Swanage Kayak Competition 2012

Firstly I have to say I’ve been looking forward to this event for sometime now as it’s just a great to meet new people and have a good laugh.

I couldn’t stay at the camp site this year because of work and family commitments, but this was probably a blessing to be honest, after the amount of alcohol I consumed last year I struggled slightly on the day.

I left my house at 0500 and met with Pete on route. With no traffic it took just over 1 hour. The benefit of leaving so early was to guarantee a good parking space and get some early morning breakfast in. With all the minor admin squared away we checked in at the main control area and began setting our kayaks for the competition.

It didn’t take long at all for the car park fill up. 140 people had put in for the event which also attracted a lot of local interest. It was quite funny seeing the car park littered with kayaks.

We didn’t waste anytime what so ever as we wanted to grab another cuppa before the safety brief.

After parking the kayak up on the main pitching area I took some pictures to show the scale of the event in comparison to last year.

Good to go. A coiled spring.

The rules were exactly the same as the previous year, however because the weather had improved ten fold this meant the fishing boundary was bigger than 2011.

The team giving the final details before we could hit the water.

I took this picture minute after the brief and it just highlights the scale of people that made the effort to attend and enjoy a terrific event.

Once we finally hit the water Pete and myself headed for a mark that looked worthy of giving go. It seemed a few other anglers had the same idea. Evans Rock clearly shown on the marine charts looked promising.

It took around 15 minutes to paddle there and after dropping anchor we were fishing in 40+ft of water.

The wind was a little demanding to start the morning, but by lunch time it’d died right down. First in was Pete after only being at the mark for 10 mins of so. He landed a Mackerel for the first specie on his list. I shouted “Well Done” of course I wanted that fish, but sometimes you have to be supportive. Ummmmmm.

Then 5 minutes on I hooked into a Mackerel. A good-sized one at that, and the first of the year.

Not long after, I reeled in a Dogfish that spit the hook out right next to my kayak. I was absolutely gutted. It must have felt sorry for me and decided to hook itself again increasing my list to 2.

Here’s some other pictures taken around this location.

One of Pete.

Me, just to prove I’m there. Don’t know why the line appeared in this one.

Swanage Cliffs. Looks better than the photo could even portray

We stayed around this mark for around 2 hours and decided to move closer in shore to try and target Wrasse and other species.

The paddle to get closer in was far easier than the first leg of the journey. The weather was lovely, the wind had dropped right off and the sun was blazing. What a difference it makes when fishing.

I had one final bite which turned out to be another Dogfish. We moved a couple more times taking us closer in land each time and Pete didn’t improve on his 1 Specie either.

I spoke to a few anglers while paddling around and it very quickly dawned on me that I wasn’t going to be taking a new kayak home. Some people were already in the 4-5 mark.

So we decided to head back in, pack the gear and grab another cuppa.

When we looked at the score board it was very clear to see some people had a very successful day compared to us. “It’s all about taking part though I’m thinking” again Ummmmmm.

We mustered around the Control tent for the prize giving and it was brilliant. Funny and nice to see people do so well. With the sport just growing year on year, it was brilliant to see that 7 juniors had entered the competition and they all came away with gifts and prizes for their efforts, so well done guys.

It turns out that the top prize being a brand new Ultra went to Keith Aka Merry Fisher after landing 6 speicies. £999 worth of kayak, not bad for the £10 entry fee I think.

This brings me on to the final parts. All money made for the event went straight over the RNLI, a whopping £1400 from the 140 people who paid the £10 entry fee. So a cracking effort for all those that attended.

If you fancy trying this event next year then look on the forums where the competition is heavily advertised, pay a £10 entry fee and try to land as many species as possible in the time frame.

For all those involved in making this possible yet again, my hat goes off to you. Well done and thankyou.