Only three boats caught marlin this year, but the radio crackled with enough “maco shark!” calls to keep everyone wide‑eyed and guessing. Hats off to the boys who kept their spirits high and pushed through to the finish.

Jaen van den Berg tells the tale Maverick Tale. With the help of the Maverick Team sponsored by Airmar he caught a Marlin on Monday 12 February 2024. He tells his story in Afrikaans. It is loosely translated into English below.
Maandag gedurende hierdie kompetisie het een van my grootste drome gerealiseer -‘n gestreepte marlyn.
Al die lyne was in die water gereed vir aksie terwyl ons besig was om te braai en ek die marlyn in die spread raaksien. Alles is net so gelos en die groot adrenalienloop my beet pak … die marlyn is aan die longrigger! 
Die dek word vinnig opgeruim en alles is reg en uit die pad uit terwyl ek die marlyn onder beheer probeer kry.
Die geveg is aanen ek het ongeveer 45min gestoei en getrek met baie raad, bystand en groot opgewondenheid van die crew. Eindelik is die marlyn langs die boot getrek die hoeke verwyder, die marlyn getag en release.

English translation
On Monday, the first fishing day of this competition, my biggest dream came true. I caught a striped marlin!
All lines were in and ready for action while we were busy making a braai, and I saw the marlin in the spread. We left everything as the adrenaline kicked in. The marlin was on the longrigger.
The deck was quickly rearranged, and everything was sorted out while I tried to get the marlin under control. 
The fight continued for forty-five minutes, with plenty of advice and support coming from the other crew members. The excitement was extreme.
Finally, the marlin was brought alongside the boat, and the hook was removed. We also tagged him
Thank you to the crew, JP Groenwald, Ron Penninkoff and Juan Needham, who helped me to shorten my Bucket List.

On Tuesday, 13 February, Simon Hipkin, with the help of his teammates on Sea Cat 2024 winner, caught his first-ever Marlin. This is his story
Our day out on Seacat by Simon Hipkin
It’s my third year here, and up until late yesterday afternoon,  I’d yet to see a marlin. Yes, we have had strikes and near misses, but that’s not quite the same!
As one of the smallest boats that enter the Two Oceans Annual Marlin comp, we don’t have the ability to run to Alfards and the 45 contour. We’ve had a game plan each year – get live bait and try to keep them alive long enough to get plucked by a marlin.
We’ve stuck to this year-on-year and only trolled Conas when we were between spots. Yesterday, we tried everything but couldn’t find a single live bait. So, all in on black as they say. We rigged a spread of 5 Conas and that floppy floppy thing. With 30 minutes to go, my two teammates were both suggesting lines up. Fortunately, I declined, and with 5 minutes to go, we hooked into a black marlin. The exhilaration of that beautiful dark body leaping out of the water is all it’s cracked up to be! It’s a memory I hope I’ll carry with me to the day I die!

Chris Steyn, skipper and cameraman, and Ben Johnson, the leader man, you guys were incredible. Neither of them had skippered or leadered a marlin before yesterday. I’ll go to war with you guys at my side any day.
The elation of getting the fish to the boat, Ben grabbing the leader, to the agony of it, to have it swim off again, just adds to the overall satisfaction. We managed to get it to the boat once again, leader it, remove the hook, and watch it swim off.
I’m hard-pressed to remember a better day on the water, and if not the best day of my lifetime, it’s certainly right up there.

Baie dankie aan die crew JP Groenewald, Ron Penninkoff en Juan Needham wat gehelp het om my bucketlist korter te maak.

Andrew Pawson relates how he caught his marlin with the help of Team Multi
We prepared well for this competition and decided to target a striped marlin. Although we did the “Livey” thing, having seen how successful that was for John Graeme last year, we still had no success.
It was almost lined up, we were in the zone where our skipper had caught marlin before, so we changed the size of the lures and looked for a stripey. Luckily, the timing was right, and the first fish of the day was in my slot on the boat. I was on and quickly realised that if this was a stripey, it would complete the “Slam” for me. Black, blue and a stripey. What a relief when the call came that it was indeed my target fish. Needless to say, I had all the advice from an experienced crew with the normal amount of adjectives!

The fight was tough but worthwhile. We landed the marlin within the extra time. I have to thank my skipper and crew for the privilege.  There is really no better feeling for me than landing a trophy fish like this. Maybe winning the World Cup, again!

It is always a privilege to be part of this tournament!!

Call back the past ends tomorrow when the Nineteenth TOMT tales will be told, but fear not. As the curtain falls on these historic stories, the Twentieth TOMT is already stirring on the horizon, and you can be sure the next wave of stories is waiting to break.