Day 1 of SFC’s Rhode Island Offshore Invitational, presented by MeetPerry, the penultimate event of the Atlantic schedule, opened Friday with adversity. Five of the six competing boats departed the docks at 5:00 AM, while North Carolina Flare were forced to remain in port after discovering an issue regarding their house battery. After a quick stop at West Marine, Flare AC finally got underway at 7:00 AM, already chasing the fleet before lines had even tightened.
The first points of the tournament belonged to South Carolina Outcast, who at 10:55 AM converted white marlin double. The hot streak continued just over 20 minutes later when Steven Lackey added another white marlin release, bringing the Outcast to 300 points.
The performance was especially meaningful as they are competing without Captain Stuart Lackey, who left for home yesterday due to a family emergency. Steven Lackey handled the run offshore while another member of the crew took the helm during fishing.
The tournament lead changed hands just minutes after Outcast's opening double.
At 11:06 AM, Lee Albarty released a blue marlin for South Florida Sails AC, earning 450 points and vaulting the division leaders into first place.
North Carolina Flare's delayed start made it that much more exciting when Mark Dressler released a blue marlin at 3:47 PM, pulling the club even with the leaders despite losing two critical hours of running and fishing time.
Two minutes later, Mark McDevitt answered immediately with a white marlin release for South Florida Sails, extending the lead.
While the top three clubs on the leaderboard established themselves early, the race for valuable placement points in the middle of the pack intensified.
Lights Out Boston finally broke through at 5:19 PM when Jackie Hayes released a white marlin, and just before lines-out, Kyle Paparelli hooked up with another white marlin, releasing it shortly after lines out, at 7:02 PM. A legal release, due to them hooking up before the 7:00 PM hour. The pair of releases moved Lights Out into fourth place with 200 points; an important start for a club that needs every available placement point with only two tournaments to go in the regular season to defend their 2025 Division Crown.
New Jersey Sea Birds briefly had fans watching a live double hookup during the afternoon broadcast, but both fish turned out to be tuna. The billfish points finally came at 6:41 PM, when Mike O'Connor released a white marlin to put the Sea Birds on the scoreboard with 100 points.
East Coast Remix remained the only competing club without a billfish release on Friday, though with two full days remaining, the leaderboard remains well within reach. In the meantime, we remain on the lookout for news on The Rhode Island Breakers arrival. The boat appears to be running, but not a navigational issue with autopilot and inclement weather further south standing in the expansion club’s way of competing in their home event.
With two days still to fish, no lead is safe in Newport. Blue marlin continue to be the difference-maker, but a hot stretch of white marlin releases can erase deficits in a hurry.
South Florida Sails will look to protect a slim 100-point advantage over North Carolina Flare, while South Carolina Outcast remains within striking distance. Meanwhile, Lights Out Boston and New Jersey Sea Birds both have plenty of opportunities remaining to make a move in what promises to be a pivotal weekend in the Atlantic Division championship race.
Day 1 Leaderboard
South Florida Sails - 550 Points
North Carolina Flare - 450 Points
South Carolina Outcast - 300 Points
Lights Out Boston - 200 Points
New Jersey Sea Birds - 100 Points
East Coast Remix
Rhode Island Breakers
The Flock cap off a historic weekend by avenging their second place Atlantic Division finish in 2025.
The Sea Birds mount a furious rally to be within striking distance of their old rivals from 2025
The Flock cap off a historic weekend by avenging their second place Atlantic Division finish in 2025.
Lights Out Boston start hot in defense of their tournament win last year.
The Atlantic Division caps off its regular season in Ocean City
The Atlantic Division comes down to this final stop in Ocean City
