FREEBIRD RACES TO VICTORY IN SAILFISH 400
Team also leads the Quest for the Crest series
place in the second leg of the 2015 series, and now leads the race for the overall top boat prize for the series in 2018.
Finishing in second place was the On Location team, fishing aboard a 57-foot Capps captained by Drake Sawyer. They tallied 23 sailfish and four marlin for 4,300 points, worth $51,000 in prize money. A strong third-day rally moved them from seventh place into second.
The team on Tag Team II, a new 55-foot Viking captained by Los Sueños veteran skipper Victor Julio Lopez, landed in third place with 4,100 points. They released 11 sailfish and six marlin in the team’s first year participating in the tournament series. They won $34,000 for their efforts.
The first leg of the Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown hosted 49 teams that released a total of 598 billfish: 457 sailfish and 141 marlin. Capt. Nick Carullo knew the competition would be tough during this year’s Sailfish 400; 42 of the world’s top tournament teams descended upon Miami for the second leg of the Quest for the Crest Sailfish Series. However, that didn’t deter Carullo and boat owner Christian Giannakopoulos from putting together a memorable performance, releasing 15 sailfish on their way to a payday worth $168,890. Building on its fourth-place finish in the first leg of the Quest series,
Free Bird currently leads the standings in the race for the burgundy jacket.
Capt. Skip Dana continued his hot streak in Miami after back-to-back tournament wins in Palm Beach, Florida, putting Sir Reel in second place overall with 12 sailfish releases. Dana battled it out with the top captains but in the end fell just short of an incredible third win early in the season.
The most inspiring story from the event happened aboard Lisa L/The
Fishing Experience. Local captain Mike Puller led his team of junior anglers to a third-place finish with 12 sailfish releases (see Field Notes, page 42). Lisa L angler
Carlos Saladrigas was the event’s top junior angler with three of those releases, while Sara Melia from Free Bird earned top-lady-angler honors with five sailfish releases to her credit.
Rounding out the top five was Sandra MacMillan’s Sandman, in fourth place with 11 sailfish, and Angler Management, with 10 releases. Jorge De Cardenas from Angler Management was the top male angler as well as master angler with six releases, while SeaVee boats claimed the Boat Builders Throwdown trophy with three strong performances by teams aboard Angler Management, Blue Tales and Fishless. The total cash purse for the 2018 Sailfish 400 tournament tallied $726,250.
The event also raised proceeds for its charity, Driving for a Cause, a NASCARaffiliated charity that helps to raise money and awareness for youth and educational programs in Miami-Dade County.