CAPE TOWN TUNA BLOW-OUT
Report & pics by Daryl Balfour
South Africa’s inaugural yellowfin tuna blue water open spearfishing event, due to have been held near Cape Town May 6-10, was blown out of the water by gale force north-westerly winds and mountainous swells for the duration of the contest.
The Cape’s famous tuna grounds, 30 – 40 miles off Cape Point, are just too far offshore in one of the most treacherous oceans on earth for the organisers to risk allowing 36 divers from around the world into the water in such conditions.
The inaugural tournament, the Blue Water Yellowfin Tuna Open International 2008, was organized by the Bellville Underwater Club and hosted by the Cape Boat and Skiboat Club in a co-operative venture that was a first for an event of this type. Traditionally, in these waters at least, spearfishermen and anglers rarely cooperate with each other. So this event, with the angling club and its members offering 15 deep sea fishing boats and their skippers to carry the spearos and media to the tuna grounds far offshore was a breakthrough in relations.
In fact, far from the antipathy often encountered all I could find when speaking to frustrated spearfishermen and boat skippers as all awaited a break in the weather, was mutual respect…or incredulous exclamations by anglers as to how crazy the divers must be to want to get into those waters.
“You guys must be nuts! The tuna are miles offshore and there are some BIG johnnies (sharks) out there. You couldn’t pay me to jump into those waters,” one boat skipper confided to me.
But every one of the skippers expressed their admiration for the divers as well as an eagerness to see how the spearos operated in the ocean.
“We know how hard it is to land these 200 pound fish, how long it takes us using state of the art fishing tackle, even using heavy tackle. So for you guys to do it while holding your breath and floating around the ocean, with mako, blue and possibly even great white sharks around is impressive. I want to see how you do it,” said another.
Blue water hunters from around the globe had converged on Simonstown, the sleepy naval and fishing town about 15 miles out of Cape Town proper, to take part in the team event. The tournament was restricted to 12 three-man teams, with three teams from the USA, one from Australia and a multi-national side including a New Zealander making up the field alongside several from throughout South Africa.
The tuna grounds off Cape Point – aka the Cape of Good Hope, and appropriately, the Cape of Storms – has a growing reputation as one of the world’s premier yellowfin tuna spearing destinations, with regular catches in the 150 – 200+ pound bracket being taken. Ironically, the season had been particularly poor until shortly before this year’s event, when suddenly big schools of longfin (albacore), big-eye and yellowfin tuna made their appearance. The scene was set for a bumper contest – until the weather gods intervened!
The event attracted some auspicious entrants, notably former dogtooth tuna world record holder Bernie Finnerty from the USA, spearfishing legend Tommy Botha (an 11-times South African champion and a pioneer of tuna hunting in these waters), the oldest diver in the contest, 71-year-old Attie Lourens, a former South African world championships competitor, and South African yellowfin tuna record holder Ryan Nienaber (232 lbs).
Botha, rated by Terry Maas in his book Blue Water Hunting as one of the top spearos in the world, and a member of the highly fancied Team Pelaj/IF&SN, was voted by competitors on to the tournament’s weather committee because of his experience in these tuna grounds. So when decisions were made to cancel diving after the breakfast call at 5am each morning, there were no dissenting voices. As USA diver Chad Morris of Team Deep South Divers told me: “If Tommy says we can’t dive, nobody is going to argue with that.”
Fortunately for the frustrated spearos, Cape Town is one of the premier tourist destinations in the world…it is not for nothing that celebs such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Daniel Craig and others head here to unwind. So there was plenty to distract on the off days…which they all turned out to be! Some divers ventured into the icy False Bay waters for great white shark cage dives, others headed for the winelands, and several even set off for a wildlife safari at a game ranch near Cape Town. Some even found solace at the Cape Town Sexpo…a sex exposition hosted at the Cape Town International Conference Centre! And of course, there was shopping to be done at local dive stores, where Rabitech, Pelaj and Rob Allen spearguns and accessories could be bought at fractions of the international retail prices. Some divers even had custom wetsuits made up while they were in town…and with the US$ trading at around 7.60 South African rands this is one destination where the dollar still goes far! Beers at $1.20 in a bar…Hmmm!
Despite the disappointment of the blow-out, every contestant expressed positive feelings about the event and its organisation. The Cape Boat and Skiboat Club clubhouse is set literally on the rocks at the water’s edge, in one of the most scenic locations on the planet. The hosting by the club and its members was both efficient and generous, with cooked breakfasts and suppers available for competitors and their families daily.
“We will certainly be back next year” was a common refrain among the international contestants.
Keith Simmons of the Deep South Divers team from Alabama & Louisiana told me he had made flight bookings for 2009 the day after his return to the USA!
Shane, of the Florida Freedivers team, posted his thanks on the Spearboard website:
“I wanted to thank all the divers, skippers and tournament organizers. They truly made me feel at home, which is important when you are half a world away. Simonstown is a beautiful place and the Cape Boat and Skiboat Club was awesome. All of us were heartbroken that we could not get out to the tuna grounds, however there were lots of things to do in the area and lots of shenanigans to get into.”
Tournament director Craig Hagen, gutted that the event never got on to the weather this year, has suggested that the contest may be held over a longer “waiting period” in 2009. There is also a suggestion that the number of teams, restricted to 12 this year, may be increased to 16 or even 20 in future. Teams who entered in 2008 will have a priority for re-entry next year.
Despite the bad weather that blew this year’s tournament out of the water, the event has the potential to become one of the premier blue water hunting competitions in the world. See you in Cape Town in 2009!
Tommy Botha, Keith Simmons (USA) and Zak Zuccaro (RSA) kill time fantasizing at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town.
Bernie Finnerty of the USA (left), former world record holder for the dogtooth tuna, meets his skipper for Day 1.
Team IF&SN/Pelaj - Zak Zuccaro, Daryl Balfour and Tommy Botha, at the opening function.
The Aussie contingent, Team Coral Sea, Martin Cunningham, Reese Bennett and Chris Brumley being auctioned by Cape Boat & Skiboat Club chairman Dolf Arenhold. Each team was auctioned at the opening event, with the money going into a pot to be shared by the “owners” of the top three teams at the event end.
Team IF&SN/Pelaj - Zak Zuccaro, Tommy Botha and Daryl Balfour with a selection of the latest Pelaj railguns they were to use in the tuna spearing event.
The Florida Freedivers team from the USA with event director Craig Hagen (right) were one of the winners at the prize-giving lucky draw, walking off with a selection of railguns from Rob Allen, Rabitech and Freedivers.
Keith Simmons (USA) with a massive Sea Sniper tuna gun, Zak Zuccaro (RSA) with a Daryl Wong hybrid and Chad Morris (USA), with the most admired gun at the tournament, his self-made carbon-fibre custom tuna gun.
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