81.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchives'Sandman' Wins USVI Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament, MacMillan Top Angler

'Sandman' Wins USVI Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament, MacMillan Top Angler

Top Boat: Sandman. Top Angler: Sandra MacMillan, center. (Credit: Dean Barnes)The strategy of fishing in the same spot all week proved lucky for Sandman, winner of the Top Boat title at the 38th Annual USVI Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament (ABMT), fished August 21-25. Sandman released nine blue marlin over the four-day event.

Sandra MacMillan, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and owner of the Spencer 60 released five of the blue marlin to earn Top Angler.
Hot from a win at the 2010 Custom Shootout in the Bahamas in May, MacMillan said, “We came to the Virgin Islands for the blue marlin. The day before the tournament, we went up off Anegada and saw six fish, so we decided to stay in that area.”
The next day, the first day of tournament fishing, didn’t prove as productive as Sandman went fishless. After that, it was two releases the second day, three on the third and four on the fourth as the magic powers of the full moon worked its fish-raising effect.
Yet, Sandman’s win wasn’t without some last day surprises and suspense.
“We broke off our starboard rigger, so there was a lot of excitement with that,” said MacMillan.
Not only was there the rigger drama aboard Sandman, but the crew also had its eye on Big OH, Gray Ingram’s Ricky Scarborough 63, which nearly matched Sandman release for release throughout the day, but just couldn’t release one more to win.
“I really liked the back and forth. It was pretty exciting,” said Ingram, from Jupiter, Florida, whose team has either won or placed no lower than second in a string of tournaments spanning from Costa Rica to the Dominican Republic and St. Thomas earlier this year.
Big OH finished as the second place boat with nine releases, while the Hatteras 68, Therapy, rounded out third with a total of eight blue marlin released.
In angler standings, after Sandman’s MacMillan in first place, Puerto Rico’s Carlos Garcia aboard his Cabo 47, Peje, was second with four marlin released and Hunter Brant angling on the Spencer 61, Ohana, finished third, also with four releases.
A total of 140 blue marlin have been released in four days of fishing by the 41-boat fleet.
Done Deal won the famous Jim Smith ‘Race from the Edge,’ where the fleet races in from the North Drop, and it earned the prize of 500 gallons of fuel.
Started by Chuck Senf back in 1972 – and nicknamed The Boy Scout Tournament since a portion of the proceeds have always benefited the V.I. Council of the Boy Scouts of America, one of Senf’s favorite charities – the ABMT has evolved into one of the most competitive saltwater sports-fishing events in the world. It’s one of legs of the prestigious Bermuda Triangle Series and Spanish Main Series. This year, Senf’s grandson, Blain Tomlinson, traveled from California to present his grandfather’s famous fishing jacket, a true piece of Virgin Islands fishing history, at the awards ceremony.
The ABMT is fished under International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) rules and is overseen by a professional Board of Captains and well-qualified observers.
The tournament benefits the Virgin Islands Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
For more information and full results, visit www.abmt.vi
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.