OCEAN CITY- The Ocean City Marlin Club regained the Challenge Cup last weekend, ending a run by the Cape May Marlin and Tuna Club in the tournament last Saturday shortened to a one-day event by rough offshore conditions.
The 38th Charles Kratz and Scott Smith Challenge Cup, pitting boats and teams of anglers from each club against each other with bragging rights and a handsome trophy on the line for the next year, was held last Saturday in a tournament shortened to one day because of rough conditions offshore last Friday.
The tournament began in 1979 as an informal competition between the two clubs that fish the same canyons off the coast. The two rival clubs meet each September to compete for the cup and bragging rights for the next year. Cape May had been on a roll in recent years after retiring a cup in 2014 and winning again last year to start a new cup. If ever one team wins the tournament three years in a row, the trophy is retired and turned over to the winning club.
Cape May had the upper hand recently until last Saturday’s abbreviated tournament. A total of 25 boats from the Ocean City Marlin Club signed up, along with 24 from the Cape May club. The top six boats from each club are averaged to determine the final score. The Ocean City Marlin Club boats released 126 whites and one blue, while the Cape May club released 58 whites and one blue marlin.
When the scores were tabulated, the Ocean City Marlin Club won the tournament with an average number of points for their top six boats at 787.5. Cape May’s top six boats finished with an average of 500 points. Leading the Ocean City Marlin Club was the Makara with 975 points, the Billfisher with 900 points, the Sea Slammer with 825 points, the Bar South with 825 points, the Intents with 675 and the Greta’s Three J’s with 525.