2017 SSFC La Digue Offshore Fishing Tournament

hursday 2 November 2017
2017 SSFC La Digue Offshore Fishing Tournament
Gunning for Island Star
Other teams have already declared their intention of going after this Tournament's big prize and hopefully causing an upset by unseating the three-time consecutive winner. This annual event organised by the Seychelles Sports Fishing Club (SSFC), in collaboration with the La Digue District Administration, will start on Friday 3 November through to Sunday 5 November.
by C. Marimba
Henry Riggs-Miller's fightin' words at the end of July's South-East Monsoon Sailfish Tournament should still be ringing in the ears of all those teams about to take part in this year's instalment of the La Digue Offshore Fishing Tournament - especially three-time winner Island Star.
"The next competition is the La Digue fishing competition at the beginning of November and we are planning on kicking people's backsides," said the team Fins captain at the time. The gauntlet has been dropped and let us now see who will pick it up decisively this Sunday...
Admittedly, for anyone needing some insider tips, Mr. Riggs-Miller did reveal at the time that "we will do well in the trolling category," and that "we don't do so well in the bottom-fishing category."
It remains to be seen whether team Fins, or any other team will manage to unseat team Island Star, who has been crowned the overall winner of the competition three years in a row now. However, it would seem that the other teams are gunning for them and this was already evident last year as they faced stiff competition from La Digue and Praslin teams.
Island Star's skipper Antoine Hoareau commented last year upon winning the prize for a third year in a row that "it is always difficult to defend your title as all teams want to beat you and this was the case again this (Editor's note: last) year." To gird themselves against any upsets, he did explain that much planning and thought had gone into their preparation last year: "we were very careful and planned our entire trip, including the running time to the fishing area, the fishing time and also our fishing techniques." It remains to be seen whether their efforts will get them over the finishing line this year and if they will feel the pinch from the other teams.
The SSFC recently made several announcements. For one, boats will be allowed to depart from Mahé under certain conditions, which must be strictly followed, said the Club. The other was that all billfish (swordfish, sailfish, spearfish and marlin) will be released and teams will have to video the catch-and-release in order to receive points in the billfish categories. The teams will also vie for 36 prizes including two new categories this time around which are for Vyey Makonde and for Best Average Catch.
It is expected, as has been the case in the past that a large crowd consisting of locals, tourists and sports-fishing enthusiasts will make their way to the La Digue jetty on Saturday to look on as the boats come in and drop off their catch. It will also be a great opportunity to join in the fun and friendly competition, whilst at the same time showing support for the local sports-fishing community, who are doing their best to raise money for projects on La Digue.
The teams last year had to do battle with some rough seas. Team 'SexSea', consisting of SSFC's chairman Tarak Patel and secretary Grant Heyer as well as angler Steven Garrad, came back early. Three other boats namely Blue Moon, Alati and Ocean Bird came back during the night but left in the early hours of Saturday for another round of fishing.
For those not fortunate enough to take part in the competition out at sea, they nevertheless had the opportunity to join in the excitement at the weighing-in event at the La Digue jetty. A slew of locals and tourists had braved the hot sun and packed the jetty to come enjoy the entertainment by DJs Aubrey Manes and Basile Samy as well as the unloading of the fish. All boats had to be in by 3pm and to the cheers of the Diguois, the first boat to come in with its catch was one of their own, namely team Ocean Spirit. It was not only the smallest boat in the competition, but also the only one from La Digue. It was skippered and captained by Sydney Mills with another five members on board.
According to the meteorological services, the seas are expected to be rough going into the weekend so we wish our sports fishermen care as they brave the elements and tight lines...
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