towed his Nova 220 Sportfisher D Stress
all the way from Pretoria. This year,
however, another record was set —
Nedko Nedev from Sevlievo, Bulgaria,
flew all the way to South Africa to join
skipper Andre Swart on Kinda Magic
to participate in the TOMT.
Also worth celebrating is that
Osprey’sblack marlin, estimated to
weigh between 275kg and 300kg, is the
biggest marlin ever caught during these
events. We remain convinced that
those bigger specimens are still lurking
in the depths out there, just waiting for
a hook-up.
Another major achievement by
Osprey’screw — although unconfirmed
— is the “unofficial All Africa record” for
catching and releasing six striped mar-
lin on one single day (eight in total for
the week). Although this was not
achieved during this event, it’s the fac-
tual fallout of the marlin mayhem we
experienced during the 2012 TOMT, the
first year Ospreyentered and won the
event. (See the May/June 2012 issue
of SKI-BOAT Magazine.) Ospreynow
also owns the bragging rights for
achieving all three podium positions in
such a short timeframe since joining
the TOMT for the first time in 2012.
Having participated in only four events
over six tournaments, they took first
position in 2012, third in 2014 and sec-
ond in 2017.
On a sad note we report the passing
of Tony Doult, one of the TOMT’s long-
standing contestants. Tony was killed in
a vehicle accident in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo during
December 2016. We wish to express
our sincere condolences to his rela-
tives.
His absence during the event left a
void and we’ll definitely miss his cama-
raderie in the years to come. However,
with the introduction of the Tony Doult
trophy, awarded annually to the person
who made the biggest contribution
towards the TOMT, Tony’s legacy will
continue to be celebrated during these
events. Congratulations go to Gawie
Bruwer, the 2017 recipient of this wor-
thy award.TRAIL OF AGULHAS'S MARLIN
Wanting to learn more about the migra-
tory patterns of marlin in Agulhas's
waters, the TOMT has joined the
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
(VIMS) project collecting marlin genet-
ic (DNA) samples for analysis. The aim
of the study is to identify the world-
wide presence and geographic location
of different striped and white marlin
populations in particular, as well as the
extent of mixing between these popula-
tions.
Unfortunately due to the absence of
striped marlin activities in our area over
the last couple of years not many sam-
ples could be collected. Although
we’ve experienced a 100% collection
rate during this event, only one of these
samples came from a striped marlin and
was submitted by the Woes Lekker
team. Although we’re sad to have
missed this ideal opportunity to get
some provisional indications, we take
solace from knowing that filling a barrel
of precious wine starts with that single
drop of juice forced from one grape.SKI-BOAT May/June 2017 • 61There was much pirating around at the Suidpunt DeepSea Clubhouse.