Custom Shootout 2013

• Garlington • Spencer • Jim Smith • Rybovich • Jarret Bay • Paul Mann • Mark Willis • Bayliss • Whiticar • Scarborough • Richie H

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tHE cUStOM SHOOtOUt | 3

Skip & Tina

We loved Harbour Island with its special charm, but the Abaco Beach Resort & Marina made us forget all about it. How did they do it? It started with the air- conditioned tent, 60,000 gallons fuel just for us, and they accommodated all the boats within an easy walk. There was the great food, elbow room around the tables and then they topped it off with great service. We even landed the helicopter on the beach outside the pilot’s room to get an early start on some great photos.

Let’s not forget the uncontrollable components cooperated, too . We had a record number of billfish caught and the weather was really great.

There are so many important ingredients in this tournament. From the custom boat owners and the professional crews, to the builders that take the time out of their tight schedules to attend, to the sponsors that attend the event to show their to support to the builders and the owners that purchased their products.

Each year we try to listen to what was right, what was wrong and how we can improve.

What we did hear was the crews wanted to have something more to do on the night before the kickoff party. The captains and crews take so much pride in these custom boats. Not only do they like to get to the tournament a few days early to “practice” fish, but when the owner arrives at the Abaco Beach Resort the crews want their custom boat to look as good as the day the owner bought it.

So how do we make this night a bit special? Maybe we can get a few sponsor to attend and talk about their product? Sponsors are always looking for a way to interact with the owners and crews, besides at a crazy boat show. So we decided to do a simple dinner on Tuesday night and bring in a few sponsors and have a “crews” dinner party. (But the owners are invited too.)

SatCom Direct will be there to show and talk about the latest satellite communication products, Diamond Fishing Line will be there to demonstrate their quality line and Costa showing their great sunglasses; plus a few other sponsors willing to get there early, it should be a nice new event to learn and enjoy

So now we can look forward to an extra evening with all of the people that make this special event, even more special.

We cannot thank you all enough for your continued support and look forward to another great tournament.

How Do We Top the 2012 Custom Shooutout?

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Tournament Format: The Custom Shootout is an “Honor-System” format governed by the rules set forth by the Tournament Committee. The format is intended to generate team strategy, sportsmanship, and fun for all.

1. AnglerS: Up to 4 anglers permitted/boat. All anglers must be registered prior to the start of the Tournament.

2. no pAid CApTAinS or Crew can be an angler. (paid within the past three years)

3. FiSHing dAyS: Thursday - May 16th, Friday - May 17th, and Saturday - May 18th. All boats must register at marina on or before May 15th.

4. FiSHing HourS: 8am to 4pm. Boats may leave the marina at daylight. Boats must check in the marina each evening. Fishing hours per schedule at registration.

5. FiSHing BoundArieS :A 60 mile radius from Boat Harbour Marina. Use your GPS numbers at the dock to abide.

6. inTernATionAl BillFiSH TournAmenT guidelineS Apply. See enclosed documents. Maximum line to be used: 130 lb.

7. NO WIRE LINES & NO ELECTRIC REELS (except kite & teaser reels).

8. Dead & Live Bait are permitted and you must use CIRCLE Hooks with all natural bait.

9. Maximum of 6 lines (with hooks) are permitted per boat at any one time.

10. All billfish must be called in to the committee boat upon hook-up and release (or loss of fish). VHF Channel TBA

11. we reCommend you TAke digiTAl pHoToS or video veriFiCATion of each billfish released. The photos or video should clearly identify the species of the billfish, complete the official release documents, sign and turn them in to the tournament director at the end of each fishing day.

12. proTeSTS: The Custom Shootout is an honor system tournament. Each boat is responsible for his/her performance. Any person witnessing rule violations should enter a protest in writing to the Tournament Committee no later than 6 P.M. the day of the alleged violation. Tournament Committee decision shall be final.

Schedule of eventSTuesday, May 14Th: 6 p.m.

• Captain & crew pre-kickoff party

• Owners & anglers welcome, too

• Food and cocktails

• Sponsors will be there to show

their products

• Sponsored by Smith-Merritt Insurance

Wednesday, May 15Th:3 p.m. - 6 p.m.

• Registration/reception

7 p.m.

• Rules & introductions

• Dinner & cocktails

9 p.m.

• A magical surprise

* All events are in the Abaco Resort tent

saTurday May 19Th:6 a.m. -7 a.m.

• Breakfast sandwiches delivered

8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

• Last day of fishing

4:15 p.m.

• “Fastest Custom Boat Race”

7 p.m.

• Awards dinner

sCOrInG • Blue Marlin release = 400 points

• White Marlin = 150 points

• Spearfish = 150 points

• Sailfish Release = 50 points

• BONUS SCORING: “Shootout Grand Slam” (Blue, White, Sailfish, released during the 3 days of fishing) = 200 bonus points

• BONUS SCORING: “One Day Grand Slam” (Blue, White, Sailfish, released during one day of fishing) = 400 bonus points

• You can only get one Bonus per tournament!

Thursday May 16Th: 6 a.m. -7 a.m.


8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

• 1st day of fishing

4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.

• End of the day rum-punch greeting

FrIday May 18Th:6 a.m. -7 a.m.


8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

• 2nd day of fishing

• End of the day rum-punch greeting

7 p.m.

• Honor the custom boat builders &

fish fry dinner

• Sponsored by Travelers & ISR

2013 tournament ruleS and regulationS

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The CusTom shooTouT series

For more information email:[email protected]

Congratulations to: 1st Place: Coral C / Rybovich 2nd Place: Wave Paver / Garlington 3rd Place: Plane Simple / Spencer

this series consists of fishing at least 2 of 3 tournaments:

You must fish The Custom Shootout,then you have choice of:

The Gold Cup, and only one of the following:(you must select one by July 10)

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MFg PERPETuAL TROPHy: ............................................... Carey Chen glass Sculpture Courtesy of: The Tournament

TOP BOAT:.................................... Kent ulburg Sculpture Courtesy of: Florida Detroit Diesel-Allison

2nD PLACE BOAT: ..........Mike Hoffman Original PaintingCourtesy of: Travelers Insurance Co.

3RD PLACE BOAT: ............ Matt Shunk Original PaintingCourtesy of: Chantilly Air

TOP AngLER: .............................. Kent ulburg Sculpture Courtesy of: Sunset Marina

TOP LADy AngLER (CHERyL ROy MEMORIAL): .......................................... David Wirth Circle Hook TrophyCourtesy of: SATCOM Direct

TOP TAg & RELEASE TEAM: ....... Carey Chen giclees (3)Courtesy of: Coral Cadillac

TOP CAPTAIn & CREW: ............................................ Carey Chen giclees (3)Courtesy of: Smith-Merritt Insurance

“FASTEST BOAT” AWARD: ..........................Michael Hoffman Original PaintingCourtesy of: Treasure Coast Propellers

BEST OF SHOW: ............Wet Spot Water SystemCourtesy of: Whiticar Marine group

LARgEST MAHI-MAHI: ..........global Fish MountCourtesy of: CAT Pantropic

LARgEST TunA: .....................global Fish MountCourtesy of: CAT gregory Poole

LARgEST WAHOO: .................global Fish MountCourtesy of: CAT RingPower

CuSTOM SHOOTOuT SERIES:.......Kent ulburg SculptureCourtesy of: ISR

2013 awardS and prizeS

8 | tHE cUStOM SHOOtOUt

2012 Harbour Island, Bahamas • 1st Place: Wave Paver • 2nd Place: Plane Simple • 3rd Place: Bear Trap • Top Angler: Jr Davis • Manufacturer Award: garlington • Fastest Boat: Reel Joy, Revenge

2011 Harbour Island, Bahamas • 1st Place: Chasin • 2nd Place: Double Dog • 3rd Place: Ravaganza • Top Angler: Don McKinney • Manufacturer Award: Spencer • Fastest Boat: Reel Joy, Revenge

2010 Harbour Island, Bahamas • 1st Place: Sandman • 2nd Place: Brier Patch • 3rd Place: Svengali • Top Angler: Lester Petracca • Manufacturer Award: Spencer • Fastest Boat: Reel Joy, Revenge

2009 Harbour Island, Bahamas • 1st Place: HT Hook • 2nd Place: Owls nest • 3rd Place: Sandman • Top Angler: Al Eldridge • Manufacturer Award: Tribute • Fastest Boat: Reel Joy, Revenge

2008 Harbour Island, Bahamas • 1st Place: Que Mas • 2nd Place: MIMI • 3rd Place: Reel Joy • Top Angler: Paul Spencer • Manufacturer Award: American • Fastest Boat: MIMI, Spencer

2007 Harbour Island, Bahamas • 1st Place: Alican • 2nd Place: Jack O’ Hearts • 3rd Place: Meant 2 Be • Top Angler: Scott Frohman • Manufacturer Award: Tribute • Fastest Boat: Jack O’ Hearts, Jim Smith

2006 Harbour Island, Bahamas • 1st Place: Wave Paver • 2nd Place: Cutnail • 3rd Place: Blank Check • Top Angler: JR Davis • Manufacturer Award: garlington • Fastest Boat: Jack O’ Hearts, Jim Smith

2005 Harbour Island, Bahamas • 1st Place: Black Out • 2nd Place: nuCO2 • 3rd Place: Frantastic Top Angler: Jim Black • Manufacturer Award: Merritt • Fastest Boat: Double Dog, Hines-Farley

2004 Harbour Island, Bahamas • 1st Place: Rosemary • 2nd Place: Miss Allied • 3rd Place: Double Dog • Top Angler: Terry Sherman • Manufacturer Award: Rybovich • Fastest Boat: Double Dog, Hines-Farley

2003 Chub Cay, Bahamas • 1st Place: Salem Wolf • 2nd Place: Miss Allied • 3rd Place: China girl • Top Angler: Roger Hammond • Manufacturer Award: Rybovich • Fastest Boat: Double Dog, Hines-Farley

2002 Chub Cay, Bahamas • 1st Place: HT Hook • 2nd Place: Jack O Hearts • 3rd Place: ARC Strike • Top Angler: Harry Schufflebarger • Manufacturer Award: Tribute • Fastest Boat: Freedom, American

CUSTOm SHOOTOUT SERIES2011: Ravaganza

past custom shootout winners 2002-2012

TOP BuILDER • Tribute has 3 wins. • Rybovich, garlington and Spencer have 2 wins each • Merritt and American have 1 win each.

TOP EngInE MFg • Detroit/MTu has won 5 • CAT has won 6

RACE FROM THE EDgE • Revenge has 4 wins • Hines-Farley has won 3 • Jim Smith has won 2 • American and Spencer each have 1 win

2012 Shootout StatS

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At 102, Capt. Curt Whiticar ranks as the dean of custom boat building. With a boat building and fishing heritage that predates even Rybovich, Merritt and Tillet, the octogenarian maintains a full schedule between the original

paintings he creates and public appearances to promote his 2007 first person memoir Whiticar Waterway Tales, which he wrote and illus-trated in longhand between golf dates. Amazing does not come close to describing the man, that with the exception of the crutches he gets around on, could easily could pass for 78.

The Whiticar story begins in Stuart, Fla. in 1921 when the future boat builder and designer pooled his profits from delivering newspapers and painting names on boat hulls to build a 14-foot skiff of his own design. Two years later he traded up to 16-foot Vee-bottom smooth planked skiff he built from plans purchased from Motor Boating Magazine. Powered by a 12-HP Johnson outboard, the boat was self supporting, said Whiticar, who used it to catch snook, trout and for net fishing in Florida. He also used it at the family’s summer residence in Fortescue, N.J. where his father was a respected charterboatman for ferrying par-ties to the charter boats moored off the beach. “I got 50 a head plus tips,” he said.

Recalling adventures that taught him about seamanship, sportsman-ship and human nature, the skiffs were the start of it all, said Whiticar.

For many years, the Whiticars, like the Merritts, transitioned between winters in Florida and summers in New Jersey, follow-ing fish and the charter clientele north. The St. Lucie River in those days was loaded with fish, he said. “We would tie one end of the net near the shore and row back out perpendicular to the bank with the net feeding

out across the stern. When we came to the end, we anchored the net to the bottom and put a lantern out on a float tied to the end to mark it, so other fishermen would not run over our cork line.” Many a week-end night, the youngster and his friends would land a hundred or more pounds of fish, he adds. This was in addition to the money he made painting names on charter and private boats in Forestcue and Stuart and his ferry business. With a steady bankroll and growing curious-ity, Curt continued to build boats and test ideas about hull forms. By 1931, he’d designed and built six boats, all small with the exception of the 33-foot charter boat he designed and built for himself. By this time, his father Addison had built a successful charter fleet catering to winter visitors at the Sunrise Inn and Pelican Hotels in Stuart, a fleet that over the next decade grew to seven boats. One of the largest charter fish-ing operations north of the Palm Beaches, the Whiticar Fleet operated out of the family’s winter compound on Willoughby Creek, a short walk from the Sunrise Inn and Club, where the patrons helped grow not only the charter fleet but Whiticar Boat Works as well, said Curt.

The success of many custom boat builders can be traced to such patrons who not only bought boats from builders but influenced their friends to buy them. At Rybovich and Sons that patron was Charles Johnson. For Merritt Boat Works, it was Bill Carpenter. For the Whiticars, it was New York stock broker and financial investor Irving Bonbright. A founding member of the Sunrise Inn and Club, Bonbright fell in love with Stuart and with the iconic patriarch Capt. Add Whiticar. In 1923 Capt. Add agreed to allow Bonbright to fish one rod and reel from his commercial handline boat. By the end of the

Stuart BoatBuilders:

At 102 Capt. Curt Whiticar’sCreations are a Thing of Beauty


season Whiticar was on board with Bonbright bankrolling a 26-footer that could be fished offshore. That was the beginning of a lifelong partnership between the two and more or less the beginning of the end of my father’s commercial fishing career, adds Curt. Eventually Curt and his two younger brothers Johnson and Jack followed their father into the charter fishing business, running their own boats, Gulfstream, Skipper and Hobo. With Bonbright’s help, Whiticar bought two acres of waterfront prop-erty near the Sunrise Inn and Club on Willoughby Creek, building a three stall boathouse and two cottages for his family to live in and for Irving Bonbright’s guests use. Soon after, work began on a 26-foot skiff that Capt. Add and Bonbright had commissioned from Backus Boat Works in Fort Pierce. Called the Betsy-B, although Curt had nothing to do with its construction, he frequently accompanied his father to visit boat building projects in Florida and out New York and New Jersey.

For a while it looked like Curt would not follow his father into the business. Following high school he enrolled at Bliss Electri-cal School in Washington, D.C. to learn to be an elec-trical engineer and by 1931 was employed by Western Electric in New Jersey. It didn’t take long for Curt to miss the fishing and the boats that were so much a part of his life. In 1934 his father offered him a job managing and running his two charter boats that sum-mer so he could take a job running Irving Bonbright’s

42-foot sportfishing yacht at Fisher’s Island, N.Y. “The charter business at Fortescue had been declining and dad felt the opportunity with Mr. Bonbright was too good to pass up. Even though business was tough, I was glad to leave Western Electric and take the business over for him that summer.”

That summer Curt also began a correspondence course from the West-lawn School of Yacht Design. By this time he had built a half dozen or so boats on his own and working with other builders. The course was so rudimentary, he said, he gave it up and turned to something more in-spirational to further his education about boat design. Namely a book about design and theory by a renowned naval architect named Skeene. Skeene’s work was cutting edge, said Whiticar, full of ideas that chal-lenged and inspired him to begin work on a 33-foot boat of his own design that he called Sheerwarter, a boat that possessed the sea keeping abilities that would define every Whiticar boat to come.Sheerwater had a Vee bottom rather than the more common rounded hulls of the day with 12-feet of beam and loa of 33-feet. The framework

was of 5/4 white oak with black mangrove for the knees and stern, said Whiticar. “Black mangrove is an upland species with curved branches and each of the annual ring fibers spiral in the opposite direction, forming something similar to our modern manufactured plywood. It’s dense, hard and heavy,” he said. The trunk cabin and super structure were made of white cedar planks. With a contemporary sleek design and 165-HP Lycombing Marine Engine, she cruised as a blistering 18 knots, extremely fast for 1937. Sheerwater soon became part of the charter fleet along with Bonbright’s boat Kingfisher, which his father ran, Baby Orca and Gannet, which his younger brothers were now fish-ing full time. Because of the excellent sailfishing that Whiticar and charter captains like Toley Engebretsen were enjoying, Stuart had become a popular fishing destination with a burgeoning charter fleet by the mid 30s. The Stuart Jaycees – a forerunner of the Stuart Chamber of Commerce – was so successful promoting Stuart as the Sailfish Capitol of the World with advertisements for its winter and summer fishing tournaments and bronze, silver and gold lapel pins and certificates for anyone catching various sized sailfish, scores of fish were landing at the dump. During the winter months of 1941 some 40-plus area charter boats participated in an unprecedented run of sailfish. Club records suggest more than 5,000 fish were landed during the 90 day period. On the peak day of the run, 200 were killed, an excess that sickened captains like Whiticar, who by this time had been releasing fish for some time. Although many were released during the run, thousands were brought in for pictures and either dumped in the river or carted off to the dump or the shark plant. The slaughter sobered even proponents of fish on the dock. So with the backing of newspaper editor Ernest Lyons, Whiticar convinced the Jaycees to start a sailfish release promotion. The gist of it was to offer a handsome 14K gold pin to anglers releasing their sailfish. As explained by this quote from Ernest Lyons, “Release buttons are worn by a League of Honor among sailfisherman, pledged to the sport – and not to the wasteful killing of the species,” sailfish release was more cache than killing off Stuart and Palm Beach. And in 1955 when the Stuart Sailfish Club Light Tackle Tournament was created, thanks to the Whiticars, it became the first major all release billfish tournament. Of the 49 sailfish caught and released by 10 boats that year the top award went to Capt. Jack Whiticar’s angler, Curt’s youngest brother. The Cooperative Gamefish Tagging Program was started in 1954 by Frank J. Mather III and Woods Hole Oceanographic Center in Mas-sachusetts but years before this scientists at the University of Miami’s Rosentiel School of Marine Science and pioneering organizations such as the Sailfish Conservation Club of West Palm Beach and the Sailfish and Tarpon Club of Mexico already had tagging programs in place with the goal of finding out more about the life history and habits of sailfish. A long time volunteer with the Miami laboratory’s research programs as well as a big supporter of tagging, on January 28, 1951 Capt. Curt Whiticar and his angler Ernest Lyons became the first ever to tag and release a sailfish that was recaught, which happened 45 days later off Palm Beach. By 1954, he’d had three recaptures.

Stuart BoatBuilders:

At 102 Capt. Curt Whiticar’sCreations are a Thing of Beauty

(continued on page 20)

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e 1983.


A renaissance man, Curt Whiticar could have chosen any one of a number of careers. “From the time I was a kid I was always willing to try new things, especially if it involved earning money. I guess you could say I was ambitious,” he explained. He was born into a fishing family and excelled at it - especially bottom fishing - but art was an early passion as well, one he started earning money at as 12-year-old painting custom signs for hotels and businesses and for captains want-ing names on the transoms of their boats. As a boy, he taught himself to build rods, which he sold and was a finish carpenter as well as boat builder. A graduate electrician, he was just as handy building custom homes as boats, which he did for a handful others as well as himself and his family. That said there was something magical about designing and building good seaboats that Curt Whiticar could not get out of system. Math and science were two of his best subjects growing up. In designing and building boats, he was able to put all his skills to use. The first ten boats he built between 1921 and 1954 were designed as charter boats either for himself or his brothers Johnson and Jack, father Add and his brother John. With names like Gannet, Hobo, Gulfstream, Skipper and of course Shearwater – Curt’s own favorite – they became famous as record numbers of fish and world records were caught and tournaments were won. Although Curt himself was not much of a traveler Johnson and Jack became known on the South Florida tournament circuit in the 50s and 60s and in ports throughout the Bahamas. Capt. Add was still chartering at 85 years of age until a broken hip sidelined him in 1972. After that he and his menagerie of animals including the famous Whiticar manx cats with their short tails would hold court each afternoon on the Whiticar docks, waiting for Johnson and Jack to come in with their parties. He died in 1980; Johnson had predeceased him. Jack Whiticar died around 1995 after a long and distinguished career as a charter captain of the famous red boat Hobo that in 1979 helped pioneer sailfishing off Cancun and Isla Mujeres, Mexico. In 1946 Curt’s uncle John gave a parcel of land on Willoughby Creek to his father who suggested he build a boat shed on it. By this time Curt was spending most of the summer off season building boats. He already had installed a railway on his father’s adjacent property for hauling boats so they could be worked on. With the war over, surplus materials from military institutions such as Camp Murphy in nearby Hobe Sound were readily available for little or no money so with the help of a couple of workers including brother Johnson, Curt set about dismantling the 70 by 90 foot gambrel-roofed mess hall along with the officer’s latrines, all of which he was able to buy for about $500. By late 1947 Whiticar Boat Works more or less was up and running with Curt dividing his time between his two charter boats – Gulf-stream and Norwester - building houses and keeping Whiticar’s seven boats afloat. Two years later a direct hit from a hurricane demolished the boat house. Scavaging what wood he could, he set about rebuild-ing it again between jobs and as finances allowed. By 1952 the yard was up and running and Curt found himself with two boats to build, a 38-footer for his brother Jack and a 28-foot twin engine skiff for a lo-cal man that was his first outside commission. Both designs were based on the sea-kindly hull and lines of the Shearwater but with extra rocker at the stem to make it an even better running boat in a following sea. Curt however soon realized that trying to build two boats at once while running a full time charter business was more than he could handle. It forced him to take stock of what he really wanted to do in life. “I saw I could not do both well at the same time so I eventually sold my charter boats to make Whiticar Boat Works my full time business,” he said. Good thing too because after its launch in 1954, Jack started campaigning the Hobo at Cat Cay and Chub Cay where people took notice of the flashy red boat that cruised at better than 20 knots. Well

known big fisherman Herman Grey saw it and wanted one just like it; Sea Spray was launched in 1955. The following year Curt stretched the hull to 40-feet for the Widgeon and soon after had orders for two more 40s and a 42. Between building and repairing boats, Curt and his brother in law John Dragseth, who joined the business to help run the repair side of things, were busy and stayed that way throughout their careers with customers such as Richard Garlington Sr., (the boat builder’s father), Jock Whitney, Capt. Nelson and Gloria Appelgate, Marshall Field, Charles “Poor Boy” Robinson, Eleanor Bartlett and others all seeking what they considered to be the finest custom seaboat of the day – a 46- to 55-foot Whiticar. Whiticar also credits Irving Bonbright’s passion for buying boats with his father up and down the East Coast for helping him learn about what made for good boats and bad boats. “My dad was a great teacher as were some of those boats that didn’t turn out so great. It taught me about the importance of getting the center the gravity right and keep-ing the boats light.” In 1986 Curt retired from boat building full time, turning the business over to his son John, who has followed in his footsteps as boat builder and to his nephew Jim Dragseth, John’s son, who manages Whiticar’s re-pair facilities in Stuart and at the company’s satellite facilities on the East Coast of Florida. Outside of a project Curt managed between golf dates in 1999 building a 16-foot copy of the boat he first built in 1921, he’s filled his days with his first passion. In the 37 years since he retired at 75 Curt Whiticar has completed more than 1,000 canvases not to mention at least that many golf matches, a number that grows weekly.

(continued from page 15)

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BoatBuilderSAmeriCAn Dominick LaCombe772-221-9100www.americancustomyachts.com

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TriBuTe Rich Scheffer561-775-6060www.tributeboats.com

wHiTiCArJohn Whiticar772-287-2883www.whiticar.com

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