D
epending on your outlook, obstacles can
be seen as either unwelcome frustrations
or a challenge that, once overcome, will
enhance your sense of achievement.
Consider, what would a golf game be without
bunkers, or a downhill mountain bike trail without
rocks? And while surfing a glassy dawn wave may
be an exquisite thrill, that experience is certainly
heightened when the wave is breaking across a
shallow rocky point, with boils and ledges forming
as it sucks over almost-dry boulders. With the
right attitude, difficulties can add to your fishing
enjoyment too.
Take the capture of an angler’s first marlin, for
example. I’ve helped in many of these exciting
events, but I believe the anglers that others
thought of as lucky – having caught their marlin
on one of their first trips – were in fact robbed of
much of their thrill. In almost every case, their
catch lacked the euphoria that accompanies
this momentous milestone only after repeated
losses and perhaps years of effort.
All too often, when an inexperienced angler
gets lucky and bypasses the usual qualifying
obstacles, they’re unable to appreciate the
magnitude of their accomplishment. Instead,
their easy catch gives little more than the
simple satisfaction of having ticked a box on
the list of recommended angling goals.
Morten Ruud’s creation of the sailing gameboat
Offshore Hunter is an inspiring example of
ingenuity and a testament to his ability to
overcome significant obstacles. Wanting to travel
the world and fish all the best billfishing hotspots,
but lacking the budget for an ocean-roaming
battlewagon, Morten took a second-hand sailing
boat and converted it into a surprisingly effective
game fishing platform. Despite the limitations of
a boat festooned with rigging wires and sailing
apparatus, Morten devised some clever solutions
and then proved his boat’s capabilities by out-
fishing many in the established charter fleets.
Morten’s feature in this issue demonstrates
what can be achieved with an adventurousEDITOR
Tim Simpson
Tel: (07) 5532 1110
Mob: 0400 665 947
Email: [email protected]
SUB-EDITOR
Kate McIntosh
DESIGN & EDITORIAL LAYOUT
Mat Clancy (Emsee Publishing Design)
OFFICE MANAGER
Trish Simpson
Tel: (07) 5532 1110
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Tim Simpson
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PO Box 1456, Runaway Bay,
QLD 4216, Australia
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Trish Simpson
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Tel: (07) 5532 1110BlueWater Staff & Associates
TIM SIMPSON: PUBLISHER
Timhasathirstforknowledge
andapassionforteaching
others the skills for success. His
adventures have taken him to a
long list of tournament wins, six
IGFAworldrecords,andmore
than 500 tagged gamefish.Tim Simpson
IGFA Representative
Advisor to IGFA Angling Rules Committee
The Billfish Foundation: Board of TrusteesBlueWaterLVSXEOLVKHGE\%OXH:DWHU*DPHȽVKLQJ3W\/WG$&1 32%R[5XQDZD\%D\4/'
Australia © 2018. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, in whole or in part, without
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<RXDUHZHOFRPHWRDFFHVVWKHLQIRUPDWLRQWKDWZHKROGDERXW\RXE\JHWWLQJLQWRXFKZLWKRXUSULYDF\RIȽFHU
ZKRFDQEHFRQWDFWHGDW%OXH:DWHU*DPHȽVKLQJ3W\/WG32%R[5XQDZD\%D\4/'$XVWUDOLDOvercoming obstacles
No-one in their right mind tries to make things harder for themselves,
and yet as Tim Simpson explains, the level of satisfaction you enjoy
from your angling successes may be directly proportional to the
difficulty you experienced along the way to achieving them.spirit and the right attitude. I have no doubt
that every one of the blue marlin caught from
his sailing boat are enormously satisfying- as I hope Trish and I get the chance to
experience when we embark on a similar
fishing adventure at the end of June...
Since childhood I’ve dreamt of visiting Tahiti,
and although it’s taken a very long time to
get there, soon it should become a reality. A
good friend of ours, Barry Bailey, is currently
sailing the Pacific Rim on a four-year cruise
aboard his 15m sailing catamaran MIA. When
he recently called on his satellite phone to
invite us to join him on an exploration around
French Polynesia, we jumped at the chance.
MIA is still a traditional sailboat, with all that
rigging paraphernalia to contend with when
fishing – including a sportfishing tender on a
cradle across the transom. However, despite
the obstacles we’re certainly keen to try
some serious game fishing. Barry has already
proved it is possible, recently landing an 80kg
yellowfin tuna and a 130kg blue marlin while
en route from the Galapagos Islands – food
that would sustain them for weeks.
I’m sure there’ll be frustrations when fish
run around MIA faster than we can pass our
outfits around all the rigging, but when you’re
trolling the sunset wahoo bite along the outer
reefs off Bora Bora, who cares if there’s a few
obstacles to contend with?
CATCH-UP
WITH THEEDITOR
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