History

A tribute to “Van”

We would like to dedicate this history of the Cape Cod Tuna Club to Floyd “Van” Van Duzer of the Barnstable Marine Service, the original organizer of the Club. How fortunate have been the Club members and crews in having “Van” give unstintingly of his time as Tournament Chairman and Treasurer for over twenty-two years. He was always the behind-the-scenes, capable, untiring workhorse who kept the wheels rolling from year to year.

We are indebted to him for his good sportsmanship and the friendship he gave to all of us.

— Ken and Midge Daly

A Cape Cod tradition

by Ken and Midge Daly

A History of the Cape Cod Tuna Club

The salty old Cape Codder who called them “horse mackerel” was about as near right as the sports fishermen who call them the “tuna.” They have the strength and weight of a horse, yet they come to a trolled bait with a “smash,” and rush like a trout, affording a thrill to the rod and reel angler that compares with tiger hunting.

All the tuna fishing excitement started in 1948 when a fantastic catch of bluefin was recorded in Cape Cod Bay. A total of 187,000 pounds of fish were taken in Cape waters by anglers using rod and reel. More than 300,000 pounds were hauled in by handline and harpoon, and more than 5,000,000 pounds were caught by commercial fishermen.

Both pros and amateurs battled the enormous tuna invasion. One of the pros, a Capt. John Dutra, found more than 300 tuna in a single weir, or trap, near Provincetown. The weight ranged from 50 to 500 pounds, and in trying to haul them in, four of the crew were pulled overboard. The Cap’n had been fishing those waters since 1902, “But I never saw anything like this before,” he said.

Among the larger bluefin boated by rod and reel was a 756-pound tuna caught by Dr. Dieter Dux of Chicago, fishing from Charlie Mayo’s “Chanty.” Another giant tuna, which missed the world record at that time by eleven pounds, was caught by Bud Martin from Dolph Richard’s “Hi-Liner” off Barnstable on October 8. A 935-pounder was caught on handline from a commercial fish dragger, and a 1,085-pound bluefin came out of a fish trap off Truro.

The chief drawback to Cape Cod Bay tuna fishing at that time was the lack of organized charter service and poor private and charter boat facilities, as well as the lack of docking space.

As a direct result of the tremendous haul of tuna in 1948, the first organized competition was sponsored the following year by the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and the newly-formed Cape Cod Tuna Guides Club, headed by the organizer and founder Floyd Van Duzer, Capt. Joe Eldridge, Capt. John Peterson, and Capt. Charlie Mayo.

Floyd Van Duzer of Cummaquid, Secretary of the Cape Cod Guides Club, is widely known as “Van.” He was Chairman of the first tuna contest in 1949 and continued for twenty-two years to be tournament Chairman and Treasurer of the Cape Cod Tuna Club.

The first tournament, in 1949, was held August 29 through September 12. There were four fishing days during the two-week period with three optional days in the event the judges found it necessary to declare “No Fishing” because of inclement weather on any of the scheduled days. The fishing area included all waters within ten miles of Barnstable County.

The entry fee in 1949 was $5.00. When entry blanks were sent in the mail, the Post Office ruled the entry fee illegal contending that it was a form of lottery. For the following two years the Club agreed not to charge an entry fee. Finally, Post Office officials were convinced that a tournament is not the same as a lottery! In fact, among the Cape’s fishermen the belief exists that success in fishing is about 90% skill and only 10% luck!

The Directors of the newly-formed Cape Cod Tuna Club voted unanimously to sponsor a tuna fishing tournament each year starting in 1949, and to establish a perpetual trophy. An angler winning it twice becomes the sole owner. All I.G.F.A. rules were in effect from the first tournament. Entries were open to both male and female anglers and a special award was given to the female angler boating the heaviest bluefin.

Some of the Club’s women have proved to be outstanding competitors in the tuna tournaments. The late Claire DeWolfe fishing on the “Nini-Paul” won the 1975 tourney with a giant 840-pound tuna, as well as six annual Massachusetts Governor’s Cups awards for the heaviest tuna, for a female angler. Jeanne Wood won the Ladies’ Cape Cod Tuna Club Tournament in 1979 with a 1,002-pound bluefin caught on the “Galatea III.” She placed second in 1977 with an 802-pound fish, having been beaten out of the winner’s circle by ONE POUND! Jeanne also ran a close second in 1978 with a 900-pound bluefin, and has won the Massachusetts Governor’s Cup several times. “Midge” Daly won back-to-back Cape Cod Tuna Club Tournaments in 1968 and 1969 fishing on the “Anytime.” She also was the winner of the Governor’s Cup for several years, with a top weight of 825 pounds in 1969.

These three female anglers were members of the International Women’s Fishing Association, and received many monthly awards for their skill in fishing for tuna on the Cape and billfishing in Florida and the Bahamas.

In the early tournaments all tuna taken were donated for sale under the supervision of the Tuna Club Committee. The proceeds went to various charities. In 1975, a check for almost $1,500 was donated to Cape Cod Manor, a nursing home in Provincetown. In more recent years, because of the high cost involved in tuna fishing, the fish are sold to a Cooperative who, in turn, sells them to Japanese buyers, at rates recently as high as $3.00 to $4.00 per pound. The tournament boat owners receive the proceeds after a small percentage is retained by the Cape Cod Tuna Club for expenses.

There were a few fishless tournaments in the early years, as well as several in the sixties when “Charlie the Tuna” was the winner. The writers fished three such tourneys in a row in September of 1964, 1965, and 1966, roaming the seas from Gloucester to Pollock Rip, in endless search for bluefin tuna long gone from Cape waters. The most recent fishless tournament took place in 1974. It was the general opinion of most anglers and crews that hurricanes which preceded some of the late September tournaments had much to do with the poor fishing, having scattered the schools of tuna and driving many of them out of the bay.

For the 1955 tourney the 30 boats were given permission to fish outside the original Cape Cod Bay fishing limits. The skippers roamed far and wide in search of school-tuna rather than try for giant bluefins which had been spotted by airplane off Barnstable. The rules committee allowed the fleet to fish wherever the skippers desired, so long as no baits went overboard before 6:00 A.M. and all lines were in by 4:00 P.M. The tournament winner that year was Joseph V. Rafferty, Jr. of East Longmeadow with a 71-pound tuna caught at Pollock Rip via the Cape Cod Canal, at the end of a 148-mile round-the-Cape trip with Capt. Joe Eldridge on the “Striper.”

It has been rumored, but not confirmed by the writers, that Capt. Joe took a big gamble in another tournament, and left very early one morning via Cape Cod Bay and the backside for the long 77 mile haul to Pollock Rip where he found hundreds of small tuna all around him. The predicted weather for the day was Southwest winds at 10 to 15 knots. However, by 8:00 A.M. the weather committee cancelled the day’s fishing as the wind suddenly turned and was blowing Northwest at 25 to 30 knots. Joe decided it would be a real rough ride home around Provincetown, so he came back through Nantucket Sound and the Canal to Barnstable Harbor. We’ll bet Joe didn’t break out with that famous shy grin he usually produces.

Don DeWolfe became Tournament Chairman in 1968, while the writer (Ken Daly) took it in 1969, 1970, and 1971. Bill Miller had it for 1972. Walt Unda took over the Chairmanship, as well as the Treasurer’s position, from 1973 through 1977. He did a masterful job as Tournament Chairman, even bringing one of his super buses to Provincetown in 1973 to provide shuttle service transportation for anglers and crews from the fishing docks to headquarters at the Provincetown Inn.

Keith Wood, after about 14 years as a distinguished and popular Club President — he was once re-elected while in China — finally convinced the members that he had done his share for the Club. Rumor had it from those at the meeting that while Walt Unda was in the head, he was unanimously elected President — a great choice after his five years as a top tourney chairman. Gordon Egan did a fine job in 1978, followed by Elaine Crompton who also took on the 1979 Ladies’ Tournament and General Tournament Chairmanships.

There are all kinds of sportfishing tournaments held all over the United States. Some, like the Cape Cod Tuna Club Tournaments, have exceptional merit; but very few, perhaps less than a dozen, rate as high a place in the big-game sportfishing world. The Cape Cod Tuna Club Tournaments from 1949 to 1980 have earned an enviable reputation as being well-run, prestigious tourneys noted for fine sportsmanship and friendly competition…plus the camaraderie that has proven such an enjoyable element for all.

Good fun and good fishing to all of you!