Just like last year, Crisdel was the big winner in last week’s White Marlin Invitational, sponsored by the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club.
The crew, captained by George Steller, had a $147,000 payday. In 2022, they sailed off with $110,000.
“They caught three large big-eyed tuna, with the heaviest at 116 pounds,” said Dave Wittenborn, tournament director.
The winners are based in Islamorada, Fla.
“It’s a tournament boat,” said Wittenborn, invitational director. “They take it all over the East Coast for these events.“
Rounding out the top 10 winners were Shark Bite, $81,000; Bandit, $58,000; Big Oil, $47,000; Mollie, $41,000; Char Co, $27,000; One Shot, $21,000; Mow Money, $9,000; Lit Up, $8,532; and Conflicted, $4,725.
Wittenborn said a total of $550,000 in prize money was awarded, up from $500,000 last year.
“Each year, we try to increase the purse,” he said.
Wittenborn said prevailing west winds during the tournament made for rough sea conditions.
“It usually takes me about three and a half hours to get from the Hudson Canyon to Beach
Haven,” he said. “This time it took six hours.“
This is the third year of the tournament’s Marlinfest, which took place at the public parking area at the end of Dock Road throughout the invitational. It featured vendors and live music.
“A big highlight is people watching the fish get weighed at the weigh station,” said Wittenborn. “That draws a big crowd.”
There was the potential for some complications due to the fact that pop megastar Taylor Swift and other celebrities were in the vicinity to attend the wedding of Swift’s producer, Jack Antonoff.
“It didn’t create any problems at all,” said Wittenborn. “They did their thing and we did ours.”
