S H O R T S H O R T S • •
Ben Smith, second from right, congratulates Jed Galloway of
Doc Fees for bringing in the winning 28.7-pound tuna at the
Masonboro Inlet Sportfishing Tournament on April 28 at Wrights-
ville Beach Marina. Weighmasters were Chris Wolfe, left, and
Jimmy Vass, right.
ALLISON POTTER 14
IFISHING SEASON OPENS N 1987, Wrightsville Beach fisherman Rob Tennille organized
the inaugural Masonboro Inlet Sportfishing Tournament to
give local captains the opportunity to get their boats out on
the water and wet their lines after the winter.
Three decades later, the tournament held the last weekend of
April still serves as the unofficial start to the spring fishing season.
“It’s the first tournament of the year,” says Jimmy Vass,
Wrightsville Beach charter boat captain and one of the organiz-ers.
“It gives guys a chance to break their boats in. It’s always
been a lot of fun.”
The tournament also serves as a memorial to Tennille, who died
in August 2014.
“Everybody volunteers to keep it going in his memory,” Vass says.
The spirit still remains true to Tennille’s original vision. It was
created as a laidback alternative to more expensive tournaments
like the Big Rock, where entry fees run in the thousands of dollars.
“The rules are it’s a gentlemen’s tournament,” Vass says.
“We kind of joke, no harpoons or dynamite. There’s not a lot of
money. It’s a $300 entry fee, and a lot of people donate their prize
money to charity.”
Twenty boats participated this year. The big winner was The
Horse, captained by Les Edwards, which landed a 58-pound wahoo.
— Simon Gonzalez
MEMORY TREE THERE’S a new magnolia tree at Harbor Way Gardens in Wrightsville Beach,
planted on Arbor Day by members of the Harbor Island Garden Club in mem-ory
of Oma Russell, a longtime member of the club who died last November.
“Oma was a joy to have around, because she always entertained us. She was
witty,” says club member Linda Brown. “She wasn’t able to do much gardening, but she
always came to the meetings and socials. She was like
a breath of fresh air to us. Loved to tell stories about
Wrightsville Beach that the younger girls loved to hear.
That was Miss Oma.”
The club every spring plants a tree on Arbor Day in
memory or honor of a club member. This year’s tree is
a teddy bear magnolia.
“It’s what we would call a hybrid native,” club mem-ber
Elise Running says. “It’s a Southern tree. The teddy
bear has leaves that are fuzzy on the back. That’s where
the teddy bear comes from. They grow in a conical
shape, and never need any pruning. It’s always a beau-tiful
shape.” — Simon Gonzalez
WBM june 2018
ALLISON POTTER
Members of the Harbor Island
Garden Club planted a teddy bear
magnolia in memory of Oma Russell
(left), who died on Nov. 15, 2017.
WBM FILE PHOTO