'Richest tuna tournament in the world' set for August 19-24

[Sam]

By Mid-Atlantic $500,000

Wed, Jun 13, 2007

Records in some sports often stand for decades and a few may never be broken. Others have been equaled or surpassed several times over a couple of seasons. The same is true in the world of big game tournament fishing, particularly at the Mid-Atlantic $500,000, where setting records has become a special ingredient in the success of the event and last year was no different. Few people thought the record 432 white marlin released during the 1999 tournament would ever be broken but last year many were left shaking their head in disbelief after 533 white marlin were released with the top boat, Al Conan's Ditch Digger, tallying 26 releases! With a record field of 176 boats last year as well, that translates to one white marlin per-boat per-day! If that doesn't get your attention, the cash handed out to the winners surely will. A record purse of nearly $1.99 million was doled out to lucky winners with Steve Castellini's Uncle T walking off with his record portion of $803,415 for an 88-pound white marlin. Dennis Meinhart got in on the cash records as well after he earned $255,295 for a 184-pound tuna aboard his Sea Wolf. Could another record setting tournament be in store for participants this year? Time will tell as preparations are underway for the 2007 Mid-Atlantic $500,000 and Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May, New Jersey will again serve as tournament headquarters during the week of August 19-24. For those who desire to sail from Ocean City, Maryland, Sunset Marina is the host facility out of the tournament's only satellite port. Participants from either port must fish within 125 miles of the Cape May Sea Buoy in this trolling only event where boats select three days from five available fish days to ply the canyons of the mid-Atlantic region for white marlin, blue marlin, tuna, wahoo and dolphin. A field of 125 boats guarantees a cash purse of at least $500,000 in tournament proceeds with the three heaviest white marlin and three heaviest blue marlin each worth $100,000, $50,000 and $25,000 respectively. The top three tuna earn $75,000, $35,000 and $20,000 while the single heaviest dolphin and wahoo each are worth $10,000. Five levels of calcuttas will again be available and will most likely push the total cash purse to well over $1.75 million and quite possibly above $2 million! Minimum weights for billfish to qualify are 60 pounds for white marlin and 400 pounds for blue marlin and all undersized billfish are released and the top point earners win valuable Guy Harvey tournament artwork awards. These strict minimum weights are in place so only a small number of billfish required to award cash prizes are ever brought to the scales in this event and the tournament has a proud history of releasing over 95% of the marlin caught! Dockside hospitality is a special part of the tournament and it all starts on Sunday, August 19 under the Big Top tournament tent at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May with the captain's meeting and rules explanation followed by cocktails, shrimp, clams and other finger food. Each night thereafter crews will enjoy buffet dinners with adult beverages and live entertainment capped by the fabulous awards ceremony and Lobster House buffet dinner. The tournament benefits the International Game Fish Association, National Coalition for Marine Conservation and Recreational Fishing Alliance and several fund raising activities are planned for tournament week to benefit these organizations. If you want to be part of what has become, boat for boat, the richest marlin and tuna tournament in the world, please contact tournament Director Bob Glover at 609-884-2400 to request information and reserve your spot. Additional details can also be found on the tournament's official web site at www.MA500.com.