![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() And now, a chorus of support and glee from the community and fishing world at large. The crew beamed as they backed into the landing. “Y’all, if it weighs more than 500 pounds, they’re going to win three-and-a-half million dollars,” announcer Tommy Bennett told the frenzied crowd. In the end, Gore and the Sensation crew outlasted the sea giant, and shortly before sunset, the crew dragged the gigantic blue marlin into the boat.Īs they neared the shore after 10 p.m., the biggest crowd ever assembled at Big Rock Landing, who had been following the Sensation’s chase via the Big Rock tournament live feed, erupted into cheers, clapping and shouting to the crew. Gore helmed the fighter’s chair for what would amount to a six-hour chase, as the fish struggled courageously to elude him. Then, at 2:15 p.m., word came over the radio that Sensation had hooked something. to be eligible for prize money, and the crew could feel the last grains of sand slipping down the hourglass. EST on Saturday, the last day of the six-day event, the crew of Sensation decided to throw out the lines one final time. Indeed, the $5,835,075 in overall prize money represented one of the largest purses in billfishing history. In its 65th year, “the Big Rock,” as it is known by locals, drew a record 271 boats, and the additional entry fees meant more prize money was at stake in the tournament than ever before. In a scene reminiscent of Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea, the crew of the offshore fishing boat Sensation hauled in a massive blue marlin sure to score them wealth and esteem, only to have their hopes dashed when tournament officials discovered that their 619.4-lb catch had been mutilated in two areas, likely as a result of shark bites.ĭespite surpassing the next closest blue marlin by 134.9 pounds, those bites cost the crew a staggering $3.5 million, as they would have won first prize and a separate bonus prize for securing the first blue marlin over 500 pounds in Morehead City, North Carolina’s Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. ![]()
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