FISHING stalwart Bill Rewalt was recognised earlier this year during an awards ceremony for the 10th Annual Cayman Islands International Fishing Tournament.

Rewalt, founding member of the Cayman Islands Angling Club was honoured for his outstanding contribution to fishing in the Cayman Islands.

Originally from Bermuda, Cayman Net news said that fishing to him came naturally. He was 14-years-old when he had his first fishing boat. By the time he moved to Cayman, he had owned ten boats. Rewalt first visited the Cayman Islands in 1972 to visit a friend and settled on the island from 1982, to retire after a successful career as a business owner in the insurance industry.

He said that some people asked him why move from Bermuda to the Cayman Islands and he explained the fishing was good and the pace of life was quiet.

Fishing was an activity that Rewalt has pursued for most of his life, having started at the tender age of six. He also lived in the US and it was in that country he caught his first fish, a stripped bass in Long Island, New York.

Rewalt has been involved in the sport in many countries.

"I have fished all my life and was fortunate to have fished all over the world with camera crews from ESPN and writers," he recalled.

His love for fishing led him to be instrumental in establishing a fishing club in the Cayman Islands.

When he first arrived here in 1982, there was no such organisation. Rewalt recalled that himself and some avid local fishermen including Davy Ebanks, Atlee Evans and Clarence 'King' Flowers Jr came together to help get the club off the ground.

In the early 1980s there were some fishing tournaments on the Island, one of which was the Cayman Airways Pilots tournament, which was run by Captain Robert Hamaty.

He also spoke about the Million Dollar Month International Fishing Tournament and how it came to be. He said the idea for the event came about during discussions with former Director of Tourism, Eric Bergstrom and the late Jim Bodden.

A concept for the tournament was developed, taking into consideration that the summer period is usually the slow period in terms of Caribbean tourism.

The name of the tournament was conceived as a result of the total value of the prizes, which would be around $1.7 million. This award would be given if someone caught a Blue Marlin in excess of the world record during the tournament.

The total prize package consisted of $1 million dollars in cash, a condo on Seven Mile Beach, a Porsche car, a 32-foot fishing boat and lifetime airfare compliments of Cayman Airways.

Publicity for an event, especially a new and unique concept is very important and Rewalt said that Barbara Currie-Dailey was instrumental in this regard.

"The idea was to draw some of the big boats from Florida and we were successful," Rewalt recalled.

He said that in addition to government's help through sponsorship and a subsidy, there were big financial product sponsors for the event.

The first year for the tournament was in 1984 and by the second year, 134 boats, 43 of which were foreign, participated. In addition, US comedian Jonathan Winters was part of the event's second edition.

Rewalt explained that during the Cayman Islands Million Dollar Month there were a series of different tournaments within that time period such as ones organised by the Pilots, Cayman Distributors, Budweiser, Avis and Texaco.

According to Rewalt, everybody jumped in with souvenirs and other marketing paraphernalia such as shirts. In addition, a silver coin was minted and one gold coin struck for the winner of the tournament.

Rewalt explained that being chairman of the Million Dollar Month Tourney was a nine-months-a-year job and involved a lot of promotion.

When the Government changed in late 1984, the subsidy was lost for the next eight years. Rewalt, with some sponsors' help had to fund the tournament themselves.

He was also quick to highlight the efforts of his assistant Heather Bodden, whom he described as very instrumental in the process.

He also thanked Paul Defreitas, Donna Sjostrom and Lorna Mitchell for their help through the years.

The tournament would take place for the next fourteen years, with the last Cayman Islands Million Dollar Month in 1997.

While the Million Dollar tournament no longer exists, local, regional and international fishermen still have the Cayman Islands International Fishing Tournament (CIFT) to look forward to.

He said that while the CIFT is going well, attracting overseas competitors is difficult because there is no room for the boats to be stored. Rewalt noted that fishing tournaments provide benefits to the economy, especially with visiting boats.

He recalled a seven year period from 1990 when the Million Dollar Month was held at the Cayman Islands Yacht Club but when that facility was filled with local boats, everything changed.

While this issue has presented itself for a while, there is hope that come next year, the situation would improve.

Clive Smith, President of the Cayman Islands Angling Club and Chairman of the Cayman Islands International Fishing Tournament, mentioned that overseas competitors would return for next year's event in a Net News article earlier this year.

He explained that Scotts Marine will be opening a marina in 2008 to help attract overseas boats to compete in the event.

Rewalt was very appreciative of the award bestowed upon him earlier this year. He enjoys his retirement in the Cayman Islands and feels right at home.

"I love the people of the Cayman Islands and they have been so wonderful," he said.

He has been married for 30 years and has four children, three boys and one girl. While Mr Rewalt enjoyed his fishing expeditions and adventures, it was the community spirit that he loved the most.

"While the world records were fun, the greatest thing I got out of fishing were the people that I met," he noted.