The Watamu SFC Xmas tournament finished the second day with some surprises, when the tiny 18ft private boat Magoo, fished by Joss Taylor, Phil and Ross Valentine and Mr Pellizoli, tagged a black marlin, and once their points had been divided by the length of the boat as this competition rules, they jumped into second place overall, as well as winning the small boat section. A very commendable performance – good to see that small boats can challenge the large professional boats and a great encouragement for more private boats to enter these competitions – well done to them.
Seahorse, fished by Craig Griffiths, Brett Ayton and Peter Ready retained their lead from the first day with two striped marlin and three sail, to win the main prizes, while another small boat, Spoit, with Marcus and Russell Keane and the Ballards came in third place overall with a stripey and a sail, also taking second place in the small boat section. Neptune, fished by Ritchie Moller, Ryan Taylor and Angus Paul was fourth, with a stripey and seven sail, while the crew on Black Widow, with Adam Ogden and Ali al Hirazi added a stripey and a sail to their first day score to take fifth place overall.
Best Junior Angler was awarded to Barney Engel who went out alone on the first day when all his mates were ill and caught two sailfish, while Best Lady went to Jade Parkinson who caught the first sail recorded. Twenty-four boats, with thirteen marlin and fifty-six sail, and 106 anglers made for a great tournament, thanks to Capt. Andy’s for sponsorship and great prizes.
The Mnarani SFC competition at Kilifi on 27th Dec saw a black marlin and thirty-one sailfish caught by fourteen boats, with Tarka, fished by Sophie and JC Durand and Mangi, coming in first overall with seven sailfish, a yellowfin and a wahoo, which gave them the Graham Cup and a wide range of prizes. Centa, with a black marlin and a sailfish came first in the professional stream, fished by Andrea Walker, who caught the black marlin giving her the Lady’s Prize, and young Max Donner aged eleven with the sailfish. Shika Shangwe, fished by Kevin and Jonty Marsh, Edward Barthorp and Phillip Lowe was leading the small boat section, and a good range of prizes went to the various young angler categories, as this is always a family orientated competition.
Catch of the week must go to Chris Hemphill, who out with his dad Simon on Kamara II last Monday, tagged a magnificent blue marlin on 24kg line which was reliably estimated at well over 600 lbs, 273 kgs. The fish fought hard and was eventually leadered to the boat after three and a quarter hours. Girlfriend Leanne had tagged her first marlin, a stripey, earlier in the day, and with two sail as well a grand slam for the day, a great way to start the new year!