The captain of crewmembers of Fangoti pose with the first-place trophy and Tasi To Table officials during the awards ceremony of Tasi To Table’s 5th Annual Wahoo in the Marianas at the Smiling Cove Marina on Saturday.
MV Gloria’s captain and crewmembers pose with the second-place trophy and Tasi To Table officials during the awards ceremony of Tasi To Table’s 5th Annual Wahoo in the Marianas at the Smiling Cove Marina on Saturday.
FANGOTI won the Tasi To Table’s 5th Annual Wahoo in the Marianas with a catch weighing 19.7 pounds on Saturday.
Fangoti’s crew — Alvir Masga and Eddie Demei led by their captain, Jack Pua — decided to go north where they found their winning catch at around 8 a.m. Pua said it took them five minutes only to reel in the wahoo.
Wahoo has always been their main target when fishing, Pua said. Asked why, he replied, “Because wahoo just melts in your mouth.”
Fangoti, which brought home the $2,000 first prize, donated their catch to Tasi to Table.
In second place with a 17.1-pound wahoo was MV Gloria, captained by John T. Sablan with his sons, John Jr. and Manny, as crewmembers.
MV Gloria was out at sea for nearly eight hours, but they hauled in their winning catch just an hour after the event started around the eastside of the island.
“The youth are doing a good job with the help of Gene Weaver’s lead,” said John T. Sablan, referring to the fishing derbies organized by TTT and its student members.
MV Gloria was last year’s first-place winner and still the record holder for wahoo at 54 pounds, caught in 2008.
This year, MV Gloria received the $1,500 second prize.
Bagging the $1,000 third prize was Ronin captained by Billy Grow with a wahoo weighing 15.7 pounds.
The total weight award was claimed by Ruby Fishing.
“Today was really nice — we had ideal conditions for the derby: 26 went out and 26 returned safely,” said Tasi to Table President Gene Weaver. “The [TTT] kids are doing their best despite all the setbacks. Yes, it was a challenge, but the community came out with the support for which I am thankful for. Without AK-Toyota, Mobil and IT&E this event would not have been possible, and we rely on their continued support in the future,” he added.
Rastavana Wenio, chair of the 5th Wahoo in the Marianas, said it was tough to host the event with all the postponements that came along with it. “But it turned out great! I want to thank all the students for putting in all the hard work as well as all the advisors for leading us and sharing the knowledge,” Wenio said.
The next Tasi to Table event is the Mixed Classic ser for August.
