White Marlin Open has Aussie flavour

by Bob Wonders on 12 Sep 2008 It’s been hailed as the world’s largest bill fish tournament, but this year the prestigious White Marlin Open had a distinctly Australian touch with CGI Finance, a major sponsor of the event, campaigning a Maritimo 550 Convertible.

More than 300 vessels and 1500 anglers entered for the event, with competitors fishing out of Ocean City, Maryland and the area from Norfolk, Virginia, down to the Wilmington canyons.

The tournament offered in excess of US$2.2 million in prizemoney!

Although named the White Marlin Open, other fish were targeted, including tuna, wahoo and blue marlin.

One fortunate angler, Robert Lockwood, of New Jersey, landed the second largest blue ever caught, a 935.5lbs (425kg) fish.

The CGI crew, headed by Herve Bonnet, president and CEO of CGI Finance, performed very well indeed, holding a spot on the leader board for four of the five days of the tournament.

Maritimo’s 550 Convertible, which has established itself as a ‘top gun’ on the Australian tournament scene, performed as expected.

The CGI crew held first place at one stage, thanks to a fighting 71lb (32kg) white landed on the opening day.

White marlin roam the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, generally averaging about 30kg, with females usually slightly larger.

CGI Finance is acting as the primary financier for Maritimo USA and was a ‘Diamond Sponsor’ of the tournament.

'We are a marine financing company, but we are also boating and fishing enthusiasts,' Herve Bonnet declared.

'During the tournament we were fortunate in having a strong support team and were delighted to have competed successfully, finishing fifth overall.

'This was our first year as a major tournament sponsor, but it has been a resounding success and we’re already talking about next year,' he added.