It was a glorious evening at Southsea Marina and we had a full room of members – I think there’s a connection there. Steve opened the meeting as usual with a run-through of the current standings, see below. Dave Newnham is in the lead for the Champions Cup with five points. Then came Fish Of The Month and although we had several notable fish in the book for April, the only true specimen was Peter Churchill’s Ballan Wrasse of 5lb 2oz so this was voted Fish Of The Month.
We hope the postponed Open Bream Competition will be held this coming Sunday 18th May weather permitting. We are keen to start promoting the next competition which will be the new Open Bass Competition. This will break new ground for us, being Catch & Release (optional) and a whole load of new rules. The planned date is Saturday 12th July, reserve Sunday 13th July.
Here’s a quick summary of future events:
- Sunday 18th May – SMAC Open Bream Competition
- Tuesday 3rd June – SMAC Monthly Meeting 7pm
- Saturday 28th June – SMAC Members & Families BBQ and Raffle
- Tuesday 1st July – SMAC Monthly Meeting 7pm plus a visit from Seakeepers International
- Saturday 12th July – SMAC Open Bass Competition
- August/September – SMAC Open Species Competition
- November/December – SMAC Open Cod Competition
- Christmas Break – Madela Cup (Members Only)
Finally, we were very sorry to hear that at the end of April, Pete Kilshaw’s Sportsmans Knight hit a submerged broken pile in the marina channel, and sank. Pete was rescued by Steve Kelly on Lady Elsa, and Sportsmans Knight was eventually recovered to the marina. This was obviously very distressing for Pete who has regularly donated prizes to the club. The good news is that there seems to be no problems with the insurance pay-out, and Premier and Langstone Harbour Board are getting quotes to remove the obstruction. In the meantime it is marked in the channel by a buoy, so it is worth giving it a wide berth.
Next meeting is Tuesday 3rd June, 7pm in the Marina Bar as usual.
