Devotion Is the Greatest Bait
Photo courtesy of Ocean Tribe Northeast
“The Peace King Cup is a great opportunity to inherit the spirit of True Parents on the ocean, especially for our youth,” says tournament coordinator Minobu Joo. “This year’s winner prayed about the tournament, [showing] devotion really is the greatest bait!”
The Peace King Cup is an annual weeklong fishing tournament on the Hudson River — a local tradition established by True Parents in 2000 that commemorates their Holy Wedding Anniversary. The 2022 competition, which ran from May 14 to 21, had a large turnout of excited participants.
“Some people came from other states,” says Minobu. “This year 88 people joined in on the fun. It’s a great educational activity for the community, and the largest fish this year was very big and impressive.”
Photo courtesy of Ocean Tribe Northeast
The target fish every year is the striped bass — also known as the striper or rockfish — which is primarily found along the Atlantic coast of North America. On the ocean, avid and new anglers alike were dedicated to catching the fish as they bonded over the experience together.
“Some days were hard,” says Minobu. “Some people didn’t get a bite all day long. But still, many people went out despite slow days and a thunderstorm in the rainy forecast. The tournament had multiple striped bass that were more than 40 inches long.”
In fact, the largest fish measured 43 inches and was caught by deckhand Hiroaki Matsuura, who wasn’t competing in the tournament. Joseph, a young Unificationist from New York, came in first place with a 42.5-inch fish.
“He prayed for a week to win this tournament because he was representing the ‘Up & Coming’ youth group,” says Minobu. “The group’s leader, Stephanie Dias, invited him to the tournament and even offered up a condition of 120 bows to support him.”
Photo courtesy of Ocean Tribe Northeast
True Parents, founders of the Ocean Providence, taught that fishing on the sea can lead to many great skills, including character-building and leadership. “It’s important to train young people on the ocean, just like True Parents did,” says Minobu. “At the same time, we want our youth to inherit our providential ocean businesses as well. Ocean Tribe is a great way to train young people in this way.”
The local Ocean Tribe chapter, in New Jersey, ran concurrent education programs on the Ocean Providence for tournament participants. The chapter also hosts weekly meetups, webinars, boating and fishing programs for community members, captain training, ocean challenges, social media groups and more.
“We’re going to try to run our boats all season long this year,” says Minobu, “and we hope to get even more programs going, like weekend workshops.”
Still, the tournament is a highlight for many, including Rev. Hobin Lee and Michael Brunkhorst, who came in second and third place, respectively, both catching 41-inch fish.
Photo courtesy of Ocean Tribe Northeast
“We saw so many beautiful smiles on the boats,” says Minobu. “My husband, who was one of the captains, said he observed some very good fishers.”
On May 21, an awards ceremony at the Clifton Family Church featured messages from Dr. Chung Sik Yong, Regional President, FFWPU North America, and Rev. Naokimi Ushiroda, President, FFWPU USA. Testimonies from the winning boat captain, Manuel Liba, and first place winner, Joseph, were also part of the program, as well as presentations on Ocean Tribe and the importance of the Ocean Providence.
“I’m grateful to all the captains and staff that helped with the fishing tournament,” said Dr. Yong. “I had a fishing experience with True Parents where I attended a 40-day tournament in Paraguay, South America. I fasted every morning until I had a breakthrough,” he said. “I realized that fish abide by jeongseong (devotion).”
You can learn more about Ocean Tribe here, and get more information about upcoming activities in the Northeast by emailing minobus@gmail.com.