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| Greg Moore |
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Observers Enjoy Aruba at Work and Play
By Greg Moore
IGFTO Observer
ARUBA – October 2011 – We arrived in Aruba from all over the hemisphere for the Presidential Caribbean Cup sponsored by Chivas Regal.
John Ahlstrom flew in from California. Ian Bose came over from Trinidad. From the Keys came Lee Fickinger, Scott Kallas and Bill Slaughter. The Crawford clan, George, Marcus and George Jr. came down from the Carolinas. John Mayer flew in from Bowie, Maryland and our tournament reporter, J. Godwin, arrived from Virginia Beach. Capt. Tess (Theresa Sheil) from Yonkers rounded out our group to an even IGFTO dozen.
Our purpose on this tiny island 17 miles north of Venezuela in the pristine waters of the southern Caribbean Sea was to protect and preserve a deeply depleted species of billfish – the marlin.
We all worked together and played together. We looked out for each other and became friends. We shared stories after each day of fishing and consoled each other after making deposits at the Crystal Casino – our way of contributing to the Aruba economy.
The comradery among the IGFTO observers was apparent when Tess missed the bus to the awards banquet. We made the bus driver turn around – no easy task in Aruba – and go back to the hotel. We found Tess “standing on the corner watching all the boys go by.” When she boarded the bus to our rousing cheers she had tears in her eyes saying, “I can’t believe you came back for me.”
We have to thank Joan Vernon for the wonderful job she did putting on this tournament – from our beautiful accommodations at the Aruba Renaissance Resort (which I would highly recommend to anyone visiting Aruba) to the spectacular awards banquet at the Aruba Surfside Marina. Joan was everywhere and took care of all our needs.
We all enjoyed good food and Chivas Regal at the Varandero Marina patio parties each night – along with great entertainment.
To say that Aruba is “one happy island” is only half the story. The Aruba people we met made us feel like family. They are the friendliest island people you will ever meet. Most Arubans speak three or four languages, including English, Spanish, Dutch and Papiamento – a unique Caribbean Dutch language taught in Aruban schools. All are well educated and prosperous people.
The IGFTO observers made many new friends and exchanged email addresses with local fishermen and boat captains.
We want to thank all the captains and crews whom we worked with. The good weather and calm seas made our jobs easy. But the stars of the show were the magnificent marlin we watched jump and dance and greyhound across the water.
We fulfilled our duties as observers when, after witnessing the battle of angler and fish, we raised our hands and hollered “Release!” In all, we watched 70 billfish – 35 blue marlin, 16 white marlin and 19 sailfish – swim away so that one day we could return to this beautiful island to fish another day.
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