OCEAN CITY, Md. - Even though Friday is the last day of the White Marlin Open, there are plenty of cool finds to see and grab before the competition is over.
New local artist Jeff Willey put his 30 years of experience in fabrication to the test with the creation of the pictured 80 pound white marlin sculpture.
Willey's first sculpture sits just below the scale to honor the fun the last four years of competition has brought him.
"I'm hoping Michael Jordan will at least acknowledge it. If he bought it, it would be awesome. I'd be a famous artist my first sculpture. It's amazing... That's my goal. I want everybody to know that if there's something you want to pursue, nobody can stop you if you're determined enough." said Willey.
Just down the street at the Ocean City Inlet is The Wedge restaurant. In the spirit of the big event, The Wedge put together a blue fish bowl cocktail with a view. The Wedge is not only located right on the Inlet, but installed web cams for those looking for a view of the action from a distance.
"When we first opened, our first day was the day before Memorial Day, we knew this was going to be our busy week so we've been planning on it for a couple months now. We had to get a little creative but it was nice." said Manager, Aaron Hyde.
The history of this year's White Marlin Open and each one before it will be encapsulated by a book written by Joanne Quilfoil, a local artist and board member of the Life Saving Station Museum, chronicling 50 years of anglers and fun at the competition.
"This time last year I was asked to be the author and I started in October collecting everything... newspaper clippings, articles, photos, and I started writing and I had a deadline of March," said Quilfoil, "Everyday was a thrill! It took me an entire day or sometimes two days to write up a year."
The 50th anniversary White Marlin Open book is expected to be released in the fall. In the meantime you can visit the Art League of Ocean City and see some of those pictures for yourself.