PLYMOUTH, MA— Plymouth 400 Inc.’s Bass and Blue fishing tournament and Seafood Smackdown drew crowds to the waterfront for a weekend of family-friendly activities which are part of the organization’s series of Pre-Commemoration Events designed to raise awareness of the upcoming 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage and founding of Plymouth Colony in 2020. The results from the Seafood Smackdown, Oyster Shuck-Off, and Fishing Tournament are below.
Seafood Smackdown
The Seafood Smackdown on Saturday, July 11th hosted by Chef Ray Alongi, who was featured on Hell’s Kitchen with Gordon Ramsay, gave two local amateur chefs the chance to impress a panel of judges with their best fish taco recipe. Karen Leavitt, a teacher from Plymouth, and Andy Laubi, a bartender from Westport, faced off in “Foodzilla”, a 34’ full-service kitchen on wheels in Pilgrim Memorial State Park.
Andy Laubi was announced the winner, with his deep fried fillet of haddock on a soft taco with ginger mango salsa on a bed of sliced cabbage finished with a wasabi sauce. His recipe will be featured at the New World Tavern in Plymouth from July 17th—July 19th.
Oyster Shuck-Off
Plymouth Rock Oysters donated oysters for a contest to see who can shuck a dozen oysters the fastest. Bob Gosselin of Saquish Oyster Company won the competition, finishing before both Bill Doyle of Plymouth Rock Oysters and Scott Smith of Gatehouse Media.
Bass and Blue Fishing Tournament
This year marked the fourth annual Bass & Blue fishing tournament, which had 180 registered participants and more than $4,300 in prizes for the winners. The winners are:
Adult Bass Division
1st Place
Jim Auld
43.9 lbs
2nd Place
Mike Golden
38.7 lbs
3rd Place
Terry Downs
35.8 lbs
Adult Bluefish Division
1st Place
Rick Herb
13.7 lbs
2nd Place
Will Johnstone
13.7 lbs
3rd Place
Greg Brenner
13.4 lbs
Youth Bass Division
1st Place
Hunter Bows
27.6 lbs
2nd Place
Olivia Gherardi
23.3 lbs
3rd Place
Adam Carpenter
22.5 lbs
Youth Bluefish Division
1st Place
Caetlin O’Brien
11.9 lbs
2nd Place
Daniel Comeau
11.0 lbs
3rd Place
Max Balboni
10.3 lbs
Team Division
1st Place
Team Cavacco
24.6 lbs
“Our Bass and Blue committee led by Peter Balboni, who is also on our board of directors, has been producing this fishing tournament for four years now and each year it gets bigger and better. We wanted to continue that trend by adding additional components, this year’s being a seafood event,” said Michele Pecoraro, Executive Director of Plymouth 400, Inc. “This year’s Bass and Blue weekend featured a world-renowned Great White Shark expert Greg Skomal at the Captains and Crew kickoff event, our first ever Seafood Smackdown, and the Oyster Shuck-Off. We collaborated with several different organizations, like Foodzilla On Wheels, Project Arts and Alden Park to really bring something educational and entertaining to Plymouth.”
Plymouth 400 will continue to expand this and its other Pre-Commemoration Events and Programs in the years leading up to 2020 to engage as many different audiences and communities, as the Plymouth 400 commemoration will be of international scale and significance. To learn more about Plymouth 400, visit our website at www.plymouth400inc.org
About Plymouth 400, Inc.
Plymouth 400, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization in Plymouth, Massachusetts formed to lead the planning and execution of programs and events commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage and the founding of Plymouth Colony in 2020. The Plymouth 400 Anniversary will highlight the cultural contributions and American traditions that began with the interaction of the Wampanoag and English peoples, a story that significantly shaped the building of America.
