The 25th annual Fisherman’s Day was the first for Kelvin Fahie and his small crew, which consisted of a cousin and a friend.
He said the tide was just right, putting the water level at 120 feet. The three fishermen balled up fry into clumps of sand and tossed the bait into the water, allowing them to catch yellowtail and hardnose by the bucketful.
But he said that when he took a brief nap and awoke early Sunday morning, he discovered that his anchor broke off Rudell about 30 miles southeast of Tortola, forcing him to call it quits and head back to Long Bay.
If not for the faulty anchor, perhaps the Rudell crew could have been one of the winners out of the 15-boat field. However, that distinction went to David “Tiger” Smith and his boat Tiger, which hauled in 245 pounds of reef fish.
Conservation and Fisheries Department officer Samuel Davies, who coordinates Fisherman’s Day each year, said the 15-boat turnout for this year’s event is up from the usual 10-12 entrants, which made expanding the competition from one day to two worth it.
See the July 3, 2014 edition for full coverage.
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