Sails and Flare Surge in Day 1 of The Cape Cod Invitational
Two blue marlin make all the difference while the defending winners and runners-up look to get on the leaderboard
The South Florida Sails cling to a 200 point lead heading into the final day of the Cape Cod Invitational, presented by Comparion Insurance Agency. With weather forcing the event to only two days, every release carries greater weight.
The tournament began before sunrise as six boats departed Falmouth Harbor together at 5:00 AM ET, with Lights Out Boston leading the fleet out of the inlet. An early mechanical scare briefly slowed the South Carolina Outcast as they exited the harbor, but the issue was quickly resolved.
Midday brought a major announcement from SFC Commissioner Mark Neifeld, who confirmed that a National Weather Service small-craft advisory issued for Sunday forced the league to cancel Championship Sunday. The Cape Cod Invitational will instead conclude with Championship Saturday.
The South Florida Sails started the scoring with a triple release just after 12:40 PM, as Westin Bomnskie, Alex Stanley, and Mark McDevitt each contributed to quickly build a 300-point advantage. North Carolina Flare answered moments later with back-to-back white marlin releases from David Dressler and Walker Diab to remain within striking distance.
The tournament's biggest swing came shortly before 3:00 PM when the South Florida Sails converted on a blue marlin. Lee Albarty earned the release, surging the Sails to 750 points.
Cape Cod grounds lived up to its "Tuna Town" nickname in the late afternoon, with multiple clubs, including East Coast Remix, Lights Out Boston, and New Jersey Sea Birds all boating several tunas, which while delicious, do not factor into scoring for this tournament.
Later in the day after the SFC live broadcast went off the air, South Carolina Outcast made progress. Newcomer Joe Lodge put the Lowcountry Legends on the board with a white marlin release before Steven Lackey quickly added another, bringing the Outcast even with North Carolina Flare at 200 points. Flare retained second place through the tiebreaker rules of reaching that total earlier.
South Florida Sails continued to strengthen their position when Alex Stanley released another white marlin, extending their total to 850 points. East Coast Remix also broke into the scoring column late as Ryan Alexander earned the team's first white marlin release of the tournament.
North Carolina Flare hooked up with a blue marlin just before lines out, with Captain Brian Dressler calling in the hookup in the closing minutes before lines out. David Dressler successfully completed the release at 7:13 PM. The 450-point catch vaulted Flare to 650 points, trimming South Florida's lead to just two white marlin’s worth of points (200) heading into the tournament's decisive final day.
Championship Saturday will begin with the South Florida Sails leading the way, with the New Jersey Sea Birds and Lights Out Boston looking to get onto the leaderboard. As we have learned from last year’s tournament in the northeast, anything can happen in a day’s time, so this tournament is far from over.
DAY 1 LEADERBOARD
South Florida Sails - 850 Points
North Carolina Flare - 650 Points
South Carolina Outcast - 200 Points
East Coast Remix - 100 Points
New Jersey Sea Birds
Light Out Boston