Bisbee Donates- Hurricane Odile Victims Benefit From Sport Fishing Tourney

(Newswire.net — November 10, 2014) Los Sueños, Playa Herradura, Puntarenas — Fortunately, when disaster strikes, there are always those who are ready and willing to lend a hand. To that end, the Bisbee Black and Blue Tournament has instigated two charitable programs to help support Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which fell victim to Hurricane Odile on September 14, 2014.

 

The category 3 hurricane battered the city with winds of up to 125 miles per hour. Odile was the strongest hurricane in history to make landfall in Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, leaving nearly every Cabo resident without electricity or water, and causing an estimated $1 billion in damages.

Cabo San Lucas’s thriving tourist and boating industries took a serious hit after the hurricane. However, organizers of Bisbee’s Black and Blue Tournament, which has been held in Cabo San Lucas for over 30 years, showed their support and solidarity by proceeding with the tournament in spite of the disaster. One hundred and thirty boats and nearly 1,000 anglers participated, with winners collecting more than $2 million in prize money.

 

Bisbee’s Black and Blue Tournament also created two charitable programs to assist both residents of Cabo and the city’s charter boat industry. One is the Bisbee Cabo Charter Hook, in which an anonymous donor will pay the entire $5000 entry fee for each of the first 30 teams to hire a Cabo charter crew. The other is the Los Cabos Hurricane Relief Fund, the proceeds of which will go toward providing emergency housing for those displaced by Odile and emergency funds for charter boats.

 

Bisbee’s is no stranger to charity; they hold the Los Cabos Offshore Charity Tournament, called “Little Bisbee’s,” each year.

 

Mike Hardy, owner and founder of HRG Vacations, near Los Sueños Resort and Marina in Costa Rica, voiced his support for Cabo San Lucas, and for Bisbee’s contributions. “I was dismayed to hear of the toll Hurricane Odile took on Cabo,” he notes. “The threat of major storms is all too real, and I wish the city a speedy recovery.”

 

The Los Sueños Resort & Marina hosts numerous fishing championships, as well, including the famed Los Sueños Triple Crown Series, which is held in January each year. Competitors in the Triple Crown often participate in the Black and Blue Tournament, although many opted out of Black and Blue this year after the hurricane. At least one boat, The Sea Angel, did participate, and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.

 

Cabo is recovering quickly; a mere 17 days after Hurricane Odine hit, power, water and phone service had restored to the whole city, many airports, restaurants and hotels had opened for business and resumed service, and local small businesses — including fishing charters – had reopened. The quick recovery process can be attributed to the dedicated citizens of Cabo, as well as the many tourists who stayed to help, and charitable endeavors from long-time Cabo supporters like Bisbee’s.