Who invited her to the party? Hurricane Erin crashed the 22nd Annual Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament with strong winds, rain and dangerous surf as it moved northward off the coast on Thursday. The impending uncertainty of the storm forced a start delay and a massive undertaking to accommodate the change in schedule.
“We were still watching the track yesterday and trying to decide what to do,” says VBBT Director Paula Davis. “In the end, we pushed the tournament back a day and made Friday a mandatory lay day for all teams. Fishing will be Saturday and Sunday. We’re also extending registration until Friday afternoon to allow teams to make a call as to whether to fish or withdrawal. We’re hoping to pick up a few more boats that way.”
Teams are now allowed to leave and return from any port on Saturday but must return to Virginia. The fleet must fish out of Virginia ports for departure and return on Sunday, August 24. Fishing hours are 9 am to 3 pm on Saturday and 8:30 am to 3 pm on Sunday.
“Rudee Inlet is gnarly right now,” Davis said, “And it’s an angry ocean for sure. Seas are what you’d expect for a major hurricane. The winds are predicted to pick up through this evening, then start settling down. So by Saturday, the teams should be able to fish.”
In addition to the teams having to reset their schedule, Davis, Dierdre Bell Loftin, the tournament marketing director, and countless others had to adjust as well.
“We had a lot of moving parts, all the infrastructure to shift like food prep, bands, bartenders, security, shuttle drivers, etcetera,” Davis explained. “It wasn’t just snap your fingers and it’s done. It took two days to coordinate all that but the people we work with are so great they bent over backwards to make it happen.”
The VBBT Board of Directors made the decision to postpone the tournament after careful deliberation. Jim Bayne is one of the directors.
“Obviously our foremost concern was safety,” he explains. “We have a lot of boats that travel to fish with us from North Carolina and we had to take the seas into account. Rudee Inlet with storm surge can be very difficult as well. The channel is narrow with a small margin for error because of the rock jetties. So we pushed everything back. We’ll lose some boats. But if we end up with 40 to 50, I’d be absolutely tickled.
“Our teams come here for a good time, good hospitality and to unwind after a long season. But it’s still a very competitive field. So it is what it is and we’ll do our very best to safely accommodate the boats that do fish with us. We’re also very blessed to have Paula and Deirdre. How they’ve handled all this has been stellar,” Bayne adds.
Registration will remain open until 4 pm Friday, August 22. This will allow currently registered teams time to add optional levels and also gives cancelled teams the opportunity to reassess conditions and possibly re-enter. After the 4 pm cut-off, all entry fee monies will be included in the prize money and are non-refundable.
Erin aside, the fun will go on as planned tonight under the big tent with steak, chicken, sides and plenty of libations.
“We’re going to have a whole new level of hurricane party tonight,” Davis said with a laugh.
Additional photos courtesy of The Buckskin Billfish/VBBT