IRISH FEDERATION OF SEA ANGLERS

 

 

                                2008 FIPS-M World Boat Angling Championships,

                                      Colijnsplaat, Nederland’s

                                      24th to 31st October

 

Team Manager’s Report,

 

The team as follows :

 

2007 Master Angler Boat Winner & Team Captain

 

1.       Liam O Callaghan                   Leinster

2.       Heiko Dreier                  Munster

3.       Kit Dunne                      Leinster

4.       Liam Longmore             Ulster

5.       Dave Jolly                      Munster

6.       Pio Enright                    Munster      (Sub)

 

The above assembled team is the strongest team that I have had as Team Manager over the past five years to represent IFSA/Ireland. All the team members are ex-internationals, Home International Boat/World Boat, and hold in excess of twenty caps between them.

 

On the run up to the competition the team held three meetings, two in Cork, one in Wicklow. The team also held a practice weekend in Cork out of Kinsale on the 4th and 5th October. On our first meeting in Cork Nov. 4th 2007 the team unanimously decided to bring a substitute along on the trip. As the sixth and seventh place winners in the Master Angler 2007 were not in a position to travel, I made contact with the person in eight place (Pio Enright) and he was more than delighted to travel as team substitute.

 

On the instruction of the team I arranged for two additional practice days prior to the competition in Colijnsplaat, charter boat the “Pirate” owned and skippered by Rene was booked, bait also to be supplied by Rene. Additional accommodation was booked in the Hotel Goes, this was also the competition headquarters, approximately twenty minutes drive from the marina in Colijnsplaat.

 

Thursday 16th October the team arranged for a pallet to be picked up by courier in Wicklow, containing all our fishing gear, tackle boxes and rod tubes and transported to Goes to arrive on or before the 22nd October at Hotel Goes.

 

Wednesday 22nd October six members of the team assembled in Dublin Airport for departure with Aer Lingus to the Nederland’s , the seventh member Dave Jolly due to work commitments could not travel until the 23rd, twenty four hours later.

 

On our arrival in Amsterdam at Schiphol Airport at 5pm, I had a mini bus hired with Tiger Car Rentals. This was the first year that we were required to have our own transport, as the organisers insisted that there was no collection at the airports, or transport to and from the marina daily. The journey from Schiphol airport to Goes took almost three hours as we hit peak traffic on the motorway out of Amsterdam.

 

After checking in to the hotel and after collecting the fishing gear, the team sat down to late but well deserved meal. After the meal we were joined by Rene the skipper of the “Pirate” who went through a lot of information with the team, regarding the set up of their traces, the length of the snoods and the best colour booms to use.

 

Thursday 23rd, 5.30 am call, breakfast at 6 am and departure for the marina at 6.45 am. Boats depart at 7.30 am and return to the marina between 4 pm and 4.30 pm. Weigh in at the fish hall on the marina, 6 pm return to the hotel. This was the schedule that was maintained right through the competition and during the two days of additional practice days.

 

Rene, skipper of the “Pirate” was of immense assistance to the team, observing them, offering advice, and demonstrating best fishing practices suitable to the waters of the North Sea, all of this was of immense value to the team and as a result it showed in the final results.

 

For the benefit of those who are not familiar with Dutch waters, each morning the boats sailed out from the marina through the Oosterchelde for 1.5 hrs, this is an area of water contained within the dykes of the Ziderzee. On reaching the lock all the boats entered, this was to allow their passage to the North Sea, as the water levels are 2.0 mts. higher outside the lock gate than inside, also the tide times!. For example, high water inside the lock gate in the Oysterchelde is 1 hr 50 mn behind high water outside the lock gate in the North Sea. The tide moves so fast that all you see is sand swirling around in the water, retrieve a bucket of water, let it settle and you would have at least 25mm of sand in the end of the bucket.  Three of the fishing zones were out in the North Sea, with a reserve inside the Oosterchelde in case of adverse weather conditions prevailing, this was not to used. (See attached map).

 

The official opening ceremony was held on the Saturday, as parades are not allowed on Sundays for religious reasons in Holland. The parade started from outside the old town hall, through the old quarters of the town to the marina. Each team was accompanied by local people, dressed in the traditional Dutch clothing. After the official side of the proceedings was over, a reception was laid on in the fish hall with plenty of sea-food, beer and local cuisine.

 

Thursday 30th. The official closing ceremony was held in the Hotel Goes. Presentations were made of the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, plus a large selection of other prizes, from overall heaviest bag to heaviest fish, best Lady angler, even for the angler who came last. Presentation were also made to the top three anglers on each day of the competition, of which Ireland took first and third prize on the second day.  All the reserves from each country were also entered into a draw with one drawn for each day of the competition. Following the Presentation a lavish bouquet took place, this probably was the best one I have attended over the past five years.

 

Friday 31st 8am six members of the team depart Hotel Goes for Schiphol airport and return home, arriving at Dublin airport at 1.45 pm. Dave Jolly due to work commitments had to be in Dublin for 10 am so he had to catch an earlier flight at 8.45 am. Once again we arranged for our courier to pick up the pallet at the Hotel and return it to Ireland.

 

The teams performance was excellent, with all the team working as a team, there was no individualism, each evening a team meeting was held and each members performance was scrutinised to see if there was any way to improve it further for the following day’s fishing.

 

Attached is a complete set of results for each day, consisting of day by day boat results, individual ranking, Nations ranking, also an overall results for the competition.

 

My thanks to the Irish Team for the great effort put in. It looked at one point that we might be in the medals, but alas it was not to be, in the end we were piped by two points for third place by Belgium and had to settle for fourth place.

 

This in itself is an excellent result for Ireland considering that we beat Italy, England, Spain, and a number of well sponsored teams. The Irish team members had to put their hands in their pockets or receive individual sponsorship!. This trip cost each member of the team, from acquiring new quiver tip rods, leads, lines, hooks, booms, travelling to meetings, practice weekend in Kinsale, couriering the gear to Holland and back, mini bus hire, additional accommodation, boat hire and bait an estimated

€ 2,500 plus each and every one of them did not hesitate once!.  Thank you guys !

 

Last but not least my thanks to the few Sponsors we received,

 

1.         Cotab Cork.                            Polo shirts to the value of       € 300.00

2.         Holemasters Ltd.                    Cash sponsorship                    € 300.00

3.         Sallynoggin Fruit Farm           Cash sponsorship                    € 300.00

4.         Floors Direct Ltd.                   Cash sponsorship                    € 250.00

5.         Anon. (Requested)                  30 miniature Irish Whiskeys   € 110.00

6.         Walsh Clothing                       7 Embroidered woolen hats and for organising

                                                            all our embroidery on all clothing at a reduced

                                                            cost to the team.

 

Ironically, while we were out in Colijnsplaat, representing IFSA/Ireland, on the marina adjacent to the Official opening venue was Exhibition, a tourist board promotion and Board Failte/Irish Tourist Board along with some charter boat skippers from Ireland promoting Angling Tourism in Ireland were present.

 

The staff manning the Tourist Board were disappointed that they did not know we were in town or that they had nor been informed by their department that a competition of the magnitude of the World Boat was taking place whilst they were there. They were staying in the same hotel as us, we could have attended on the stands with them in uniform. The exhibition ended the day we met up, who knows it may lead to some sponsorship in the future.

 

Team Ireland

 

Liam Power

Team Manager,

17/11/’08

 

 

Team results :

 

No.

Nation

Day1

Day2

Day3

Total

1

Netherlands

1

3

3

6

2

France

3

2

5

10

3

Belgium

2

7

4

13

4

Ireland

6

1

8

15

5

Italy

4

8

3

15

6

Spain

12

4

1

17

7

Germany

5

9

6

20

8

Croatia

7

6

11

24

9

England

11

5

9

25

10

Portugal

9

10

10

29

11

Wales

8

11

13

32

12

San Marino

13

14

7

34

13

Luxemburg

10

13

12

35

14

Slovenia

14

12

14

40

15

South Africa

15

15

15

45

 

 

Individual placing Irish Team  (75 anglers)

 

9th        Kit Dunne

13th      Heiko Dreier

29th      Liam Longmore

31st      Liam O Callaghan

33rd      David Jolly