IMPORTANT MESSAGE: 2026 BLUEFIN BLOWOUT
A NOTE FROM WARREN WAUGH
I am celebrating my 10th year living in Gloucester. Every day, I get to look out on the entrance to the harbor. I watch boats of all types enter and leave Gloucester’s fishing port at all hours of the day. I also get to sponsor and oversee one of the best fishing tournaments in the world.
Yes, maybe we don’t have the biggest prize money, but we are proud to say that the oldest fishing port in America is home to the #1 Bluefin tuna tournament in the world and a tournament that has become a meaningful and substantial supporter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
When Drew and Rob founded the tournament way back when, I think we had 30 boats and prize money that paid around $6,000. The Lyon-Waugh Auto Group was the major sponsor, and that was agreed to over drinks at Christmas with Drew. A good old-fashioned tuna tournament like Grandpa Hale used to run-again, way back when.
After a couple of years, it became apparent that the tournament needed more attention to operations, and Drew and Rob were busy growing their respective businesses. Well, has the Bluefin Blowout grown. So much so that it’s time for us to say goodbye. The challenge of producing a tournament that is deserving of the entry fee and what the City of Gloucester deserves, has now become too large for my marketing team to manage.
The attention to detail, the expenses related to operations, and always trying to do this tournament the right way have become challenging.
Cidalia Schwartz is truly the heart and soul of the Bluefin Blowout. Yes, we all have roles at the tournament, but the actual event takes months of planning, increased staffing, and so many important details to pull it off. Cidalia also plays a vital role in our Lyon-Waugh Auto Group (LWAG). She is the Marketing Director. Cidalia is a perfectionist, and that is one of several reasons the tournament is so popular and successful.
We had never run tournaments before, let alone fished in one. It truly has been hit or miss. At the end of each tournament, we review our performance and ask, “How can we do it better?” We are driven by the need to offer the best product to our captains and crews, sponsors and donors, spectators, and Cape Ann Marina.
Wow! And did we raise some money for the Alzheimer’s Association?! We all made a difference, not just with the money raised, but with the consultation and support that the Alzheimer’s Association offered at the tournament. Thanks to Charlene Bemis from the Alzheimer’s Association for her dedication and friendship.
Should someone take over the reins? Absolutely. I’ll raise my hand to be one of the lead sponsors. I just ask that the tournament stays in Gloucester. This city with a fishing problem is one of the reasons the tournament is so successful. Gloucester has everything, great fishing and hospitality like nowhere else in New England. We have heard over and over that the Bluefin Blowout is one of just a few major “happenings” in Gloucester each year. We help sell out restaurants and hotels and boost the economy all over Cape Ann.
Thank you, Cidalia and our LWAG marketing team, all the volunteers, Rob, Drew, Cape Ann Marina, and the City of Gloucester.
Should you be up to the challenge of taking on the responsibility of operating the Bluefin Blowout, please reach out to Cidalia at cschwartz@lyonwaugh.com.
Yours in fishing,
Warren Waugh
Managing Partner
The Lyon-Waugh Auto Group
A NOTE FROM CIDALIA SCHWARTZ
I want to take a moment to speak from the heart.
It has been one of the greatest honors to serve you and to bring this tournament to the City of Gloucester, a city that my family and I spend so much of our time and that I hold so close to my heart.
To Tobin, Drew, and the entire Cape Ann Marina staff, thank you for opening your marina to us year after year and for being such gracious partners. Your support helped make this event what it became, and I will always be grateful. We sure did have some fun!
To the fishermen, thank you for showing up with unmatched passion, energy, and spirit. You are the heart of this tournament. Together, we built the #1 Bluefin tuna tournament in the world, and even writing that fills me with pride. What we accomplished together is extraordinary…..and the Bluefin after parties on the docks will forever make me miss the tournament….but not miss the hangovers.
To our sponsors, donors, and supporters, thank you for believing in the vision and trusting us with your brands, your generosity, and your hearts. Because of you, we were able to write one of the largest donations to the Alzheimer’s Association, over $2.6 million. Together, we made an impact that will last far beyond the tournament itself.
To our volunteers and to the Gloucester community, thank you for standing beside us, for your dedication, and for the countless moments shared under the tent. Your presence, your belief, and your spirit made this far more than a tournament. You made it a community that I looked forward to seeing year after year.
While this chapter is coming to a close, what we built together will always remain. The memories, the friendships, the impact, these will stay with me forever.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for trusting me, for believing in the vision, and for making the Bluefin Blowout what it became.
With love, gratitude, and pride,
Cidalia Schwartz
Lyon-Waugh Auto Group / Marketing Director, by Day
Bluefin Blowout/ Organizer, by Night
Good Morning Gloucester 