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20 '-ri,irr!l: :.Go AUGUST
2008
CASTINGBETS
Agr€enbock otteringfo Nepfune;
opposit€,boqls in Bisbee'sbillflsh
tourneyroundlh€poinl in cqbo son
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> SEPTEMBER
AUGUST
2OO8OUTSIDE'S
GO2i
GO>
DEEP
massesbehindthe start line without collision.Aboard the Outla*,
a 50-foot cruiserthat'shalf cigaretteboat, half oceangoingstretch
limo, SefrorSomebodyLocally Important stepsonto the bulging
prow and takesaim at the brighteningsky with a flare gun.Pop!
The seaseethes,
the air roars, and for one cartoonishmoment
nobody seemsto move.Then the front-runnersrise up onto their
bow wakesand blastout of the bay,the muscleboatshitting 40 knots
in secondsflat. 'Waveafter wave,they chargeforth. Half a million
horsepowerthrottles the sea.
The 25-footdayboatsaregettinglaunchedin ClassI rapids.They
burstthroughstandingwavesin explosionsof spray,everybody
fanningout Broadway-musicalstylein the greatestpowerboating
displayon the planet.Amongthe contendersareanglersfrom 15
wrestler,a former
countriesand47 U.S.states,a famousJapanese
boats
KGB general,anda guyin an Elvissuit.Therearedead-serious
whosecrewswill scanthe horizon nonstopwith $5,000Fraserbinoculars,and boatson which an interpretive
Volpegyro-stabilized
fish dance,fueled by margaritas,is the only real game plan.
I7hile the party-hearryboys hope to crosspaths with big, dumb
marlins,theprosbeton livetuna in the 10-to-20-poundrange,kept
freshfor up to 15 hours in mechanized"tuna tubes" that massage
them with high-poweredspray.
mostmeticulousand dedicatedfishAmong the best-equipped,
ermenin the meleeis AnthonyHsieh,captainof TeamBadCompany,whichwonlastyear'sBlack& Blue,with itsworld-recordpurse
of $3.9million. Hsieh,42,who emigratedto the U.S.from China
whenhewaseightand bootstrappedhisway to fornrnewith hisinnonow focusesfull-time on purvativeonlinemortgagingbusinesses,
suingmonstersof thedeep.This year'sBadCompany"dreamteam"
is aboard the two boatsHsieh hasentered-55- and 50-foot cusvaluedtogetherat $2 million. The teamincludes
tom Hatterases,
'West
the "professor"of eleclegendary
CoastcaptainSteveLassley,
tronic fish-findingtechnologyand teamcoachKevin Nakamura,
the self-described
"utility guy" who hasboateddozensof 1,000poundersaround the world.
But all of Bad Company'scarefulpreparationappearsto have
beenscotchedby TropicalStormKiko, which sparedLosCabosbut
It's basicallya cleanslateout therenow.
scrambledthethermoclines.
Someof the contendersevenhavethe samewinning DNA: Hsieh
andcompanyareaboardtheSs-footHatterastheywon on in2006,
which hashad a $500.000makeover.Rival TeamFalconeis also
fishingoff of a former Bad Companyboat, sold by Hsieha decade
ago.'Which,all thingsbeingmadeequalby thestorm,posesthequestion: Is it theboator theboys?Or iswinningseriouscashin thethreeday contesta matterof dumb luck?
DA/VN,
JUSTAFTER
out besidethe signaturesugarloafcragsof CaboSanLucas,Mexico,
the 850 official entrantsof the2Tthannual Bisbee'sBlack & Blue
Marlin Tournamentprowl the bay everyonetrying to catchtuna for
feverdream,a crazyquilt of 166crisslivebait.It's a sportfisherman's
crossingwakes,bristlingrods,and snakinglines.And with some
$4 million in prizemoneyat stake,theworld's richestbillfish tourneygivesnew meaningto the phrase"economiesof scale."For some,
the eventis a chanceto strike it rich with one lucky fish. For others,it's about beingthe big fish in yet anotherpond.
The boatsthemselvestell the tale: You'vegot guyscastingsardinesoff the backsof yachtsbig enoughfor helipads.You've got
hopefulsin day boatssmallerthan the dinghiesaboardthe hulking mini-liners.And makingup the multi-million-dollarmedian
Mikelsons,and Vikingsin the 5O-foot
are dozensof Hatterases,
range,looking every bit as muscularand dangerousas their
quarry.Powereddown and rumbling, thesebillfish battlewagons
makea deep-throatedgargleastheysuckin and spit out greenbay
water,tingeingthe saltair with dibselfumes,hinting at the fury about
to beunleashed
on the Seaof Cortez.
It's headystufffor the oncehumbleBlack& Blue,a fishingtournamentthat remains,at heart,a bar betwrit large.Backin 1.982,when
hitthe seas,itwas justNewportBeach,Calthefust,informalBisbee's
ifomia,tackle-shopownerBobBisbeeandhiscronies,who'd beencoming to Cabosinceit wastheproverbialsleepyfishingvillage,in theearly
sixties.Bisbeewasa locallegendfor drivingfrom Newport Beachto
Cabo-1,100 milesof highway-some 20 timesa year.Onenightat
theMar deCortezbar,hetossedout a newchallengeto a handfulof
friends,telling them to put up or shutup. They put up: a total pot
of tengrandin cash,slappedon thetable,biggestbillfishtakesall.Now
Bobwill somewhatsheepishly
recollectthat hewon
in hisseventies,
that bet.ITon thenextbettoo, thefollowing yeaqwhenthepot swelled
to accommodate13 boats,and BobJr.captainedfor hisold man.
"'Winning two years in a row seemeda little self-serving,"
WayneBisbeesays,explainingwhy thefamily seguedfrom winning
to organizingthe tournament.Sincetaking over the director'sjob
from his dad,Waynehasfoiled a kidnappingplot and beenthrown
test
in fail for disqualifyinga lbcalanglerwho faileda lie-detector
afterbrazenlytrying to pawn off a marlin purchasedfrop a longliner ashis own. He hasalsoseenthethree-daytourneygrow from
a gritty affair with cashtossedhaphazardlyon a hotel mattressto
a world-renownedclashof sportfishingtitans-and the town of
CaboSanLucasturn into, well, the woozy Caboof Cabo Wabo,
with golf coursesand gatedcommunities.But the toumament brings
in seriousmoneyfor thetown, and a winning fish canchangelives,
especiallythoseof little-known local captainsand crews.
IThentheprizefishingbegins,only thecrazyarestill foolingaround.
Smallplanescircle and chopperscut the air, and'WayneBisbee
twangsoverthe radio: "Back it up, cap'ns!"The armadasomehow
2OO8
22 OUISIDE'SGO AUGUST> SEPTEMBER
Around noon, the MrssrngLenk,ouI of Newport
Beach,California,steamsinto the CaboSanLucasmarinawith the
first seriousfish of the tourney.The leviathanis wrestledfrom the
transomand onto a trolley.BoatownerDaleLenk, a renownedSoCal
dune-buggyraceqandthe restof hissunbumedanglersfollow behind,
running a gantletof TV and cell-phonecameras.The fish is roped
and hoisted:a 591-poundbluemarlin.Grandpasshouldergrandsonsto ooh and aah.The Ferrariofgamefish,mouth agape,pectorals
flaring, betraysperfectdesign-even asit drips blood into a plastic
bucket.It's boundfor theDIF,Medco's welfaredepartment,to feed
WHAI.E
OFATIME
clockwise trom lop letl, T€qm Pegosusholling tor live boil; o big @&*$#
moilin;the fobled fighfing choir
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> SEPTEMBER
AUGUST
2008Clrll!!Di: 3 GO 23
BIG KAHUNA
Clockwise ftom obove. o modesl
Cobo villo: o mermoid tlom lhe
moinlond: Bob Bisbee, founder of
Bisbee's Block & Blue
theneedy.But beforeitgoes,beautifulmamacitasin bikinisstepin to
posewith themonster,asif to say,Herearepowerandmoney,man's
cunningandnature'sgenius:'Whynot somepulchritudetoo?
"It's betterthansex!" effusesanglerMike Powell,a first-timeBisbee'scompetitorwho foughtthefishfor 50 minutesbut ultimatelycredits the flawlesspiloting of MlssingLenk'scaptain,BryanAdams.
fightingstrength,skilled
Indeed,consideringthebillfish'stremendous
cooperationbetweencaptainand anglercan mean the difference
betweena wistfnl fishstoryanda trip to thebank. (MissingLenk'sbhe
marlinwill earn$461,963,forsecondplace.)Agoodtoumamentboat
featuresmultiplesteeringstationssothat the captainneverneedsto
turn hisbackon thefish,everreadyto throw theboat'shorsesandtonnageinto thefray.A greattournamentboataddsa retractablesonar
anda pop-upbigscope,extratunatubes,four luxuriousstaterooms,
screenplasmaTV in thesrylishlyappointedsaloon.Farfrom theold
2OO8
GO AUGUST> SEPTEMBER
24 OUTSIDE'S
adagethat seafaringis like being in jail with a chanceof drowning, conipeting aboard thesehigh-end power yachts is like hanging in a suite
at the Four Seasonswith the chance of winning millions.
But ivhether you're on a leather lounger watching ESPN while
your deckhands guard the lucky $50 bills wound into your reels, or
you're tirelesslyscanningthe horizon from the tower like Anthony
Hsieh, once you've got a seriousfish on the line it's just predator versuspredator in an often epic struggle.Bisbeet veteransstill talk about
the 1990 tourney, when actorIifillie Aames fought a 461-pound mar'$Trappedin the line, the fish dragged the boat some
linfor 2l hours.
15 miles, all through the night, until food, water, and fuel were gone.
Hands completely blistered, Aames finally landed the infamous
$250,000 fish when both were utterly spent. Alternatively the brute
may take the fight to the boat, arriving green at the transom with
spike slashing,requiring a skillful cudgeling of the brainpan.
Still, you gotta have luck on your side.And, maybe, a lucky boat.
Late in the afternoon of the second day, the first million-dollar fish
is paraded to the scales,and it's from the Bertram 54, still called
Bad Company-"the other Bad Company" to most insiders-with
its crew of rookies making the triumphal march. Team Falcone may
be greenhorns on the circuit, but led by the fetching socialite and
philanthropist Sonia Falcone,they've bet like old pros. In addition
to the basic $5,000 entry fee, they've cowboyed up for all the
optional daily pots, a $63,000 "across the board" wager that garners their 539-pound blue marlin a payout of $1,421 ,7 52-the second-largest
in tourney history.
"It's a big blessingfrom God," declares
the winning angler,Brian'Weisheim, Mrs.
Falconet nephew."But we were in a pretry
good boat." For a sport rife with superstition-bananas on board, for instance,
are taboo-having a boat marked by
Hsieh reachthe podium nvo yearsin a row
is too weird to be mere coincidence. Conspiracy nuts will note that in passingfrom
millionaire to millionaire (in this case.
from Hsieh to Falcone, a former Miss
Bolivia and the wife of arms dealer Pierre
Falcone),the Bertram has somehow hung
on to its billfish juju. After tipping the captain and crew a total of $213,000, Falcone
donatesthe rest of the prize-about $1.2
million-to the town of Cabo.
For the men of the MissingLenk,however,luck is not a lady, just a tease.After
hold up asthebiggestfishofthe tourwatchingtheir591-pounder
namentfor mostof threedays,they'reburnedin thelast 15 minutes
when the Azgel and the BadmanII bringsa 520-poundblueto the
payoutof $734,415.As for theoriginalBad
scale,for a biggest-fish
sportfishingteamin historywith more
Companythehighest-eaming
than $6 million in prize money,the27th Bisbee'sturns out to be a
riches-to-rags
story.Still, a post-tourneyraffle earnsthe boysa free
entryto nextyear'stournament-not that theywould haveskipped
it. Hsieh,who fishesmorethan 180 daysa year(yetwill kill asfew
as five big marlins in that span),is disappointedbut by no means
daunted.He takescomfortin hisroutine,packingawayhis2O-plus
place,helpingthecrewhoseandwipe down
rods,eachin its designated
the Hatteras50 banlewagonuntil it's spotless.This is his office.
he admits."But at heartI'm iustanother
"I'm a businessman."
guy in a T-shirtand dirty shorts.I'm a fisherman."@
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> SEPTEMBER
AUGUST
2OO8
OUTSIDf'S
GO 25