SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — The Sturdivant Island Tuna Tournament will run for Aug. 1-4 this year, the last of 21 annual fundraising tournaments.
Since Philip H. Grondin Sr. founded the tournament in 1998, the tournament has raised more than $800,000 for Maine’s community colleges and other causes. Organizers hope this year’s tournament, at Spring Point Marina, will bring that total to more than $1 million.
Grondin, who founded the construction company RJ Grondin & Sons, died in September. He was 76.
The event begins Aug. 1 with a fundraising public auction. The live auction will include a 1949 Cadillac Series 75 limousine, a private performance by Don Campbell, a 20-gauge ultralight Benelli shotgun and 22 sky-box tickets to the Sea Dogs, according to a release.
Fishing begins on Aug. 2 and concludes Aug. 4, with an awards dinner that night.
Prizes include $6,250 for the largest bluefin tuna, with a grand prize of $50,000 to be awarded to any boat that catches a tuna larger than the Maine rod-and-reel record of 819 pounds.
Last year, Capt. John Harmon and the crew of the F/V Banshee won first place with a 719-pound tuna.
This year, as many as 40 boats will fish out of Spring Harbor Marina. For more information and to register, visit mainetuna.org.
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