Competitors ready for 2016 SKA Nationals with Marlin Quay King Mackerel Shootout this weekend in Garden City Beach

The Southern Kingfish Association has never had a stop at the marina basin located at 1508 South Waccamaw Drive about a mile from the point in Garden City Beach.

Beginning in the 1960s, Gulf Stream Marina was the first marina on the property until it was transformed into Marlin Quay Marina and Marlin Quay Condos in the early 1980s.

Various fishing tournaments, including South Carolina Governor's Cup Billfishing Series events and Marlin Quay-Voyagers View shootouts, have been held out of the basin on Murrells Inlet over the years, but never a SKA-sanctioned tournament.

That changes this weekend with the Marlin Quay King Mackerel Shootout, which will be hosted by the new owners of the marina, the father-son duo of Mark and Chris Lawhon.

The tournament is the finale of SKA Division 3 (South Carolina), as competitors on the circuit get geared up for the 2016 SKA Nationals, set for Nov. 8-13 in Ft. Pierce, Fla.

The Lawhons are embarking on a renovation of the property, including a new marina building, new seawall, dredging and dock upgrades, and have designs on becoming a regular stop on the SKA circuit.

"Things are on the up," said Chris Lawhon. "We're trying to get a big circuit in here to help out the community as a whole."

Lawhon expects a field of 100 boats to compete in the tournament, which will feature fishing on Saturday and Sunday, Captain's Choice, with boats allowed to fish one of the two days. Lawhon expects the field to be bigger in future years, but is limited this year because some usual competitors continue to deal with hurricane-related issues.

Lawhon likes the timing of the tournament, and knows hosting such an event in the off-season is a boon to the Surfside Beach-Garden City-Murrells Inlet area.

"We're a tourist-based area and having an event where you can have 100 to 150 boats, that's significant traffic," said Lawhon. "(The fishermen, crew and families) are going to rent places, eat, buy gas and spend money, which will help the area."

Lawhon himself will be competing in the tournament with his Marlin Quay fishing team aboard Carolina Fly, a 31-foot Contender. Joining Lawhon on the team are captains Robby Remson and Caleb Hartley, and Marlin Quay Marina store manager David Christian.

The team is currently second in points in the SKA Division 3 standings, behind leader Low Country Native, and plans to fish the upcoming SKA Nationals.

"We're sitting second and we qualified for the Nationals," said Lawhon. "That's exciting for us. It looks like we've got good king fishing for our tournament, now that things have calmed down since Matthew came through."

The Captains Meeting is Friday at 7 p.m., with weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday from 2-5 p.m. The awards ceremony is at 7 p.m. Sunday.

Lawhon notes the tournament's proceeds will be donated to hurricane relief effort.

"That will go to local community people that had big-time losses during the hurricane," said Lawhon. "It will be a little bit, but every little bit helps."

A year ago the inaugural Marlin Quay King Mackerel Shootout, not sanctioned by the SKA, was held, with $5,000 donated to the Garden City Chapel, which was damaged in the October, 2015 flooding.

Lawhon also notes a cookout will be held Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for emergency personnel who have been swamped during and in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. Local restaurants are donating food items for the cookout.

For more information, call 843-651-4444 or visit marlinquaymarina.com.

This story was originally published October 20, 2016 at 8:11 PM with the headline "Competitors ready for 2016 SKA Nationals with Marlin Quay King Mackerel Shootout this weekend in Garden City Beach."