From the Helm 
by Charles Been, Club President

As some of you may note, the Gaff line for July 2006 was not out on time. Dennis Albert was ready to go, but your President was in the wilds of Montana, teaching his two-year-old grandson the fine art of trout fishing. The kid was out casting with his fishing pole at the RV parks before we were up, fished until we made him go in, and went to bed with his rod and reel. I can’t wait till I get him down here. (Actually I think he was teaching me)

The Don Blackman Memorial Halibut Tournament June 10, 2006 resulted in a lot of nice halibut caught. A BIG thank you to Cris Lahr for his great work as tournament chairman, along with all the others who helped put the tournament on.

Congratulations to Kris Kinsella who weighed in a 135 lb Marlin Friday July 21, 2006. Kris now has the first marlin of the season flag. I was told that his brother who was not a member of the Marlin Club at the time, released a marlin the previous Sunday 7/16/06. Kris’s boat the “Half Scoop” could have had the first release and the first landed marlin awards. His brother has since joined. And a high point for all of the small boaters in the club, Half Scoop is a 19 ft Parker.

For the upcoming Sundowner Potluck, August 13, 2006, we will have Mike Rivkin, author, IGFA director, speaking to us on a new book he has written, “Big-Game Fishing Headquarters, A History of the IGFA”. Mike is also a collector of antique fishing tackle and he has agreed to bring down some of his collection to show us. It will be a great evening; I hope to see you then.
Another item of major importance, next week at the Port Commissioners monthly meeting, The

San Diego Port District will receive a staff report and presentation, regarding the block of land containing the Marlin Club around to North Sails. North Bay Development has submitted a proposal to redevelop this land area. It will be a major change for the Marlin Club. Currently everything is in the proposal stage but the plan as proposed, will have us occupying a small office in a large building with dock space to be shared with Crow’s Nest. A lot is still up in the air, but all proposals will have us in much smaller facilities.

That’s about it, who will get the First Release Flag?

Charles