2017 LOS SUEÑOS SIGNATURE TRIPLE CROWN COMES TO A CLOSE – Leg 3 of the 4th Annual Series finishes with a touchdown by Sea Angel and an undisputed Series Champion
Los Sueños Resort and Marina, located at Playa Herradura on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast, held the third and final leg of the 2017 Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown billfish series, presented by Chantilly Air, March 22-25. Hailed as the Super Bowl of sport fishing, this final event of the 2017 series brought together 50 of the world’s most competitive billfishing teams, comprised of 147 individual anglers, to compete over three days of fishing culminating in the release of 509 billfish, including 462 sails and 47 marlin.
DAY 1
First Light, who finished third in Leg 2, called in the first fish of the tournament at 8:11 am on Thursday morning. The first marlin hook up was called in at 8:39 am by Fish Tank and released just two minutes later. By 10:00 am Outlaw, Pez Collector and Fish Tank were all on the leaderboard, each having released a marlin. By the same time, 39 billfish releases had been reported to tournament control. Word on the docks going into the final leg of the series was that fishing would be slow. Measured by Los Sueños standards it was; however, fewer fish does not mean less excitement. In fact, this time around it mean that each and every fish counted and just one sailfish release could result in an instant change in the standings, while a marlin could catapult a team to the top. At 10:55 am Big Deal released their first marlin, followed by another at 11:37 am and then marlin number three for the team at 11:49 am. They had hit a nice pocket of marlin and shortly thereafter, with a sailfish release, they commanded an impressive lead. At 2:15 pm Sea Angel called in a marlin release, after a three hour and eleven minute fight by angler Austin Angel. The estimated 600-pound blue marlin put on an amazing battle before its release. Positions changed quickly with each marlin release, so it was Big Deal ahead of Team Galati and Numero Uno by 2:20 pm.
By the end of the first day a total of 169 billfish, including 24 marlin, were reported over the tournament radio with Big Deal leading the fleet with 1,600 points, on time over Fish Tank, and First Light rounding out the leaderboard in third position with 1,200 points.
DAY 2
We aren’t making a “big deal” of it, but it was Big Deal calling in the first two fish of Day 2 just 3 minutes after lines in. Agitator, the top contender for the title of Series Champion, started to come back after a poor go of it on Thursday, with their first sailfish release of the leg at 8:08 am. It was a sign of what was to come. By 11:47 am Agitator had released seven more sails and hooked up on a marlin, releasing it at 11:51 am and shooting from nineteenth position into third. Agitator was back on track to do what they do best – “agitating” the rest of the fleet. Fish Tank, which had placed second on Day 1, moved into the lead and Big Deal was in second. By lines out at 4:00 pm Agitator had worked their way to the top after releasing a total of 12 sails and one marlin on Day 2 alone for a total of 2,300 points, followed by Fish Tank with 2,200 points and First Light in third with 2,100 points. By the end of Day 2 a total of 346 billfish were released, including 37 marlin and 309 sails.
DAY 3
The honor of first fish of the day went to Team Galati on Saturday morning, positioning them in sixth place right at the beginning. Fish Tank released a sail at 8:34 am, effectively closing the 100 point gap with Agitator left over from Day 2. Smooth Move, in fifth place for the Series Championship after Leg 2, released a double at 8:38 am, a single at 9:29 am and then another double at 10:00 am, to move third place with 2,300 points, behind Fish Tank and Agitator on time but all tied for points. Sea Angel, which is very familiar with the leaderboard and awards ceremony, was located in the middle of the pack midday, in thirteenth position. They enjoyed a good morning bite with 5 sails by midday; however, their fancy footwork resulting in a comeback touchdown with a field goal happened after halftime when angler Nolan Rauswinter released a marlin at 1:50 pm followed by 5 more sails and catapulting Sea Angel into first place with a total of 2,900 points and winning the third leg of the 2017 Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown Series. Congratulations! First Light showed great consistency throughout the tournament as well as the series, ending in second place with 2,700 points, followed by Fish Tank in third with 2,500 points.
After all was said and done, a total of 509 billfish were released during the third and final leg, including 47 marlin and 462 sails.
Agitator was the clear leader in the running to become 2017 Series Champion going in to the third leg, with a 1,200 point lead over the closest runner up, Big Oh. Agitator did as Agitator does and plucked away at the sailfish, ending in fifth place for Leg 3 and taking home the distinguished honor of being crown Triple Crown Champion, with an incredible 15,000 points over all three legs, after releasing 110 sailfish and 8 marlin in just nine days of fishing. In other words, a billfish was released by this family team every 36 minutes of competition.
BACK STORIES
SERIES CHAMPION – Agitator, a 51’ Scarborough, participated in the Los Sueños tournaments for the first time in 2016, where they ended up taking first in both the second and third legs, as well as Series Champion. This family team, captained by Jon Duffie, with anglers Jonathan Duffie, Jeremy Duffie, Judith Duffie, Danny Gough and Charles Gerlach is on fire, taking home the title of Series Champion for the second year in a row.
FIRST PLACE LEG III – Sea Angel, a 63’ F&S Boatworks with captain BC Angel at the Helm, is a legendary family team from Texas which has made Los Sueños Resort and Marina their second home since 2008. Since then, they have been on the winner’s podium several times, including as recently as the third leg of the 2016 Triple Crown where they finished third.
SECOND PLACE LEG III – First Light, is a 38’ Eastbay Boatworks captained by Corey Kennington, with anglers Jim Rodgers, Donny Moore, Gunnar Zorn, Ernie Eckelrode and Joseph Bolaños. This marks the second win for this team which scored third in the second Leg of 2017.
THIRD PLACE LEG III – Fish Tank, a 63’ Hatteras captained by Josh Ruskey, first arrived on the Los Suenos tournament scene in 2015, taking home their first win just one year later when they placed first in Leg 1 of the 2016 Triple Crown. This dynamic team has created a reputation for themselves as a top contender.
TOP ANGLER LEG III
Congratulations to John Henry of Big Deal for releasing 4 sails and 2 marlin over the three days for 1400 individual points.
TOP LADY ANGLER OVERALL SERIES
Laura Jessen of Fish Tank finished tenth overall out of over 310 total anglers in the Triple Crown series, after releasing a total of 18 sailfish and 4 marlin for 3,800 individual points.
TOP ANGLER OVERALL SERIES
Scott Rickert of Reel Screamer was awarded this top honor and presented with a beautifully designed 14-karat diamond studded championship ring. Over the 9 day of competition Scott released an astonishing 23 sailfish and 5 marlin for a total of 4,800 individual points.
On behalf of the tournament committee, a heartfelt congratulations to all of the participants!
CASH PRIZES & AWARDS
Over 750 guests came together under the stars at the Los Sueños Beach Club to enjoy a phenomenal buffet dinner and a live musical performance by Tico Jazz Band. Immediately preceding the presentation of trophies, prizes and checks to the tournament winners, guests enjoyed the highly anticipated dock show filmed and produced by Rich Christenson, edited by Paige Sparks with our special host and TV personality Byron Velvick. During the ceremony, Editor-in-Chief of IntheBite Magazine presented their Captain of the Year award to Victor Julio Lopez of Tranquilo.
The ceremony was closed out by a spectacular fireworks display by Faisa and a jam-packed after party with DJ Charlie Stevens was hosted at El Galeon Restaurant in the Los Sueños Marina Village. Tournament winners took to the stage to receive a total of $272,000 in cash prizes, as well as other awards provided by tournament sponsors.
| Series Champion | $100,000 | AGITATOR | 15,000 points, 110 sails and 8 marlin |
| 1st Place | $ 86,000 | SEA ANGEL | 2,900 points, 19 sails and 2 marlin |
| 2nd Place | $ 51,000 | FIRST LIGHT | 2,700 points 17 sails and 2 marlin |
| 3rd Place | $ 34,400 | FISH TANK | 2,500 points 5 sails and 4 marlin |
Trophies by Gray Taxidermy
Other prizes and awards by: Tunaskin apparel; Steve Goione framed prints of the 2017 Triple Crown tournament art; Costa sunglasses for the winning anglers; Tito’s Vodka; and Flor de Caña aged rum.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The entire tournament organizing committee would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who came together to support this event. Our gratitude goes out to all the anglers, captains, mates, observers, technical advisors, cameramen and videographers, Los Sueños staff and of course, our sponsors (in alphabetical order): A.G. Marine Services, BLP Legal, Bristol Marine Supply/Los Sueños Resort Wear, Canvas Designers, Caterpillar/Matra, Chantilly Air, Clinica Herradura, Costa Sunglasses, Costa Rica Dreams Sport Fishing, CR Luxury, CR Marine/Gato Gordo, Cummins, Fish Track official weather provider, Flor de Caña, Galati International Yacht Sales, GMRgold, Gray Taxidermy, Gregory Poole GP Link, Grupo Mecsa, Marriott Hotel, Maverick Yachts, Natural Instinct, Los Sueños Resort and Marina, Poms & Associates, Promerica Bank, RK Creative Productions, Sevenstar Yacht Transport, Steve Goione Marine Artist, Tito’s Vodka, Tunaskin Aquatic Apparel, Vanmark Inc., Viking Yachts. For more about our sponsors, please visit www.LStournaments.com and click on Sponsors.
OWC QUALIFYING EVENT
The top team from each leg of the Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown will be eligible to compete in the 2018 Offshore World Championship. For further information, please visit www.offshorechampionship.com.
ABOUT THE LOS SUENOS SIGNATURE TRIPLE CROWN
The Triple Crown consists of three annual tournaments, in January, February and March each year, and is fished out of the world class Los Sueños Resort and Marina in Costa Rica. The dates for the 5th Annual Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown are:
LEG I: JANUARY 17 -20; LEG II: FEBRUARY 28 –MARCH 3; LEG III MARCH 21- MARCH 24, 2017
ABOUT LOS SUEÑOS RESORT AND MARINA
Los Sueños Resort and Marina is the premier luxury real estate resort in Costa Rica. Nestled on the Central Pacific Coast, Los Sueños is an 1,100-acre oasis offering incredible ocean, rainforest and golf course view properties; a gorgeous waterfront Marina Village commercial area with restaurants, shops and lively entertainment; a large private beach club for residents; an 18-hole championship golf course; a superb 201-room Marriott Hotel; and much more – all within close proximity to world record-setting sport fishing waters. Information on Los Sueños Resort and Marina is available online at www.lossuenos.com.
ABOUT LOS SUEÑOS PROPERTIES
There is no other team of real estate representatives that know the properties in Los Sueños better than the in-house Sales Team, comprised of Sandra Gutierrez, Alfredo Gutierrez and Todd Owens. If you are interested in looking at properties within the resort, we invite you to contact the Sales Team to ask about our current portfolio of inventory and previously owned properties. In the meantime, information on Los Sueños real estate properties is available online at www.lossuenosproperties.com. Call 2630-4020 to book your resort tour while at the resort or call toll-free from the US and Canada 866-865-9759.
For further information, please contact Ashley Bretecher, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, Los Sueños Resort and Marina, Toll-free: 1-866-865-9759, Direct Tel: 011-506-2630-4005, Fax: 011-506-2630-4010, or e-mail: a.bretecher@lossuenos.com.
FOR PHOTO REQUESTS CONTACT TMUELLER@LOSSUENOS.COM.
