The Final Shakedown: Lights Out Boston AC Hits Key West for The Catch, SFC’s Pro-Am Event
Lights Out Boston has hit Key West and there’s nothing better than returning to American soil. The club has had a great run this offseason, taking on the best of the SFC in Cabo last fall, then we stayed out in the Pacific for the last six months.
The crew on Lights Out, our Viking 62 owned by Rob Carmichael and Jackie Hayes, got into with some of the best billfishing the world has to offer from Magdalena Bay all the way to Quepos, Costa Rica, at Marina Pez Vela. We then transited the Panama Canal and headed back through the Caribbean Sea to arrive in Key West. The season starts this week with two back-to-back league-wide events.
Lights Out on the dock in Acapulco, Mexico, allowing her crew to enjoy the fish-rich waters of the Pacific and get ready for the coming season.
The first event is The Catch, presented by Moët Hennessy, a pro-am format exhibition event that takes place over April 15 and 16 and showcases all 14 Angling Clubs in the Sport Fishing Championship. Each boat takes on a celebrity guest angler from the worlds of professional sports and entertainment. Of course. Several clubs have already confirmed celebrity participants, and all remaining pairings will be announced after a drawing to determine who joins which of the remaining boats. Lights Out Boston looks forward to welcoming our surprise guest. Stay tuned to see who it is!
Astute fans will recall last year’s The Catch, when Lights Out Boston teamed up with Zay Flowers (left) a NFL Baltimore Ravens wide receiver who played his college ball at Boston College, shown here with Lights Out Boston angler Matteo Scena.
While The Catch is a terrific event, Lights Out Boston is fired up to get the season underway. Fortunately the Key West Classic starts up right after The Catch, and runs April 17th to 19th. This tournament is a special way to start the regular season because it brings together all clubs from the Atlantic Division and Gulf Division for a true battle royale tournament. With nearly $400K in prize money available, points will be awarded to the top teams in each division, and a bonus check cut to the overall winner. It doesn’t hurt to get a look at what the Gulf Division competition will be like this year, since we fully expect to be in the mix when the decision for who is going to the Zane Grey Championship Playoff in Cabo.
The Key West Classic is primarily a sailfish tournament, and Lights Out Boston has spent plenty of time in the offseason honing their technique on every kind of billfish and dialing in their tactics. When the whole crew is together, fishing as hard as we have for the entire offseason, the machine works. We’ve worked out the kinks, and practiced hard so we can play even harder. Let’s get on it!
Lights Out Boston is the boat to watch in Key West this week.