{"id":350948,"date":"2021-09-01T06:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-31T20:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=350948"},"modified":"2021-09-01T06:01:00","modified_gmt":"2021-08-31T20:01:00","slug":"lets-continue-to-enjoy-our-saturdays-in-his-honor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/lets-continue-to-enjoy-our-saturdays-in-his-honor\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Let\u2019s continue to enjoy our Saturdays in his honor\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"ISLA
The family of I Sanhalom Laguna Anglers Association late president Mike \u201cPalaksi\u201d Sablan poses for a group photo during the awards ceremony of the 2021 ISLA Mafute Derby last Saturday at the Smiling Cove Marina. (Mark Rabago)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Almost a year ago, I Sanhalom Laguna Anglers Association wasn\u2019t even sure they will be able to stage their annual Mafuti Derby.<\/p>\n

Not only was the 2020 edition of the tournament cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fishing club was also mourning the passing of its president Mike \u201cPalaksi\u201d Sablan.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward to last Saturday and not only was ISLA able to hold the 2021 ISLA Mafuti Derby, they were also able to honor their founder\u2019s legacy by posting a record number of participants with 64 boats joining the one-day event.<\/p>\n

No less than Sablan\u2019s fishing partner and now ISLA president, J.D. Tenorio, toasted the late president\u2019s legacy in a brief speech during the awards ceremony Saturday at the Smiling Cove Marina.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re honored to have you guys today and we\u2019re honored to have his family here today. It was an extremely difficult derby to kind of hold. We\u2019ve been through a lot these past few years. We lost a good friend, a brother, and a family member. We just would like to thank you all for your support and for coming out today to honor Mike\u2019s legacy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He went on to say that ISLA started in 2000 when Sablan, his brother, and a bunch of really close friends founded a club that would hold a competition for small boat owners that weren\u2019t able to participate in international derbies. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey were not able to go out to the rough seas as much as larger boats so they felt why not do something for the fishermen that are usually fishing in-shore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Those competitions would eventually evolve into the first-ever Mafute Derby in 2018. \u201cIt started in 2018 and now 2021 this is where we\u2019re at. The first derby was about 15 boats, the second derby was 22 boats, and the third derby we\u2019re up to about 64 boats,\u201d said Tenorio.<\/p>\n

He said ISLA\u2019s success wouldn\u2019t have been possible without Sablan\u2019s vision and guiding hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sure hope Mike is looking down smiling at us and just thinking about what a great job everybody has done and feeling good about the legacy he has left behind,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

In behalf of ISLA\u2019s members, Tenorio also extended his gratitude to their wives, most specially Sablan\u2019s widow.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny fisherman knows that you\u2019re ability to go out and fish won\u2019t be possible without your significant other, your family members, and there\u2019s one lady that stood by Mike\u2019s side when we started this, our sister Bon, and their kids\u2014Liam, Bon-Bon, and Donna\u2014thank you all for coming out.\u201d<\/p>\n

ISLA vice president Ross Arriola seconded Tenorio and said the club is planning to hold a couples derby in the future so their wives can join in on the action.<\/p>\n

He also paid tribute to Sablan and said the record number of boats this year is an acknowledgment of how loved the late ISLA president was in the fishing community. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all because of one man who had a vision and that\u2019s our late president Mike Palaksi. Last year was a very difficult year as ISLA went through rough waters. Not only did we suffer through a pandemic but we also suffered through the loss of our captain. He wasn\u2019t with us but he was with us in spirit. We were very fortunate that a few people stepped up. I want to thank our current president, J.D. Tenorio, for taking the helm and taking over the captain\u2019s quarters and leading us through this derby,\u201d said Arriola.<\/p>\n

Sablan\u2019s daughter, Bon-Bon, best summed up the entire mood of last Saturday\u2019s fishing derby as it served as an impromptu tribute to his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis goal was always to make this mufute derby better each time. With 64 registered this year I\u2019m proud to say that we have achieved that goal for him. We are saddened by his absence today but thank God that in knowing that he\u2019s got the best seat in the house, the best view of today\u2019s memorable event, and in celebration of this successful event this year let\u2019s continue to enjoy our Saturdays in his honor. So here\u2019s to bigger and better, Dad!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Almost a year ago, I Sanhalom Laguna Anglers Association wasn\u2019t even sure they will be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":350950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-350948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}