One Tide Challenge 2019
“The Sea Was Angry That Day My Friend”
– (Seinfeld 1994)
The 31st Annual One Tide Challenge is now officially in the books and we have a new King of the Dock! For many years Tom Clapsadle and crew have been trying to grab the brass ring (Crown) and when he weighed in his 14.41 LB bluefish (Caught by His Wife Bobbette) last year coupled with a 26.38 LB Striped Bass, those guessing weights along the dock thought for sure the title was his. Unfortunately, he missed capturing the long sought after title by 4 ounces as even with the monster blue, he could not match up to Dave Warwick’s 39.37 LB Striped Bass. That was last year. For 2019, Tom Clapsadle and the Crew of the M&M pulled it off and is our new King of the Dock!
FRIDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT FOR FUN!
Our “Friday Fun” is parallel to the Christmas Eve effort of parents trying to calm the kids prior to the big day to follow. So, our “Friday Fun” is something we do to wear them out so they get a good night’s sleep before the big day. The festivities include our annual Peter Jones Casting Contest dockside and then we move to the pool for some more verbal harassment with our own, “Poolside Karaoke.” Now keep in mind, the Casting Championship is NOT The Masters Championship where everyone has to be quiet. This event requires heckling, car alarms going off, and phone calls placed to the person while he is casting. Somehow Kenny Mike was able to drown out the distractions and took home 1st place hitting 50% of his casts. Taking home 2nd place was Jody Gross and followed by our new King of the Dock, Tom Clapsadle.
Next up our very own Chris Morgan hosts Pool Side Karaoke on the main stage for the band the following night. Just when you think Karaoke had run its course, a few people truly out did themselves and made it a very memorable evening especially with Jay Frogameni bringing the house down with Frank Sinatra’s Summer Wind and our outgoing “King of the Dock” Dave Warwick closing out the evening with Lynrd Skynrd’s Free Bird!
SATURDAY – NOW IT GETS “REEL!”
Saturday as 50+ boats left the dock together, the conditions were perfect however the afternoon forecast called for 20+ Knot Winds and 3’-4’ seas. Around noon, those in charge of predicting the weather were correct, and the winds and seas picked up. Although many fish were weighed in, several decided to pack it in for the day and “Tapped Out” as each hour passed. For those who stayed out, it was like the original Rocky movie with punch after punch being thrown but no one quit until the final bell. After the weights were tabulated, Tom Clapsadle and crew finally took home the coveted crown and was named our 2019 King of the Dock with 101.716 points. Rounding out our Top 5 finishers were Al Molin taking 2nd place (93.364 points), Dave Brewer in 3rd place (82.951 points) followed by Eric Carlson in 4th place (82.318 points), and in 5th place Ray Etienne (69.680 points). So where and when did Tom capture the big striper?
Details to follow as one of the “Conditions for Winning” is to sit down for a One on One interview to let everyone know, where the fish were caught and what was used for bait.
Before the “Fishing & Food” awards were handed out, the company felt a need to reward two very special customers that have not only been loyal customers of our marina for over 20 years and are also very active participants in several aspects of our day to day operations here at Boats Incorporated. For Stu & Sharon Carroll, Boats Incorporated is their second home. For years they have provided security at the marina, monitored the restrooms after hours, kept the pool area tidy and organized, have been very active in our Grady-White Owner’s Club, have taken over the griddle for our monthly pancake breakfasts, and even brought in home-made holiday cookies for the staff at Christmas. Boats Incorporated rewarded their efforts with a plaque, dinner for two at Michael Jordan’s Restaurant and a limited-edition tuna print. However, their biggest reward was the much deserved standing ovation they received when coming up to receive their awards. Stu and Sharon have always been huge advocates of Boats Incorporated and whenever we need a hand, they have always been first in line. Congratulations and thank you both very much!
THERE’S ROYALTY UP & DOWN THE DOCK!
2019 Duke of Fluke Award
In our other “Royal Competition” Jack Bonin in the last week of the season captured the Annual “Duke of Fluke” Competition nosing out a previous champion, Al Chesky. Jack weighed in a 9.80 LB Fluke knocking off Al’s 9.45 LB Fluke he posted on our leader board back in May. As Yogi Berra said, “It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over Baby!” Each year the company holds a season long “Duke of Fluke” contest where every month the Top 3 “Catches” are rewarded with a Gift Certificate to Hillyer’s Bait & Tackle Shop. The “Duke of Fluke” however is crowned at the One Tide Challenge with whomever landed the largest fluke of the year. So, Congratulations to our 2019 “Duke of Fluke”, Jack Bonin! Rounding out our “Top 3” were Al Chesky (9.45) and J.R. Dubicki weighing in at (8.75).
HERE’S TO THE LADIES!
2019 also saw a record amount of women enter the One Tide Challenge and our defending champion (Bobbette Clapsadle) was placed on “Injured Reserve” for the tournament. The door was now wide open for one of the 50+ ladies to take home the gold.
Our Ladies Bluefish Champion for 2019 was Lily Gross (12.67 LB Bluefish) fishing with her father Jody. They are a fishing family as Jody was our “King of the Dock” in 2016 and Lily was a prior Junior Champion. In addition to those accomplishments, do not for one second believe you need to have a big boat to be a winner as Jody has a 20’ Grady-White he has fished on with his crew for years. As with anything, it simply comes down to putting in the time and effort. Hannah Molin was right on Lily’s heels with a 12.25 LB Blue followed by Elaine Brewer (11.00 LB), Cara Wardley (10.75 LB) and Stacey Dean (9.89 LB). In our Ladies Striped Bass division, Elaine Brewer fought off the wind and weighed in a 8.62 LB Bass taking home top honors in her division.
NOW FOR THE MEN!
On to our Men’s individual categories as Ray Etienne, former King of the Dock (2014 & 2015), took home Top Bluefish honors with a 13.53 LB Blue followed by Dave Brewer’s 12.91 and Tom Annulli’s 12.65 bluefish. In 4th place Don Armour tipped the scales at 11.77 pounds and our new King of the Dock (Tom Clapsadle) slid in with a 11.61 pound bluefish.
In our Men’s Striped Bass Division, this is where our new King earned his crown. Although the pickings were slim, leave it to Tom Clapsadle and Crew to find one fish that would put them over the top and that is exactly what they did by weighing in a 21.950 LB Striper. He topped runner-up Eric Carlson’s bass (17.240 LBS) and Al Molin’s bass (15.850 LB) to take home the top prize along with moving him up on the leader board for the big prize, King of the Dock. Now, we all know a 22 pound striper is not much to write home about but considering the conditions, mid-day fishing, and the fact that only (4) stripers were weighed in all day tells you how tough it was out there. However, if you had to put your money on one guy to find one bass……that is a short list and to leave the name Clapsadle off of that list would be a pretty big mistake.
FUTURE ROYALTY – The Junior Division
Now on to a couple of fun categories. Our most excited champion for 2019 was Miss Ava Yacovou landing a 12.08 LB bluefish! She took home a trophy that matched her height and a boat load of prizes including an entire skybox for her and 10 friends for an upcoming Hartford Wolfpack game! In 2nd place was Gus Mike (11.50 LBS) and in 3rd Place was Ashton Renaud (9.65 LBS.). Last Year’s Junior Champion Nathan Carlson came in 4th place this year with an 8.48 LB Bluefish. Sammy Eisenbeiser rounded out the Top 5 by tipping the scales with a 7.89 LB
A “CIVIL” CIVIL WAR
This year we thought we would add some additional competitive spirit by have some fun playing the North Side of the Dock vs. the South Side to determine which what side has the better anglers……for this one day anyway. On paper, the South side entered the contest as prohibitive favorites as they appeared to have the “Luckiest Anglers” plus they had five additional boats in the tourney. From the day’s catch we took the Top 10 Bluefish from each side of the dock (1 fish per boat) and added up the totals. The North side prevailed and every captain that participated was awarded a shirt indicating that ”If you wanted to catch fish, you need to ask someone from my side of the dock.” Oh yeah, other than the T-Shirt they won one other thing….. bragging rights.
Congratulations to our new King of the Dock, Tom Clapsadle. We all knew how much you missed having your “Top Mate” aboard this year but your crew stepped up to fill the huge void left by Bobbette having to remain ashore but, that is what good teams do, step up. Bobbette, the other ladies competing this year certainly missed you as you are a joy to simply be around. However, they also would like to thank you for taking this year off. Congratulations to you as well. This picture definitely shows how proud you were of Tommy and the entire M&M team.