Dillon Adams
Heaviest Other Species Junior – Charlie Strong
Caleb Chalk Trophy – Murrie Taylor
Hours of Power Winners – Charlie Strong, Daniel Russell and Taj Ferris
Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all of our amazing sponsors and competitors that dug deep to make the tournament the success that it was.
The Jackpot format rewarded those bold enough to have a crack and again our major sponsors GARMIN and Micheal Bishop provided some very worthy prizes.
Lastly thanks to our team of volunteers that made the event a success for everyone, without their work we would not be able to stage these events.
Hope to see you all at the Shootout 9th - 11th October 26.
I think Ash would have been proud
Andrew Dunbar
Tournament

