HARBOUR ROD & REEL CLUB 2003
History Report Submitted by Marilyn Henson, Historian
On January 19,2003, the Harbour Rod & Reel Club held its Ninth Annual Awards and Installation Brunch at the Huntington Harbour Yacht Club. There was a great show of support from the members and guests for the brunch, which was organized by Merle King. Outgoing President, Doug Bannister thanked the members and the board members for a great year. John Ulrich installed incoming President, Bob Mandie and the Elected Officers and Board Members for 2003 were installed as follows:
Following the installation of the board members, Doug Bannister and Rob Henson awarded “the one that got away” fish story gag gifts and the trophies to the 2002 top anglers of our club.
January 24th was the annual Chili Cook-offwith the Huntington Harbour Yacht Club. There were 138 adults, 13 children and 29 pots of chili at the joint event. The winners received South Coast Plaza gift certificates and they were: I” Place-Calvin Free, 2nd Place-Bett Walton, 3rd Place-Frank Sheldon, 4th Place-Christi Ulrich, 5th Place-Joyce Buehn and 6th Place-Holly Slevecove. Congratulations to all!
February 5th brought the first seminar, which was about sea anchors. Thirty five people enjoyed pizza and listened to Zack Smith from Para-Anchors by Fiorentino. He put on a slide presentation and explained how an anchor can save your life and your boat. Tom Raftican from United Anglers was also at the seminar and spoke about what the United Anglers were hoping to accomplish to preserve fisheries.
Linda Hicks of Accurate Reels brought her reels and some fish stories to her April 2nd seminar. Fifty-five members who included many ladies enjoyed dinner, the seminar and the raffie, which Linda donated some of her Accurate products.
The Second Annual Harbour Cleanup Day was held on April 5th. Thirteen boats from our club picked up tons of trash in the harbour. Everybody who participated received a t-shirt and a raffie ticket for prizes.
April 13th was Opening Day jor the Huntington Harbour Yacht Club. Bob and Connie Mandie participated in the Opening Day ceremonies and cruised through the harbour on “Hot Reels” with a few friends and council people.
April 26th_27th, four club boats set out for the Catalina Raft-Up Week-end. John Ulrich and crew were the first ones to Cat Harbor followed by the Adrianys, the McInallys, Bill Woodard and Bob Mandie. They all had a great time trying to out-fish each other and test pedaling Karl Adriany’s pedal powered kayak.
The Cinco de Mayo Fiesta (which was actually held on Dos de Mayo) had 115 members and guests from the HHYC and our club listening to the mariachis and sipping margaritas. Aztec Restaurant catered the Mexican feast and Marie Coots festively decorated the dining room and bar. Of course there was a 50/50 drawing and door prizes.
On May is”, forty-one club members and friends boarded Alaska Airlines for the annual Palmas de Cortez fishing trip on the East Cape. Bob Mandie also celebrated his birthday there at the beachfront home of his friends in Spa Buena Vista. The fish count for the trip included 15 marlin, 75 tuna to 25Ibs., 18 dorado to 45Ibs., 1 mako shark, 1 pargo and 1 pilot fish. The group was delayed one day from coming home so they had to rough-it at a beautiful beachfront all-inclusive resort in San Jose del Cabo for one night. Such a pity! Thank you Norm and Jessica Parker for chairing this event (every year).
June 7th and 8th was the annual Family Fishing Week-end Tournament. Mike and Amber Raemer were the chairpersons of this family event. About five boats participated and after fishing, around 25 to 30 members enjoyed dinner at the yacht club.
June 27th Punky and Carol Langston graciously opened up their home for a Get Acquainted Wine Tasting and Dinner Party Social. Coleman Vineyard, owned by club members Randy and Kim Coleman, presented the wine tasting.
On July 30th, Ed Martin was the guest speaker for the Marlin Seminar. It sure helped the club for the Master’s Tournament. Thanks Ed for a great job!
August 16th was the fourth annual Annie Get Your Rod Ladies Tournament. Maria Harding was the chairwoman and had lots of prizes throughout the day. The top lady anglers were Cinta Murray, Kathy Bayless, Kathy Saveliev and Margie Finley. Following the day offishing we had dinner at the beautiful home of Ed and Millie Dempsey.
September 12th_13th was the Master Angler’s Billfish Tournament. Bruce Masterton chaired this event for our teams. Our club swept up as Dave and Preston King along with crewmembers Bill Jahn and Tom Hattemer, took awards for “High Club”, “High Boat” and “High Angler” thanks to Dave’s 329.5 lb. Swordfish. There were only four qualifying fish and fifty-six boats in the tournament. Way to go HR&RC!
There was another great turnout for “Mako Matt” Potter’s Halibut Seminar on September 24th. He also told how he caught the big one, a 625 lbs. mako shark. As always, he donated prizes for the raffle. There were wonderful desserts by Diana Casey at the dinner.
The Kid’s In-Harbour Fishing Derby was held on Smokey Sunday, October 26th. Norm Huniu and his crew were in charge of getting the live bait and passing out the score sheets and the fishing tackle, which was supplied by Mako Matt, to the kids. Fourteen boats and twenty-six kids fished in the smokey harbour and afterward Connie Mandie had lunch waiting for the kids and parents at the yacht club. Award winners were Cameron King, Brandon King and Brent Bannister in the ten years and younger category. Kyle Adriany, Taylor Murletta, Chad Huniu and Eric Henson won in the eleven-year-old category. Eric caught the largest fish of the day, which was a leopard shark.
Mark Wisch came to the yacht club on November 5th and gave a slide presentation and seminar on his fishing trips to Panama. There was a nice turnout for the seminar, dinner and raffle.
November 91h was the annual family favorite Casting Contest and Family Social. There was a terrific turnout for the social and Marilyn Henson and David Farley out-casted the other members for 1 st Place. Michelle Monroe won in the kids division. Bob Mandie had his ever-popular raffle going and Connie Mandie was again in charge of the social part, i.e., the food! It was nice to see so many members and guests at this fun social event.
December 5th was the first ever Christmas Holiday Party. We had Santa and Elves and singers and Five Gold Rings, Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens, Two Turtle Doves and Partridge in a Pear Tree! There was a very nice turnout of members and their guests at the yacht club. A very big Thank You to Bob and Connie Mandie for the Holiday Party.
Another first for the club was an entry in the Harbour Boat Parade the weekend of December 13th and 14th. Dan Ward and his committee turned Bob Mandie’s “Hot Reels” into a lighted patriotic float. Their efforts won the club a trophy for the “Best Decorated Boat” in the parade. Congratulations!
The following is a list of Harbour Rod and Reel Club’s Top Anglers of 2003. Congratulations to all!
