Rocky Franich remembers the days when “the King Kamehameha Hotel was at one end of town and the Kona Inn was at the other end of town.”
Back then, Franich said, the West Side of Hawaii had only one police officer, and he patrolled on a bicycle.
The Californian has seen plenty change over the past 52 years, but the one constant for him has been the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament. Just like he has for more than half a century, Franich head out on Kailua Bay Monday morning when the 55th annual tournament begins.
“This is the granddaddy of all the billfish tournaments,” said a three-time champion, who will compete as captain of the Pajaro Valley Gamefish Club. “This one is the Kentucky Derby or the Indy 500 or the Masters golf tournament of fishing tournaments.”
For Franich, it also marked his first foray into the sport.
“It all started here,” he recalled on Kailua Pier after the opening ceremonies on Sunday evening. “I wasn’t a fisherman until I came here. And I’ve made friends all over the world. The captains are terrific here. The charter fleet is best in the world and it’s a great place where you can have a very competitive tournament because there are a lot of quality boats. The water is flat. The fish are big. It’s paradise in terms of the weather and place to be. It’s Hawaii.”
Franich said the event is different than the other half-dozen tournaments that he competes in around the world. For one thing, it’s not a “money tournament,” so while the teams – which include entries from Australia, China, Japan, Kenya, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Africa and Vanuatu this year — will make every effort to win, it’s not the cutthroat competition that Franich sees in some other tournaments.
“It’s more about friendship, fellowship, sharing ideas, having a good time,” he said. “It’s a high level of competition, but you want to beat the other guy at his best, not because you tricked him into doing something.”
Sunday’s opening ceremonies included the traditional march to the pier with each country being represented by a flag-bearer. The national anthems of each representative country was played by the Hawaii County Band and hula dancers performed on the pier.
Thirty-three teams will compete in the tournament, which runs through Friday. Peter Fithian, the tournament’s founder, is expecting another great event.
“We had wonderful meetings this morning,” he said Sunday. “People were saying how glad they were to be here for this tournament, which is world-renowned.”