Two tournaments, one at the end of September and the other in the middle of October, rounded out the 2000 season, and once again, we had dramatic finish.  I really like the name “Do or Die” as the final tournament of the season, because in the past couple years we’ve seen some doozy finishes.  To wit, 1999 saw the Miller’s 20/20 bring in a 481.5 pound Marlin to close out the season, taking the sailboat division for the third straight year.

This year, the sail division was a little sluggish in their production, and the powerboat division provided most of the drama.  All year long, Bob Goodman’s Akele and Lee Severs’ Sea Verse III were battling it out toe to toe.   Sea Verse took the early lead way back in February and held it through the Spring tournament by only 28 points.  Akele turned it on at Senoritas, and claimed the lead by a 35-point margin. 

Meanwhile, Dudley Worthy’s Kahuna Kai, who didn’t catch anything until Senoritas, and Al Bento’s Alele II, began to quietly launch their own campaigns.  The only power boat to record fish in the Offshore Hunter, Kahuna Kai was soon on the leaderboard in striking distance, and Alele II was right there as well. 

At the end of the Independence Day tournament, Akele had maintained their lead by a 34 point margin, and Alele II had crept into third place behind Sea Verse.  Kahuna Kai lurked, but was dropping back, some 400 points off the lead. 

But then came the Cockeyed Mayor’s and Ho’ole’a, and Kahuna Kai got right back into the thick of it.  Akele still held the lead with 687.5 points, Sea Verse was skunked in Ho’ole’a and dropped back with only 550.5 points, and Kahuna picked up a whopping 342 points and slipped into third only 2 points behind Sea Verse.  Alele II also had a tough Ho’ole’a and remained a couple hundred back. 

Sail division winners...Bustin Loose

Next came the Wahine tournament, and Akele extended their lead by 179 points with a 45 point showing, with Sea Verse and Kahuna Kai remaining flat.  Thus, going in to the Do or Die, the standings were Akele with 733.5 points, Sea Verse with 554.5, and Kahuna Kai with 552.5.  Alele II was reachable at 286.5. 

Day one saw just a single boat to the scales, Kahuna Kai.  They had 6 Aku all in the 20 pound range, and added 120 pounds to the total, good enough to hang on to third place for the season at 672.5 points.  The largest Aku was 22 pounds, which coincidentally was also good for third in the Do or Die. 

1st Place Power - Sea Verse with tonight's dinner!

As I was headed home after shutting the scale down, I got a call from Sea Verse indicating they had approximately 200 pound of qualifying fish on board, mostly Mahimahi in the 20 pound range.  Akele called in to tell me they were spending the night in Ko’Olina and had an approximately 30 pound Mahi on board.  We all knew once again the Do or Die meant the title was going to come down to the last day. 

Sunday morning, I got a call from Steve Mann on Bustin Loose.  They reported a Blue tied to the side, roughly 150 pounds, and would be back by 4:00.  Soon the boats began to return.  Makoa 2, with Carl Geringer at the helm, picked up a 29.5 pound Mahimahi, which not only gave him second for the tournament, it was good for second in seasons points in the sail division.  Bustin Loose already had enough points to beat Makoa 2 for the season, so the Marlin they caught which ultimately came in at 164.5 pounds just added to their total, but coincidentally also won the tournament!

Then came the power boats.  Alele II came home empty handed, but Al said he was without question looking for the large Marlin.  Kahuna Kai couldn’t fish day two, so the tournament and the season title would come down to Akele and Sea Verse.

Severs came in first.  They added to their first day’s catch and brought a total of 19 fish to the scales.  Some didn’t qualify, but by the time we’d finished hoisting all the fish, they added 287.5 pounds to their total.  Akele needed 109 points to reclaim the lead.  Alas, they had no more fish to add to their 26.5 pound Mahi caught on day one, and Sea Verse claimed the title for the 4^th straight year.

In the end, two great competitors shook hands.  Goodman, always a tenacious angler but a gracious competitor once back at the docks, said of Lee Severs, “well if you’re going to lose, that’s a good guy to lose to.”

By a strange coincidence, all 5 places paid in the Do or Die, sail and power, ended up in the exact position for season’s points.  Sea Verse, Akele and Kahuna Kai came 1, 2, 3 with a 39 lb Mahi, a 26.5 lb Mahi and a 22 lb Aku respectively and ended up with 842, 759.5 and 672 points, while Bustin Loose and Makoa came 1, 2 with a 164.5 lb Marlin and a 29.5 lb Mahi to end up with 254.5 and 64.5 points respectively.  What a great finish to the year!

Second Place Sail Division... Makoa