From the Pres Challange website

CARIBBEAN CUP MOVES TO ARUBA IN '10

Save The Date - October 20-21-22, 2010

Charter Boats Available

Observers Needed!


The island nation of Aruba has become one of the most sought-after vacation destinations in the world, and now it’s poised to become one of the hottest fishing venues in the entire Caribbean. For 2010, the Presidential Caribbean Cup will call this island nation home, as it hosts its first truly international billfishing competition. The event is scheduled for October 20-22, 2010, which should coincide perfectly with the height of the marlin season.

Aruba enjoys a sunny climate and offers a stable government, safe, family-friendly environment, good year-round weather out of the hurricane belt and convenient air service, in addition to magnificent beaches, world-class SCUBA diving and fantastic billfishing. While the island’s offshore action has mostly flown under the radar of the international angler, the 2010 Presidential Caribbean Cup is set to change that, as teams from around the world descend upon the island.

“For years, the area’s marlin fishery has been somewhat unknown just because there haven’t been many boats fishing specifically for billfish,” according to tournament coordinator Joan Vernon. “But in the past few seasons, Capt. Bubba Carter, Capt. Butch Cox and others have made exploratory trips to Aruba and have found excellent fishing for both blue and white marlin with the occasional sailfish. We look forward to bringing the Presidential Caribbean Cup to Aruba in order to showcase just how good the fishing can be here.”

The host marina for the inaugural 2010 event will be the Varadero Marina, owned by avid angler Eric Mansur. The event will be sponsored by the Aruba Tourist Authority as well as Chivas Regal and many others, with nightly cocktail parties rotating between various marinas and scenic locations throughout the island—a good time is guaranteed to be had by the participants. Mansur said, “Everybody here in Aruba and Curacao is very excited at the prospect of having a true international tournament here, and we’re expecting a great turnout.”

The event will be sanctioned by the World Billfish Series as part of the Caribbean Division in 2010. It will also be a qualifying event for the 2011 IGFA Offshore Championship.

For more information on this exciting new event please contact tournament coordinator Joan Vernon at joan@preschallenge.com.