Boat Up For Grabs During Keys Tournament

FLORIDA KEYS — Anglers who compete in the inaugural Florida Keys Dolphin Championship, over the Memorial Day weekend, have an opportunity to win a new SeaHunter bay boat valued at $75,000.

The innovative tournament features five different Keyswide weigh stations that are to host captains meetings Friday, May 24; register anglers' catches Saturday and Sunday, May 25-26, and serve as the sites of simultaneous awards presentations Sunday evening.

The first 200 teams that register for the tournament are eligible to win the 24-foot-long SeaHunter boat, said Mike Weinhofer, a veteran Keys angling skipper who conceived the event.

"If you're among the first 200 teams that register and you catch the tournament's largest dolphin over 55 pounds, you'll win the boat," said Weinhofer. "And that fish is worth another $50,000 if it's caught from any size SeaHunter boat purchased from an authorized dealer after May 24, 2007."

Weinhofer added that $15,000 awaits the first-place winner, and cash and prizes are to be awarded in 36 other categories.

Registration/weigh-in locations include Buzzards Roost and Garden Cove Marina in Key Largo, Plantation Yacht Sales in Islamorada, Tarpon Creek Marina and Restaurant in Marathon, Boondocks Grille and Draft House in the Lower Keys and Dante's Restaurant at Conch Harbor Marina in Key West.

Fish must be caught in Keys waters, although it is permissible to use motor vehicles to drive them to weigh stations before the stations close.

Registration is $600 per team.

Event information, rules and registration: www.floridakeysdolphinchampionship.com or (305) 396-2025.