Dear Sir / Madam

I thought that you may be interested in my catch report for a big Blue Marlin that I caught in Madeira last sunday afternoon, I have been chasing a big Blue for years but never had the honour to finally land one of these magnificent creatures until the 9th of June this year, we left Calheta harbour on the "RAZZIN HELL" captained by Charlie Smith and 1st mate Matthew Waddell, the boats dog mako and my mate Mannfred from Germany, we headed out of port and turned towards Funchal at about 12.45pm, Charlie started to set the rods and lures and then the outriggers.
Everything was set, the lures and enticer in the water, the sun shining down with a slight breeze gently rocking the boat as we headed off on our adventure into the unknown.
We had been out of Calheta harbour about 55 minutes chatting about our possible chances for the day when it all happened at once, Mannfred saw something in the wake of the starboard shotgun lure then all hell broke loose and it was battle stations, Charlie and Matt flew down the ladder and then I followed as quickly as I could, we had rehearsed the scenario many times, but now it was finally happening, I grabbed the rod and strapped myself into the chair and attached myself to what would be the fish of a lifetime.
The line left the reel at an amazing speed 200, 500, 1000 metres of line gone in less than a couple of minutes, Charlie adjusted the clutch on the reel and battle commenced, slowly but surely I managed to retrieve some of the 1000 metres that had been stripped from the reel, it was take 50, lose a hundred, the feeling was amazing the power of the fish was like nothing I had felt before, the adrenalin rush was filling me with power, I was not letting this fish of a lifetime evade me.
After 30 minutes I had retrieved nearly all of the 1000 metres that had been stripped from the reel and Charlie said to me, about 40 metres to go, I kept the tention on as I could not afford to make any mistakes in this battle of wits and just as we thought we had beaten this creature, it took off again, again taking at least a 1000 metres off the reel once more and so the battle began again, by this time the sweat was pouring out of me, Charlie was giving me water, Matt was doing a superb job of guiding and following the fish on the end of the line and the battle continued, again we were close to having the beast beaten and again it took off with amazing speed and power as if it had just been hooked, alas, this third run proved to be the fishes brave and final last run in this amazing fight of power and endurance, it had spent its energy and after 1 hour and 37 minutes the bill appeared out of the water behind the boat followed by the rest of this beautiful creature, Mannfred took pictures while Charlie and Matt secured the fish, when it was secured and safe, I could leave the chair that had brought me my dream fish and the catch of a lifetime and then I saw the monster Marlin that I had been chasing for all those years, a magnificent sight had finally graced my eyes, there it was right before me, my limbs aching from the battle, my legs like jelly and my heart pounding from the thrill of winning this battle with the fish of a lifetime, numerous photos were taken from all angles and then Matt removed the hook with two fingers and I was amazed that the fish had managed to stay on while so lightly hooked, Charlie moved the boat forward and we towed the amazing fish behind us trying to revive this creature from the deep, we tried to revive the fish for 30 minutes but its last final run had been too much for this majestical creature from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean and sadly the fish had died from a suspected heart attack, it had given its all and I was honoured to have felt its power and agility.
We decided to bring the fish on board, which was easier said than done, it took all four of us all of our strength and everything we had in reserve to bring this treasure on board and once we had secured the Big Blue Marlin on the deck, we began to realise the true size of this fish from the deep, it measured 4m from tail to the tip of the sword like beak, the tail was 1.5m from tip to tip, the circumference came in at an amazing 1.625m and then Matt worked out the approximate weight from a known and trusted method to estimate the weight which is 95% accurate, we all waited with baited breath as Matt did his calculations and then he was ready, 820-850lb, silence fell over the boat as we all realised the true size of this truly beautiful majestic monster Blue Marlin on the deck of the boat.
The trip and all those years waitng were worth every second of dissapointment and the true relevance of what I had finally achieved with the capture of this creature that lay before me.
When we reached Calheta, news had already filtered through of our catch and the crowds were waitng to see the huge fish be landed, the fish was donated to local charities including the local old peoples and childrens homes in the area.
Charlie and Matt run a superb and professional service from Calhetta harbour and I would recommend their services to anyone, for information on bookings for the boats and the accomodation he has, please visit www.fishinmadeira.com