Storm Cuts Short Mid-Atlantic $500K

OCEAN CITY- The arrival of Hurricane Irene late last week put a sudden end to the 19th Annual Mid-Atlantic $500,000, but not before a local boat, the “Lady Luck V,” hung an 82-pound white marlin to take first place in the tournament’s glamour division and a check for $380,700.

For several years now, the MA500 has been one of the highlights of the resort area’s summer tournament season, second only perhaps to the White Marlin Open, but Mother Nature did not exactly cooperate this year. The tournament got underway last Monday with just a handful of the 117 boats entered in both Ocean City and Cape May fishing on Day One.

By Tuesday and Wednesday, the weather and seas improved and the action off the coast heated up as the leaderboard began to fill out in all categories. By Thursday, however, conditions began to deteriorate again and with the pending arrival of Hurricane Irene and the evacuation of coastal areas in Maryland and New Jersey, the last day of the tournament was scrapped.

The abbreviated tournament was bad news for most boat that entered the event, but good news for many that got on the leaderboard before it came to an end. For example, angler Steve Ramsey and the crew on the “Lady Luck V” out of Ocean City had the heaviest white marlin, an 82-pounder, on the board when the tournament was cancelled and earned $380,700. The crew on the “Espadon” was second with a 76-pound white marlin, while the “Big Dog” and the “Sailmaker” shared third with matching 75-pounders.

The “Tail Spin” took first place in the blue marlin division with a 565-pounder, while the “Hubris” was second with a 498-pound blue marlin and the “Pumpin’ Hard 66,” also out of Ocean City, was third with a 494-pound blue marlin. The “Impulse V” took first in the tuna division with a 148-pounder, while the Ocean City-based “Par Five” was second with a 71-pounder and the “Dumb and Dumber” was third with a 63-pound tuna.

The “Hit and Run” took first in the dolphin division with a 53-pounder, followed by the “Lucky Duck II” with a 38-pounder and the “Paver” with a 30-pound dolphin. The “Black Beard’s Revenge” won the wahoo division with a 53-pounder, while the “Milling Around” took second with a 47-pounder.