The Keli Wagner Lady Angler tournament has a new entry category! The Winner Take All Dolphin category was a huge success with the top team winning $58,225 last year. Now lady anglers can enter a Winner Take All Billfish Release category for an additional $500 entry fee. Winners of the billfish release category that are also entered in the Winner Take All release level stand to win close to $75,000! So put your team together and be sure to enter both the Winner Take All Dolphin level and the Winner Take All Billfish Release Level.
The 60th Annual Big Rock Programs are here and hot off the press! Another job well done by tournament assistant, Rowanne Robertson! Year after year, her work never ceases to amaze! A big thank you also to NCCOAST for first class quality printing and service here in Carteret County!
“Each year, Rowanne works diligently to provide a program that will make our sponsors proud”, commented Crystal Hesmer, tournament director. “She has been with Big Rock for 12 years and we don’t know what we would do without her!”, she continued.
The 60th program will be available at tournament headquarters now and will be distributed throughout Carteret County just before tournament week. The 180-page perfect bound book will also be included in each boat bag for both KWLA and Big Rock.
The Big Rock Foundation has been helping Carobell, Inc’s Station Club Enterprise expand its possibilities for more than 25 years. Located in Morehead City, Station Club Enterprise is a private, non-profit 501 (c)3 organization serving adults with cognitive impairments and developmental disabilities.
Funds received through these generous donations provided by the Big Rock Foundation have afforded Carobell/Station Club the possibilities to expand our capabilities to provide our members with choices of tasks/activity opportunities and to reach out with new ideas and concepts. This truly fulfills our mission, which is to provide self-directed supports for members with intellectual developmental disabilities, empowering them to reach their fullest potential.
Past donations have enabled Station Club to purchase many needed items for our members such as iPads, a laptop computer, and accessories to assist them in developing technology skills and increasing problem-solving skills.
All of Carobell/Station Club staff and members alike are extremely appreciative of this continual community support. A big thank you goes to our steadfast community friends, Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament.
Jim Kuhn
Adult Day Coordinator
Carobell/Station Club Enterprise
The Big Rock contributed to the celebration for the Richard Snyder commissioning into the U.S. Coast Guard.
Big Rock Director Crystal Hesmer says, ”we are so grateful to the Coast Guard for protecting our waters and assisting boats and their crews in emergencies. The Big Rock was honored to be part of USCGC Richard Snyder commissioning ceremony. Our contribution to hold a reception was a small gesture to show our appreciation.”
The ship is North Carolina’s first Fast Response Cutter. It features advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment.
It’s named after World War II hero Richard Snyder, who earned the Silver Star and six Bronze Stars, including the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Medal, the Philippine Liberation Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. He was awarded for his brave efforts to defend troops coming to shore on the Island of Biak at the western edge of Papua New Guinea.
The Big Rock is dedicated to charitable giving related to our Armed Forces.
JUNE 10TH – JUNE 15TH
Big Rock participants are invited to play in the Beaufort Club’s Big Rock Lay & Play Tournament! Make the most of your lay day and play our championship 18-hole course located 7 miles from the Big Rock landing. Teams of four will compete to win 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes as well as bragging rights until next year! Sign up by calling the pro shop (252-728-5525) and making your tee time. Be sure to mention you are a Big Rock team when you call! Turn in your scorecards at the end of the round and the winners will be announced on Saturday, June 15th at the end of the week. Players must be in teams of four, all four players must be participants in the Big Rock, and all scorecards must be turned in by 4PM on Saturday. Entry fee is $40 per player and includes your cart and range balls.
RELEASE POINTS – Blue Marlin, White Marlin, Sailfish, Spearfish, and Hatchett marlin will receive 125 points.
Blue Marlin will be scored at 400 points if the team provides indisputable video or photo evidence to the Rules Committee. In order to qualify for the 400 points, teams must turn in a Release Form in person along with the SD Card, Micro SD Card or Compact Flash Card from their camera. Forms and Media Cards can be turned in at the Official Weigh Station in Morehead City or to the tournament representative at Hatteras Harbor Marina. The Media Card and Release Form must be turned in no later than 10:00 p.m. on the day fish is released to qualify. The Media Card must show continuous video or a clear single photo of the mate touching the leader and clear and indisputable evidence that the fish is a blue marlin. It is the responsibility of the participants to ensure that their camera’s Clock/Date is set accurately to reflect the time and date of the Releases to qualify for the 400 points. All videos will become property of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. In the event that the rules committee is unable to see indisputable evidence that the fish is a blue marlin, the release will be scored at 125 points. The tournament will NOT allow photos or video from cell phones.
All other released fish must be attested to by signature of the captain and mate or angler on board the boat at the time of the release on the Official Release Form provided by the Tournament Committee. This form may be submitted to the OFFICIAL WEIGH MASTER AT TOURNAMENT HEADQUARTERS, Hatteras Harbor Marina or submitted electronically. Release forms must be turned in no later than 10:00 p.m. on the day the fish is released to qualify. Other than blue marlin, billfish forms may also be photographed and emailed to forms@thebigrock.com. If you do not receive an email confirmation, please call tournament headquarters to confirm. Release reports will be taken over the phone from the reporting station personnel to the Tournament Headquarters staff each morning of the tournament. The forms will then be forwarded to the Tournament Headquarters by the reporting station for verification.
In the event of ties, the first boats to achieve the winning totals shall be declared the winners.
The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament was presented a plaque from the Otway Burns National Daughters of the Revolution Chapter.
The tournament donated more than ten-thousand dollars to DAR in an effort to bring the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall to Morehead City in May of 2017.
Board Member Tommy Bennett was first approached by the Otway Burns DAR Regent, Linda Phelps. “The Big Rock receives numerous requests for donations on an annual basis, but few come with the passion that Linda and the DAR brought. Linda and her team were determined to make the Vietnam Wall visit to Morehead City happen on Memorial Day Weekend, and their devotion to seeing the project through to fruition was evident every step of the way,” explains Bennett.
Phelps held back tears as she presented Bennet with the plaque. “It was incredible as it came in to the church parking lot,” Phelps explained. The names of veterans engraved in the wall are her most vivid memory of the experience as well as speaking with veterans that came to visit. “It meant so much them. They just want to be remembered,” she said. Countless community members gathered at Glad Tidings Church to pay tribute to Vietnam Veterans at the wall.
Phelps went on to say, “if we had not met Tommy, I don’t know that the wall would have come to Morehead City.” The donation helped cover transportation of the wall and supplies for volunteers.
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall is a 3/5 scale of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC, it stands six feet tall at the center and covers almost 300 feet from end to end. The memorial stands as a reminder of the great sacrifices made during the Vietnam War. It was made for the purpose of helping heal and rekindle friendships and to allow people the opportunity to visit loved ones in their home town who otherwise may not be able to make the trip to Washington.
The Parker family has been in the automobile business in Morehead City for 71 years. It was created around the same time as our tournament.
We sat down with Brian Parker to talk about the past, present and future.
Parker sat behind his desk at their Buick/GMC dealership with a big smile. He has found the perfect partnership between his family business and the Big Rock tournament. “It is a lot to be proud of. It is a big deal for Morehead City,” he said. The Parker auto group is a diamond sponsor for our 60th anniversary. “It is a legacy he would be so proud of,” Parker says about his grandfather Dick Parker.
“We hold him as the patriarch of the family. He grew up in the depression era. And on his own he built a fantastic company from nothing,” Parker says of his grandfather. Dick Parker was also on the Board of Education and served as president of the North Carolina Auto Dealers Association.
Dick Parker was also instrumental in the early days of the tournament. “My grandfather and his friends saw the economic possibilities that came with the tournament. From the boats, to bait and tackle, really the whole deal,” he explained. Parker says his grandfather was a forward thinker and dedicated beyond measure. “In his 80’s he was at the dealership everyday,” he said.
Like grandfather, like grandson. The younger generation Parker is dedicated to keep his family traditions strong both at the dealership and the tournament. He takes his children ages 3, 4, and 7 to landing. “That is just a ball to discover when a fish is coming in. And everyone is hoping it is big. It is so exciting,” he explains. “We get to see a lot of folks when we are down there that week. We get to interact with our customers in a big (ROCK) way!” We look forward to seeing you and your family at the landing this year.
The man known as the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament founder has passed away.
Director Crystal Hesmer says “It is with great sadness we have lost another member of the original “Fabulous Fishing Club.” Bob Simpson was a visionary and worked tirelessly to create what is now the “Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament.” He was told it was impossible and eventually persevered. We were so excited to have him as part of our 60th anniversary celebration and it will not be the same without him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family.”
Bob Simpson was a part of the Fabulous Fishing Club along with Tom Potter, Jerry Schumacher and James Macy. They gathered for the first time in April of 1965. “Up until then we had never caught any marlin. Then a blue marlin drifted up on the beach. We had been talking about marlin and I was convinced there were blue marlin off here,” explained Simpson in a prior interview.
They decided to offer local captains a cash prize to land a blue marlin. However, there were no sign of marlin that summer. The first blue marlin was landed the following fall of 1957. “They gave me a rope and told me to string it up. Well, I had no idea how to string up a marlin, but I did the best I could,” Simpson explained with a smile.
Simpson was the longtime owner of the famed “Sylvia II.” She operated out of the “Sanitary” as a charter boat before she sank during the “Great GroundHog Day Storm” of 1976. Bob bought her for the princely sum of $300 as documented in his book “When the Water Smokes.” Syliva is known as the oldest fishing boat on the Carolina Coast.
In 2006, Simpson was inducted into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest civilian honor. During the 1960’s he was instrumental in building support for the creation of the Cape Lookout National Seashore and even provided the first tours to politicians in his WWII amphibious vehicle. His influence on today’s Outer Banks and the Crystal Coast is absolutely undeniable.
“You know, I’m proud of what we did,” Simpson said in a prior interview. “And I’m proud of all those people who worked with us and after us because they stepped up to the bat. We were told it was impossible – and we did it.”
Simpson will be greatly missed by our Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament family. We are forever grateful for the time we spent with an amazing angler, businessman, writer and former United States Marine.
** some statements are from a 2015 interview with Simpson in ncoast.com
Linda Rike’s real estate signs are a staple around the Crystal Coast. She jokes about being in the business 33 years, “I only fish for buyers and sellers.” The truth is fishing is something dear to her heart.
2018 will be Rike’s twenty-first year as a Big Rock sponsor. She smiled when she thought about when she was first approached about the idea. “It was Crystal’s first year as director. She just walked in here and nicely asked. And I just said “sure” and didn’t think twice. The rest is history.” Rike credits the hard work of the board, volunteers and sponsors for what she calls a “huge milestone.”
The 60th Anniversary of Big Rock has Rike very excited, especially about the potential for charitable funds to be raised. “That is the aspect I love. Charity First. That is where it is at. It is dear to my heart and important to me,” she explained.
Rike says she could not resist the offer to sponsor the Keli Wagner Lady Angler tournament. She has had friends diagnosed with cancer and wanted to do more to support their care and recovery. She loves to come up with items for the seabag each year. And was not ready to reveal her contribution for 2018 just yet!
You can expect to see Rike at the scales for daily weigh ins. She also enjoys the social gatherings associated with the tournament and raves about the ladies events. “Every year when it is over. I think, what am I going to do tomorrow,” Rike explains.
At the end of our conversation Linda raised her glass to have a sip of luke warm coffee. She smiled as she drank out of a KWLA tournament cup.
year, her work never ceases to amaze! A big thank you also to NCCOAST for first class quality printing and service here in Carteret County!
