56 boats will compete this weekend for a place in the world championship in Costa Rica, 2024.
Ready and awaiting the gun, the 56-strong fleet participating in the Puerto Calero Marlin Cup – 30
Anniversary, crossed the start line, each one determined to win the place for the world
championship which will be held in Costa Rica in 2024.
Crews hailing from Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, together with the stalwart local fleet from
Lanzarote, confirmed their registration yesterday, at the usual Thursday skippers’ meeting. The jury
set out the new features of this long-standing tournament identifying the only target species as
marlin, to be caught by means of tag and release with no fish being brought ashore.
Apart from qualifying for Costa Rica, there are other incentives in this tournament, such as the Cicar
Grand Prize, which will be awarded to the first boat to declare three whites in the two fishing days.
Currently, and still awaiting validation by the jury, on this first day of the competition, Rafael
González’s boat El Monty is in the lead with 500 points, the first to report to control, followed by
Alfonso Valls’ Maynieves, tying with 500 points. Wanad Barbera’s boat Sauvage and Fernando
Luzardo’s Hasibi III have 100 points, and Luis Javier López’s boat Chee Kee from Tenerife also has
100.
Upon arrival in port, the crews were able to enjoy a preview of Calero Marinas’ new project of Calero
Marinas in Fuerteventura, Marina Jandía, with complimentary refreshments offered by the
operators of the group’s new marina.
Tomorrow will be the final day where the winner of this 30-year-old tournament, one of the most
prestigious competitions amongst Canary Island fishing aficionados, will be decided.
After the prize-giving ceremony, the Motown Party Club, organised by the Amura group, will put the
finishing touch to this celebration. Tickets can still be booked at tikety.com.
The Puerto Calero Marlin Cup enjoys the sponsorship of Turismo Lanzarote, which in the words of
Héctor Fernández, CEO of SPEL (Lanzarote Exterior Promotion Society), highlights the importance of
sport fishing as part of Lanzarote’s destination strategy. The purchasing power of the deep-sea
fishing enthusiast, contributing to the successful positioning of Lanzarote as a destination, was also
recognised.
The competition also has the support of the Yaiza Town Hall, where mayor Óscar Noda praised the
links that the tournament creates between the Town Hall and Puerto Calero, noting how the
competition’s high media impact served to promote Yaiza as a tourist-sports destination with visitors
with a high purchasing power.
Finally, Ángel Lago, Yaiza’s Councillor for Sports, emphasised three ideas that both the Municipality
of Yaiza and the Puerto Calero Marlin Cup represent to perfection, namely the union between sport,
the beauty of the landscape and respect for the environment.
The Cicar Group and Aon are also part of the group of sponsors that support this tournament year
after year.