Giles Cadman 
The first weekend in May, 2017 marked the inaugural Mahi Mayhem fishing tournament in the British Virgin Islands and I couldn't be happier.
I'm an avid sportfisherman, and it's been a dream of mine for a long time to put on a tournament to benefit the community. Held at the Nanny Cay Marina in Tortola, we welcomed boats and fishers from all over who came to participate in the competition.
I'm pleased to announce it was quite the successful two days. Captain Alvin and his crew aboard the Emmanuel from St Thomas swept the board and took home $9,500 total in prize money! They scooped the $5,000 top prize for the heaviest Mahi at 33 pounds, $2,500 for the second heaviest mahi, $1,000 for heaviest overall catch, and $1,000 for heaviest mahi with an outboard engine.
Although the Emmanuel crew was exceptional, I still had the chance to experience some fatherly pride during the tournament. My son, Jack, is quite the angler and we had a fantastic day out on our boat, the Venator. Jack caught a massive 65-pound yellowfin tuna, which won him the Star Angler Award for catching the heaviest fish at the tournament!
I was exceptionally pleased with The Caribbean Sustainable Fisheries (CSF) team as well. CSF, a Cadman Capital Group company, raises lobsters sustainably on-land in the BVI. The team gave talks throughout the day about the ocean, currents, and their work with sustainable lobster farming. Then, the kids set to work on building up lobster homes for a fun and educational experience.
All in all, it was a great weekend. However, putting on this event was a lot of work! CSF has agreed to a 5-year deal to sponsor the tournament, in conjunction with Nanny Cay Marina, the BVI Tourist Board, the BVI Sportfishing Association and the Conservation and Fisheries Department.
To put the tournament on, I had to be sure that all stakeholders were on board. Then the planning started, and finally, the execution. The process was not without hiccups, but I'm overjoyed we were able to create this tournament from scratch. Do you have a dream tournament, or event of some sort, you'd like to launch?
After the success of Mahi Mayhem, I wanted to write a blog series about each of the moving parts of the process so you'll know what needs to be done if this is a dream of yours as well. I'll share how I conceptualized, planned, and executed Mahi Mayhem so you’ll know exactly how to create your own all-star event, especially if it's something that you're truly passionate about.
If you've got a passion project you can't stop thinking about, stay tuned for the next in this series "“ how to conceptualize a great idea.
Giles Cadman is Chairman of The Cadman Capital Group, a group of cohesive, complementary companies, operating in the international trade, retail, leisure, and investment markets. Learn more about Giles.
