Hope Town United (HTU), the community-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization spearheading the still-ongoing Hurricane Dorian recovery and restoration efforts on Elbow Cay in The Bahamas, hosted the 1st Annual Sailfish Tournament and events at Sailfish Marina December 10–12, 2020, with an impressive turnout of 43 registered fishing teams and hundreds of event attendees.
More than $200,000 was raised over the weekend and will go towards rebuilding the Hope Town Primary School and restoring Elbow Cay residents’ homes decimated by Hurricane Dorian’s Category 5-level winds and storm surge.
The tournament started Friday, December 11, 2020 and continued through the following afternoon. Teams fished for sailfish (by release only) and were scored by overall releases based on points for using dead or live bait.
Awards were presented for overall top live and dead bait teams, as well as for category winners, daily winners, and heaviest meat fish. Teams won extensive cash-prize payouts, with the pot exceeding $170,000.
The overall top live bait team, Native Son, took home an impressive $79,180 with a score of 1300 release points, equaling 13 sailfish released over two days.
The overall top dead bait team, Wrapped Up, took home $23,290 with 700 points, equaling 7 sailfish releases.
HTU invites anglers to save the dates for the upcoming Marlin Tournament taking place at Hope Town Inn & Marina on Elbow Cay May 5–8, 2021. Boat slips are extremely limited, so those interested should stay tuned and visit hopetownunited.org for details.