Manteo, NC — It wasn’t a minor mishap on the Gulf Stream. Fender Bender cruised to the top boat honors and a hefty payout in the 35th Annual Alice Kelly Memorial Ladies Only Billfish Tournament, which wrapped up on Sunday. Anglers Emma Lowenstein, Becky Snider and Mary Beth Evans each released a blue marlin, good for 150 points each, to capture the first-place trophy. The team also won $48,450 in the winner-take-all Billfish Jackpot. Colin Oxnard is the captain of the Manteo-based 62 Spencer Yacht. Kayla Paxton and Julia Whelan were the other team members, assisted in the cockpit by mates Andrew Allesio and Bryce White.
Citation (57 Island Boat Works/Capt. Gerrad Otto), Sally Girl (57 Ricky Scarborough/Capt. Jason Krahenbill), Due South (58 Bobby Sullivan/Capt. Mark Chambers) and Renegade (40 Cabo/Capt. Paul Michael), finished in second through fifth places, respectively. Each boat scored four billfish and 400 points. The standings were based on the times the fish were released.
Dolphin are the other prize catch in the Alice Kelly Memorial and Epic, a 38 Northern Bay run by Capt. Eddie Hoffman, was the top boat this year. Taylor Thomas was on the rod when the winning 26.2-pound fish struck. That catch earned the team a cash prize of $59,500.
“The fight took about 15 minutes on conventional tackle,” Thomas explained after her dolphin was weighed. “I was very careful with it and we’re confident it will hold up. The seas weren’t too bad today. We had some sun along with a few showers. It was a fun day.” This was the second year Thomas has competed in the event.
In the other game fish categories Savanah Whitfield cranked in the top tuna at 54.3 pounds. She was fishing aboard Salvation, a 50 Omie Tillet with Capt. Jamin Simmons at the helm. Julia Allen scored the heaviest wahoo at 47.4 pounds while competing on Bobojo, a 61 Ritchie Howell run by Capt. Patrick Byrd.
Rhonda Abell released two sailfish to earn the Paula Stansky Award for Angling Excellence. She was fishing aboard Citation. Thirteen-year-old Ella Rains earned the Lucy B. Gaddy top Junior Angler Scholarship Award after releasing a sailfish on Sundown, a 47 Metts Custom run by Capt. Terry Metts.
A fleet of 155 boats with 930-plus lady anglers competed in the 35th annual edition of the Alice Kelly Memorial. A total of 88 billfish were released, including 70 sailfish, 16 blues and two white marlin. Twenty game fish were weighed for a combined weight of 526.2 pounds.
Created in honor of Alice Kelly, a passionate angler and Outer Banks volunteer who lost her battle with cancer, the tournament is a major fundraiser for the Inter-Faith Community Outreach program. The ICO helps individuals and families dealing with cancer treatment on the Outer Banks. Through tournament donations last year, the ICO was able to help 1,100 families dealing with various types of cancer in 2023.
“Thank you all for sticking with us through some bad weather and for your tremendous support for this special cause,” said Tournament Director Heather Maxwell. “You’re the best and we look forward to seeing everyone next August 9-10 for the 36th Annual Alice Kelly Memorial.”
