Oorah vs. Hooah Battle 2007
Despite Mother Nature’s attempts to interfere, the first annual Oorah vs. Hooah Hope for the Warriors Fishing Battle, hosted by Bridge Tender Marina on Friday, October 5, was an overwhelming success. The event provided an opportunity for some friendly fishing competition between 16 Marines (representing the Oorah contingent) and 16 Army soldiers (the Hooah segment), all recovering from wounds sustained while fighting in Iraq.
Eight sportfishing boats from Wrightsville Beach’s charter and private boat fleet stepped forward to treat the warriors to a day of offshore fishing, and they made the event possible despite a less than ideal forecast. “It was blowing 15 to 25 knots out of the NE,” event organizer Kitt Taylor explained, “but by having the big, top of the line sportfishermen, we were able to do it. If we’d gone with smaller boats, we’d never have been able to get offshore.”
When the boats reached the Stream, the military members were greeted with excellent fishing. “Every boat had a couple of wahoo,” Taylor reported, “and two sailfish were released. One boat stayed inshore due to the conditions, and they had a great catch of kings and amberjacks.”
Marine Corporal Vince Snyder, of Cleveland, OH, fished with Capt. Chris Bailey aboard the “Lane Choice,” and caught the event’s largest fish, a 56 lb. wahoo that he fought for nearly half an hour.
“He hit it really easy,” Snyder said of the trophy-winning fish, “but Chris and Sam (mate) both said ‘we’ve got a good one,’ and then he took a hundred yards of line in a few seconds. My father had a boat when we used to live in Swansboro, and I’d done some inshore and offshore fishing before, but I’ve never seen or brought in anything this large.”
The big wahoo caught aboard “Lane Choice” further cemented a commanding lead for the “Oorah” team in the friendly competition. The four boats carrying Marines out-caught the Army boats 49 fish to 18. The Marines also topped the Army in the event’s smallest fish category, with a 0.14 lb. shad caught aboard the “Whipsaw.”
Taylor and several others came up with the basic idea for the event last winter while talking to Raleigh physician Dr. Rick Wisener, who volunteers in the Marine hospital in Camp Lejeune. “He fishes out of here on the weekends,” Taylor said, “and he introduced the idea of going fishing to some of the Marines at Camp Lejeune who said they’d jump at the opportunity. It went from us taking a couple guys on an outboard out fishing to entertaining 32 guys on an offshore day.”
After deciding to expand the event, the organizers were flooded with support. “We actually had to turn boats away,” explained Taylor. “People called begging to participate, but we didn’t have enough soldiers. We decided to keep it small this year and next year expand it and do the same thing.”
Along with the “Whipsaw” and “Lane Choice,” the other participating boats were “Backin’ Down,” “Thunder,” “Pole Position,” “Shifting Gears,” “Toy Machine,” and “Chicken Ship.”
Coordinating the event with Taylor and others at the Bridge Tender Marina was the Hope For the Warriors organization, a group that helps raise awareness and money for soldiers wounded in Iraq through the website www.hopeforthewarriors.org.
In addition to the fishing trip, the soldiers also enjoyed a dockside gathering with the captains and crew on the Thursday evening before the trip, and a cookout provided by John Boy and Billy’s Big Show Foods on Friday afternoon after the weigh-in.
Taylor wished to express his gratitude to the all sponsors, donors, captains, and crew that made the event possible. “The response from the local merchants and other companies was just unbelievable,” he elaborated. “Everyone was incredibly generous.”
After the conclusion of the cookout and awards ceremony, Army Staff Sgt. A.J. Alston addressed the crowd. “Thank all of you for supporting us and what we do,” Alston said. “Everyone says thank you to us, but please take the time and thank yourselves.”
