Sport Fishing Championship continues Northeast Swing in Martha's Vineyard
by Sport Fishing Championship 11 Jul 2023 16:09 PDT
July 12-15, 2023
Sport Fishing Championship (SFC), the governing body of saltwater tournament fishing, announced today the start of the Oak Bluffs Bluewater Classic in Martha's Vineyard, starting July 12. The tournament will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Team Polarizer continues along the northeast Atlantic circuit, making their second consecutive appearance this week. Currently sitting in fifth place overall, a first-place finish in this tournament would secure Polarizer a second-place slot, right behind Team Quantified, giving them a run at the $1 million prize.
Also competing this week in the Atlantic circuit is Team Gypsea, who during last year's Oak Bluffs Bluewater Classic landed a 103-pound wahoo that earned angler Jordan Sanford the Championship Fish title and $50,000. Captain Taylor Sanford and his team are widely known as strong tuna anglers, and will be focused on catching a bigeye tuna for this season's new Championship Fish Division.
Sponsored by Garmin Marine, the Oak Bluffs Bluewater Classic allows anglers to fish for two straight days before returning to the dock. The fleet of 60 competitors can leave at midnight. Contestants can fish two out of the four fishing days of the tournament starting Wednesday, July 12, heading out from Oak Bluffs Marina and MacDougall's Marina in Falmouth, Mass. The tournament's awards ceremony will be held late on Saturday night.
An annual tournament, Oak Bluffs Bluewater Classic has a long history in the area, and this year features some of the most decorated offshore fishing teams in the northeast. The area is well-known for tuna fishing, and with the bigeye tuna division of the Championship Fish Divisions created just for the northeast, teams are expected to bring in some high-quality fish.
Angling enthusiasts can find the broadcast of all the fun live from the water on CBS Sports Network from 3 to 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, as well as 12 to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Viewers can also get live-from-the-ocean coverage on YouTube at 3 p.m. each day (all times in EDT).
SFC tournament points accrue based on a team's placement in the final tournament standings, with the first-place team earning 3,500 points, the second-place team 3,000 points, and so forth. Placements in the tournament standings are determined from tournament-only points based on species of fish caught and released, with the highest consideration given to blue marlin, then white marlin and spearfish, and finally sailfish and swordfish.
The season schedule next brings anglers to Block Island, Rhode Island, for the Tri-State Canyon Shootout from July 24 to July 27. Events thereafter include: the Texas International Fishing Tournament in South Padre Island, Texas, August 4-6; the White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Maryland, August 7-11; and conclude with the San Juan International Billfish Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico, August 23-25.
To learn more about the Sport Fishing Championship Season, visit sportfishingchampionship.com.