Game On: The 21st Annual Challenge Kicks-Off February 21st, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2023
Contact: Chris Caravello
Phone: 954-725-4010
Email: Chris@bluewatermovements.com
Sailfish Challenge, Leg Two of the 2024 Quest for the Crest Sailfish Series
The 21st Annual Sailfish Challenge hosted by Galuppi’s Restaurant & Sports Bar in Pompano Beach and benefiting The Billfish Foundation is set for February 21-25, 2024. Leg 2 of The Quest For The Crest allows teams to compete out of three inlets over two days for their piece of a cash purse estimated in excess of $600,000. With 3 checkpoints from Government Cut in Miami to Hillsboro Inlet in Pompano Beach and Lakeworth Inlet in West Palm, flexibility is the name of the game. If the bite shifts north or south, this signature format gives teams the opportunity to get to the fish and still make check-in at the end of the day!
The 3-inlet format isn’t the only signature aspect of the Challenge. The tournament also boasts a unique ‘Coin Challenge’ competition that randomly assigns teams in groups by color to see who can release the most sailfish in the tournament! Team members of the winning color group in the “Coin Challenge’ receive commemorative coins, and one lucky angler of the winning color group wins a Grand Prize three-day, two-night stay at Margaritaville Resort in Hollywood Beach, FL, provided by Landshark Lager!
The week of events kicks off on Wednesday, February 21st, at the captains’ meeting, featuring a live performance from The Grunt Wagon, led by local legend and the tournament’s featured artist, RJ Boyle. Participating teams will enjoy complimentary cocktails, dinner, and silent auctions, accompanied by tournament sponsors and vendors for a night of festivities before the challenge begins. The 2-day competition extends over Friday, February 23rd, and Saturday, February 24th, followed by a Sunday Brunch awards ceremony on February 25th.
The Billfish Foundation
Bluewater Movements, Inc. is proud to be a charitable partner of The Billfish Foundation in aid to help in their continuous effort in billfish conservation worldwide through the Sailfish Challenge.
The Billfish Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was founded in 1986 with a mission of conserving billfish worldwide by the late Winthrop P. Rockefeller, along with Dr. Eric Prince and a group of fifty founding members. Their keystone program, The Traditional Tagging Program, began in 1990 and, today, has grown to be the largest international billfish tagging program in the world.
Founded with an initial focus on research and educational programs in 1986. The Billfish Foundation’s focus expanded In 1990 to include advocacy for responsible fisheries management by recognizing that influencing decision-makers with sound science was a crucial step in successful billfish conservation.
Each year, the winner of the Sailfish Challenge will have the opportunity to participate in and contribute to The Billfish Foundation’s Tag and Release Program through a satellite tagging expedition led by Billfish Foundation scientists. The expedition will allow the winning team to have a satellite tag named after them and participate with scientists in the deployment of the tag to be able to track it, collect valuable data, and share that data with our fishing community and tournament anglers to further the study and advancement of billfish conservation.
For more information on The Billfish Foundation’s billfish conservation efforts, please visit https://billfish.org/
Chasing Burgundy
The chase for the Burgundy Jacket is in full swing, and the competition is heating up. Let’s take a closer look at how our top teams and anglers are shaping up in the series.
Quest Series Standings
1st – Liquidated – 31 Points
2nd – Fish On – 29 Points
3rd – Trophy Wife – 28 Points
4th – Odyssey – 27 Points
5th – Skipjac – 26 Points
6th – Off Course – 25 Points
7th – Remix – 24 Points – Contender Team
Top Female
1st – Karen McCann – 5 Points
2nd – Nicole Ely – 2 Points
3rd – Sarah Melia – 2 Points – Contender Team
4th – Madison Hazlett – 1 Points – Pelagic Team
5th – Lacey Hagler – 1 Points – Pelagic Team
6th – Danielle Robertson – 1 Points – FFMD Team
7th – Debbie David – 1 Points
Top Male
1st – Matthew Rodriguez – 5 Points
2nd – Max Howard – 4 Points
3rd – Scott Goldsmith – 3 Points
4th – Hunter Biel – 3 Points
5th – Andrew Dean– 3 Points
6th – Trey Wheeler – 3 Points
7th – Chris Lemieux – 2 Points
Battle of the Brackets – Round 3
FFMD VS. Remix
Catch 23 VS. Reel Easy
Marlin Mag Lady Anglers VS. Fish On
On Sail VS. Priceless
Tournament Entry Tips
Secure your spot early for Sailfish Challenge with a discounted entry fee of $1200 per boat, available until February 7th, 2024. After this date, the late registration fee kicks in at $1700. In addition to the first-place title, there will be several other opportunities to cash in through various general and optional entry categories. Get ready to take some notes to take advantage of the tips below.
General Entry Divisions
Final Sail $100,000 Guarantee: Yes, you read it right—no gimmicks, no BS. Thanks to the generous support of Raymarine and Yamaha, we’ve added a spectacular grand finale bonus jackpot to the last leg of the series. This extra payout is on top of the prize money offered in the general prize structure for Final Sail and is exclusively available to teams entering all three legs of the series. Even if you can’t compete in one of the series legs, simply registering for the events is enough to meet the requirements to enter the $100,000 added value guarantee at Final Sail.
Meatfish Madness: Don’t sleep on the meatfish categories in the Quest series! With three meatfish divisions—Meatfish Aggregate, Heaviest Fish Divisions for Dolphin, Wahoo, Kingfish, Cobia, and Tuna, and The Grand Daddy: Heaviest Fish Overall—plus three meatfish Calcuttas, you can potentially win over $50,000 without landing a single sail in Sailfish Challenge! This season at Operation Sailfish, Miss Michelle secured their big payday of over $37,000 on their 39’ Contender equipped with Raymarine’s cutting-edge electronics, hauling in a hefty bag of meat, including a 51lb kingfish. Making bills without catching bills has never sounded so good!
Optional Entry Calcuttas
Fish For Charity Calcutta: Some moments transcend fishing, and our Fish For Charity Calcutta embodies the spirit of giving back. We wholeheartedly encourage all teams to participate in this noble cause, benefitting our charitable partner, The Billfish Foundation. It’s a win-win for both teams and charity, with a generous 50/50 split between the high point team and the tournament charity. The entry fee for this Calcutta is $500 per boat.
Release Round-Up: Everyone’s favorite Calcutta—The Quest For The Quest Series Exclusive Winner Take All: Release Round-Up. This optional entry category unfolds over four rounds across two days of fishing. Advance through all four rounds, and your team could strike gold in the Release Round Up Jackpot! In 2020, Miss Annie hit the Round-Up jackpot, securing an astounding $371,700 payout. The question now is, who will be the next team to claim the big prize, estimated to be over $100,000 at Sailfish Challenge? The entry fee for this Calcutta is $1,000 per boat.
Sailfish Challenge Schedule of Events
All events for the week will be held at Galuppi’s Restaurant & Sports Bar:
1103 N Federal Hwy, Pompano Beach, FL 33062
Kick-Off Party/Captain’s Meeting
When: Wednesday, February 21st, 2024
Where: Galuppi’s Restaurant & Sports Bar
Time: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Fishing Day 1
When: Friday, February 23rd, 2024
Lines In – Lines Out: 8:00am – 4:00pm
Deadline to Submit Media: 6:00pm
Fishing Day 2
When: Saturday, February 24th, 2024
Lines In – Lines Out: 8:00am – 4:00pm
Deadline to Submit Media: 6:00pm
Awards Ceremony
When: Sunday, February 25th, 2024
Where: Galuppi’s Restaurant & Sports Bar
Brunch: 11:00am – 12:00pm
Awards Presentations: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
About the Quest for the Crest
This iconic series hosts some of the top billfishing teams in the sport. Teams in this 3-leg series are expected to compete for an estimated purse of over $1.8 million. However, the most coveted award – The Crest – doesn’t come in the form of a cash prize. The Crest represents the pinnacle of tournament sailfishing. It is viewed as the highest accolade bestowed upon a team. Presented in jacket form, competitors must emerge as the most dominant among an elite field in order to don the burgundy jacket. Privilege is earned, not given, on this quest to crown a world champion.
About Bluewater Movements
Bluewater Movements, Inc., is a sports marketing company based in South Florida, the sport fishing capital of the world. Throughout the past 28 years, our team has developed some of the most successful competitive fishing events in the industry. Our background in tournament fishing, coupled with our expertise in event marketing, has enabled a premium experience for tournament anglers and sponsors. Within our portfolio, there are seven wildly popular fishing tournaments, all hosted at various venues across South Florida.
