Orphans in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico were able to compete in the “World’s Richest Fishing Tournament” after a hurricane struck their area, putting the contest at risk, and a charity paid the hefty entrance fee for anyone who would hire struggling local captains for the event.

The orphans and their caregiver – none of whom had ever fished before – ended up winning the tournament with a prize of more than $250,000, which they are donating to the Casa Hogar orphanage they share with 42 boys.

The success of this year’s Bisbee’s Black & Blue Fishing Tournament looked bleak in the wake of Hurricane Odile, which followed a path of destruction through host city Cabo San Lucas six weeks ago. But a combination of local determination, charitable help from Dallas-based Bisbee’s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fund, and even some Divine Intervention, made it the most successful Bisbee’s in recent years.

Any other year, the orphanage’s David & Goliath underdogs would not have had the opportunity to fish the tournament due to the prohibitive entry fee. This year, however, Bisbee’s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fund’s “Cabo Relief Fund” introduced the “Bisbee Cabo Charter Hook-up” as a way to stimulate the economy by putting local charter captains – a group in post-hurricane peril – back to work. An anonymous donor pledged to pay the entry fee through the fund to any team that agreed to hire a local boat. Dozens of the 127 competing teams took advantage of the program entering the contest for the first time.

This wasn’t the only initiative spearheaded by Bisbee’s Cabo Relief Fund, which raised more than $750,000 for food, charter boat repair, and temporary homes to those in need.

2,000 clean water systems were installed, each providing potable water up to 100 people per day for five years, distributed through Waves for Water

15 homes were built, and more will be over the coming months

Local charter boats were repaired

Several tons of food were distributed

“In all honesty, up until a couple weeks ago I thought we were going to rally whoever was here at the time, throw some money in a hat and just go fishing to keep the tournament streak going,” said Tournament Director and Fund Founder Wayne Bisbee. “But thanks to all our fantastic anglers and sponsors, somehow we pulled it off and the results are just insane. We helped put a lot of people back to work, caught some good fish and even gave away $2.1 million in prizes and we’re definitely leaving Cabo in better shape than we found it.”

(Source: Bisbees.com) – Story tip Adam Weinbrom