Michael Jordan and his Catch 23 fishing boat got him his first sailfish tournament victory at the 57th Buccaneer in North Palm Beach, Florida.
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The Bulls legend has resorted to a variety of mildly competitive activities since retirement. MJ was already an avid golfer, often spending his days on the greens and his nights on the basketball court. He’s opened a golf course named Slaughterhouse 23 in Florida, built to his strengths.
Jordan also bought a NASCAR team recently, becoming the first African-American to own one. His outfit competes with an appropriate moniker – 23XI. Michael Jordan roped in NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin to be the co-owner of the team.
Fishing is a work of patience and tediousness, and often leaves you crestfallen with nothing to show for your efforts. But in a competitive setting, it is exactly the kind of adrenaline rush that MJ probably still craves.
Michael Jordan wins his first sailfish tournament with Catch 23
The Buccaneer tournament awards 200 points for each sailfish caught using live bait and 300 for each dead-bait catch. A fleet of 38 boats fished the event, tallying 63 sailfish caught in two days’ fishing.
Catch 23 is a Viking style 80 foot sailboat. Led by Capt. Stetson Turney, they caught and released seven sailfish in the tournament. Jordan himself caught 2 of them. Catch 23 used only live bait. That gave Catch 23 the trophy with 1,400 points, ahead of second-place De-Bait-Able with 1,200.
Over the past 2 years or so, MJ has participated in a number of marlin fishing tournaments around North Carolina. One of the notable tournament entries for Catch 23 was in December 2019, at the Light Tackle Sailfish Tournament. In this event organized by Stuart Sailfish Club, Catch 23 finished a credible third.
