SKI-BOAT May 2020 by Angler Publications

CONTENTS

May/June 2020 Volume 36 Number 3 COVER: GAMEFISH BYCATCH While fishing for sailfish and marlin on 10kg tackle off Puerto San Jose, Guatemala, in March 2020, Dave Martin landed a number of 25kg dorado. He went on to release 43 sailfish.

FEATURES

Survey Results Reader statistics drawn from our latest survey

Grab a Live One Rigging your livebait — by Jono Booysen

Dual Purpose Beauty Boat Test: Explorer 19CC Sport by Natal Caravans and Marine— by Erwin Bursik

Understanding Your Boat How the hull and chines affect her ride — by Rob Naysmith

My Dream Fish Potential All Africa record tuna caught off Sodwana — by Peter Harvey

Locked Down with a Fishaholic Musings of a fishing widow during COVID-19 lockdown — by Mary Kane

Lifeblood of Africa Exploring the mighty rivers of Namibia’s Caprivi strip — by Erwin Bursik

Luxury Hidey Hole in the Delta A night aboard the Namushasha River Villa — by Erwin Bursik

Tagging Tigers in the Kavango Freshwater Protected Areas as management tools — by Francois Jacobs

Guinjata Shows Off Great catches at 2020 Rosebowl Competition — by Quentin Clark

Revival of the Kingcat 49

Testing the freshly tweaked legend — by Erwin Bursik

DEPARTMENTS 8 32 39 41 59

Editorial — by Erwin Bursik SADSAA News Subscribe and WIN! Kingfisher Awards Reel Kids

61 64 64 65 66

Mercury Junior Anglers Marketplace Smalls & Ad Index Business Classifieds & Directory Rapala Lip — Last Word from the Ladies

The official magazine of the South African Deep Sea Angling Association

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Publisher: Erwin Bursik Editor: Sheena Carnie Advertising Executive: Mark Wilson

EDITORIAL

STATS THAT DON’T LIE

Editorial Assistant: Vahini Pillay Boat Tests: Heinrich Kleyn Contributors: Jono Booysen, Erwin Bursik, Quentin Clark, Peter Harvey, Francois Jacobs, Mary Kane and Rob Naysmith. ADVERTISING – NATIONAL SALES: Angler Publications Mark Wilson cell: 073 748 6107 ADVERTISING – Gauteng & Mpumalanga: Lyn Adams — 083 588 0217 Publishers: Angler Publications cc PO Box 20545, Durban North 4016 Telephone: (031) 572-2280/89/97/98 Fax: (031) 572-7891 e-mail: angler@mags.co.za Subscriptions to SKI-BOAT: R180 per annum (six issues). New subscriptions and renewals: SKI-BOAT Subscriptions Department, PO Box 20545, Durban North 4016. Telephone: (031) 572-2280/89/97/98 Fax: (031) 572-7891 • e-mail: angler@mags.co.za • Through www.anglerpublications.co.za, or E-zine through <www.issuu.com> Reproduction: Hirt & Carter, Durban Printer: Robprint (Pty) Ltd, Durban Full production is done in-house by Angler Publications & Promotions on Apple Macintosh software and hardware for output directly to plate. SKI-BOAT Magazine, ISSN 0258-7297, is published six times a year by Angler Publications & Promotions cc, Reg. No. CK 88/05863/23, and is distributed by RNA, as well as directly by the publishers to retail stores throughout South Africa. • Copyright of all material is expressly reserved and nothing may be reproduced in part or whole without the permission of the publishers. • While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this magazine, the publishers do not accept responsibility for omissions or errors or their consequences. Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers, the managing editor, editor, editorial staff or the South African Deep Sea Angling Association.

8 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

N comemmorating our 36th year of publishing SKI-BOAT magazine, it is fitting that in this issue we not only recognise the loyalty of our readers and those advertisers who choose to use SKI-BOAT to promote their products, but also thank them profusely for putting their trust in us. In this issue we also announce the results of our latest reader survey (see page 10) that so many of you took the trouble to respond to. These results are very interesting and exciting for us. Thank you so much to all of those who replied for your diligence and time — it helps us tailor the magazine content to better serve your Erwin Bursik interests. Publisher As with all statistical information there is the big question of validity, and in our instance this updated information has been tested against the previous survey we undertook as well as the comprehensive national economic and demographic surveys of our deep sea fishing market that have been published in the last few years. Two of these are SADSAA’s very time consuming and costly Marius Leibold-led survey entitled “Economic Impact of Sport and Recreational Angling in RSA” published in 2008, and the nationally acclaimed report on recreational angling in SA undertaken by SA Consolidated Recreational Angling Association (SACRAA) and published by the SA Fishing Tackle Agents and Distributors (SAFTAD) and the Department of Trade and Industry in 2017. When it came to our survey in particular, our biggest test with regard to reader distribution throughout South Africa was to compare our results to the exact number of SADSAA members in each province as well as our annual off-shelf sales of SKI-BOAT magazine as recorded by Republican News Agency, our distribution agent. We were astounded when we saw how closely these three figures for each province correlated. In the major provinces — KZN, Gauteng and Western Province — the percentages were almost identical, with a variance of less than 1%. This fact alone corroborates that our reader profile (both in numbers and geographic distribution) is very credible. With this base established as being truly representative of the offshore angling community of South Africa, the other statistics gain a lot more credence. In our detailed analysis of the current survey against our previously published stats, we noted there has been a marginal swing in our readership towards the more wealthy and the age-group 46 and upwards, a fact that is amplified by the pie chart showing the values of readers’ outfits and vehicles. The summation of these facts is linked directly to the maturing segment of our support base as well as the increasing cost of the equipment used by our anglers to take part in the sport of offshore angling. The increasing draw of the digital space over the last decade or two appears to have appealed to the younger segment of our reader base as shown in the survey results — 78% of our readers prefer the paper version while 22% read the digital version. There is also some crossover of people who read both. This result does not surprise us at all because it’s what we hear from people on the ground. This result is also is borne out when we compare the number of paper copies sold versus the number of reads our free digital version of the magazine gets on issuu.com. The number of reads recorded by issuu statistics correlates almost exactly with the statistics submitted by you, the readers. Regardless of what the statistics show, my assurance to you, the loyal readers of SKI-BOAT magazine, is that we will do our very best to ensure that the articles included fall in line with the preferences you have indicated in your survey submissions. In these troubled times we live in, we know offshore fishing brings a huge degree of solace, recreation and pleasure and it’s our endeavour to fill the periods of your time when you’re not able to get on the water with an interesting and relevant magazine for you to enjoy. Till the next tide.

Erwin Bursik

TACTICS By Jono Booysen

WO or three decades ago the hottest topic in deep sea angling was which tackle shop had stock of top-quality sardines. This was followed by a mad dash to said establishment to join the fray as anglers jockeyed to get their hands on the precious merchandise. I can clearly remember opening up boxes and inspecting the eyes, stomach and skin colour before settling on those that passed my quality control test. If I was feeling extravagant a few mackerel were added to the basket before checkout. And should there be a sign saying “Fresh Bonnies” it was like a COVID-19 panic buying spree! Fast forward to our current day and there is less hype about fresh dead bait, or certainly nowhere near that of yesteryear. The focus has definitely shifted from dead bait to that with a pulse. Livebaiting for gamefish and bottomfish has become more and more of a rave among offshore anglers, even those old salts who used to religiously fish with deadbait. This might be due to the increasing accessibility of this bait source or due to the improved results that they produce. Either way, I can quite happily spend two hours in the morning looking for livebait — ostensibly sacrificing valuable fishing time — just so that I arrive at my marks with a well full of livies. My plan

14 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

regularly produces pulls continuously throughout the day as compared to the other boats that opted to fish with deadbait during the early morning bite which only lasted a short time before the fish became fussy and pulled their noses up at anything other than a livie. There have been many “how to” and “back to basics” articles on catching and storing livebait, so for the purposes of this article I will not be focusing on that aspect. Instead I will start from where you take the bait out the livewell and want to rig it up to target a gamefish or bottomfish. There are countless methods to rig up a livebait and just as many factors that influence your choice on which method to use. These include things such as target species, fishing method, depth of water, strength of tackle, how you want the bait to swim — the list goes on. The first decision you will make about how you are going to rig a bait depends on the species you are targeting. The main factor will be whether they have sharp teeth or not. This will dictate if wire is needed or not. If you are targeting ’cuda and wahoo — fish that feed by slicing baitfish and need to be hooked up on the strike, with no feeding time — I would suggest armour plating the livie with wire.

There are three types of wire rigs that I use â&#x20AC;&#x201D; all are for gamefishing as wire is not needed when bottomfishing. The first two traces are two single hook IGFA and SADSAA approved rigs and can be used in all gamefish tournaments. When speaking to anglers local to the KZN South Coast, there is a definite preference towards a 2/0 or 3/0 single through the nose and a 4/0 or 5/0 near the tail. Hook sizes will vary depending on the size of the livie. The lead wire between the swivel and nose hook is #4 and between the hooks is #6. A small green glow bead is added to complete the rig. The other rig option is used for larger baits like shad, big mackerel and bonnies. The larger the bait, the more difficult it is to pinpoint where the predator is going to bite. With only one hook in the body of the bait (as shown in diagram 1), your chances of hooking up are not very good. In this situation, I use a nose clip made from #12 wire which essentially acts as a third hook that holds the nose of the bait, allowing you to put two hooks into the body while still remaining IGFA legal.

IGFA legal: Nose clip rigged live bait.

SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 â&#x20AC;˘ 15

Live baits rigged through the nose stay near the surface. For the social angler who just wants to go out to sea and catch a few fish without worrying about the technicalities of IGFA rules, the good old Natalstyle ’cuda trace works very well. It can be used with dead- and livebait and catches anything that bites. Basically, it’s a section of #5 wire attached to a 2/0 nose hook. From there, two sections of #7 wire are used to add No. 1 trebles to finish off the rig. I like to incorporate a power swivel on the nose hook to allow the treble hook wires more flexibility. Even though I get looks of horror when I say it, I like to use a duster on this trace because it hides the hardware on the nose of the bait. The nose hook can be passed horizontally through the nose or vertically through the upper jaw. The one problem with trebles in a livebait is that they are easily shaken loose. To prevent this from happening, be sure to push the hook point through the skin and let it exit again. This gives the barb two chances of hooking before falling out. On the other side of the spectrum would be rigs for targeting species without sharp slicing teeth. These include bottomfish and many other gamefish

Live baits rigged through the shoulder swim deeper.

and/or billfish species. Sure, these fish are caught on wire all the time, but if you wanted to target them specifically, wire would not be the way to go. For these species nylon or fluorocarbon should be used as these fish need to be given a chance to swallow the bait whole. This softer material prevents the predator from feeling it when the bait is being swallowed. If wire were used, the fish would feel it and spit out the bait. Wire can also be kinked off very easily, so giving the fish a lot of slack line might not be a great idea. Nylon and fluorocarbon allow for countless different bait rigging techniques, so I will just highlight a few that I use on a regular basis. The simplest and probably most

popular rigging method is to just pass an offset single hook sideways through the nose of the bait. This is mainly used when slow trolling for tuna and dorado. This rig can be used with a strong current or if you are trolling a bit faster with bait like mackerel. As with most nylon/fluorocarbon rigs, the drag on the reel needs to be set ver y lightly so that fish can be fed before hooking up. The one problem that I have encountered with the hookup is that the hook does sometimes turn back into the head of the bait, regardless which direction the point is facing. To remedy this, I pass a soft glow bead over the point of the hook onto the shank. This acts as a stopper and keeps the hook in position

IGFA legal: Two-hook rig using a nose hook. SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 17

during hookup. A slight variation to the above bait rig is to hook the livie through the back just behind the head. This changes the pulling point on the bait and causes it to angle down and swim deeper, just like a lipped trolling lure. It works very well when you’re sitting on anchor and there is a bit of a current or when you’re slow trolling. I like to rig one livie through the nose and another through the back as I cover more of the water column that way. When targeting really aggressive species or you need to cast a bait a long way or you are using large baits, you need to really secure the hook to the bait so that it is not ripped off. Without a doubt, the best way to do this is with a bridle rig (as shown alongside). A small zip/cable tie works brilliantly for this. The hook has a loop attached to it through which the cable tie is passed. The cable tie is then pushed through the channel above the eye socket of the bait and zipped tight. This does not damage the livie and keeps the hook away from the bait during hookup. This is a great rig for when you’re using circle hooks especially when casting livies into tuna shoals, livebaiting for billfish or dropping big baits for amberjack. Using nylon leader makes a bait look exceptionally natural in the water. This makes it a great trick to entice wire-shy species to bite, but this doesn’t mean that the toothy critters won’t eat the bait. On many occasions I have checked the bait and found nothing but a sliced leader. And trust me when I say there are ver y few things more nervewracking than seeing your “tuna” suddenly turn into a big ’cuda or wahoo and you realise that it is on straight fluoro! Livebait is by far my favourite bait for all gamefish, billfish and bottomfish, but there is the odd occasion where the old trusted “vrot sardine” will out produce any livie, so it sometimes pays to have a box on the boat for Justin Case.

When casting a live bait to tuna or rigging larger baits, consider using a cable-tie bridle rig.

Old-style Natal ’cuda trace using treble hooks. 18 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

BOAT TEST

DUAL PURPOSE The new Explorer 19CC Sport By Natal Caravans and Marine

By Erwin Bursik

HE Explorer 19CC has been a ver y popular offshore craft since early 2011. It’s a stylish and easily towable ski-boat that fills a niche for those who fish the inshore waters along the South African coastline as well as off Moçambique. The boat is so stylish that it’s now become equally as popular as a dual-use family leisure craft on inland waters. It was, in fact, for this latter application that the 2020 edition of the Explorer 19 Centre Console has been remodelled. Both her top deck layout as well as her hull design have been tweaked to ensure performance with a single outboard motor on f lat water is maximised. It was also with this application in mind that Geoff Courtis and Bill Harrison of Natal Caravans Marine asked me to take her to sea recently and play with her in the calm waters off Durban Harbour to give them my impressions of this new generation Explorer.

20 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

FIRST IMPRESSION At Durban’s Natal Rod & Reel Club slipway we slipped her into the water under the watchful eye of her designer and manufacturer, Grantley Read, and with the doyens from Natal Caravans and Marine mentioned above in attendance. The boat was a big dose of “eye candy” — beautiful, sleek and elegant — as she drifted off her road trailer for a taste of saltwater. The Explorer 19CC Sport was towed to the slipway on a single axle galvanised trailer behind Geoff’s Ford Everest. With her aerodynamically designed hull and marginal above deck console structure she towed like a dream and in respect of long tows to distant stillwaters and Moçambique, towing this 19ft craft should be a cinch. WEATHER CONDITIONS We launched in the very early morning in order to make the most of some initial calm water conditions before the arrival of a strong south-westerly blow that was predicted. As we exited the harbour the remnants of the previous day’s moderate north-easterly was very apparent both visually and physically

on the hull of the craft I was reviewing. The comparison of performance between the Explorer 19CC and the much larger SeaCat running alongside us as the photo boat was interesting. I immediately got the impression that this “sports car” I was driving was raring to be opened up so she could show her “big sister” a clean pair of heels as she virtually glided over the churned waters of the outgoing tide over Durban’s notorious “bar”. PERFORMANCE During a lengthy photo session out in the deep water off Durban’s beachfront, and before the arrival of the imminent south-westerly blow, I was able to study this hull-over-water performance both through the eye of the camera as well as physically as Grantley put his new protégé through her paces in this unsettled water. It was interesting. Very interesting. The Explorer 19CC Sport I tested was powered by a single 130hp Yamaha 4-stroke outboard that provided more than sufficient power for this craft. Grantley assured me she was not overpowered for her proposed use of

pulling waterskiers, wake boarders and water toys on inland waters. He assured me that a pair of 60hp Yamahas would provide as much power as required for general offshore use including surf launching. This ties up with the SKI-BOAT magazine review by Heinrich Klein of a 2016 model of the Explorer 19CC powered by twin 60hp Yamaha motors. In that review Heinrich mentioned that twin 50hp motors would even suffice for protected launch site offshore operations. My initial feeling was that considering what I felt exiting the harbour and seeing how she performed with three people aboard during the photo shoot, I was going to have an enjoyable time putting her through her paces in a sea that was fast becoming affected by the strengthening south-westerly wind. A close look at the accompanying photographs of this craft’s hull-overwater performance will show how the modified hull design pushes the water further aft and improves the hull’s lateral stability, even though a single motor usually causes propeller torque via induced lateral chine instability.

When I took over the helm of the Explorer 19CC I went to inordinate lengths to satisfy myself that Grantley’s design changes alleviated all lateral torque due to the single motor installation. The use of bow-up or down trim was extensively used at speeds from fast troll to very high speed at sea as well as in the flat bay water, to prove not only her use of hull-over-water performance and how spray was dissipated, but above all to ensure she had no sign of chine riding. I love a good westerly wind for boat reviewing as it gives me still flat water at Vetch’s, moderate chop out off the beachfront, and then further out to sea the swell and full force of the southwesterly as it churns up the ocean. In all my antics from emulated surf launching, through very tight turns and digging herself out of the hole she had absolutely no problem, with the Yamaha 130hp performing beautifully and as smoothly as one has come to expect from these motors. During the simulated surf work while pulling this monohull around 360° to take an oncoming swell, wave or foamy straight on she not only got

out of the hole and onto a plane with alacrity, but also showed no sign of cavitation or chine digging either in port or starboard turns. Her response to throttle was immediate and she was out the hole and onto the plane in seconds. Most impressive. Out in the rough water and in various degrees of chop I found that into the sea I could maintain a reasonable speed without being excessively pounded and was able to stay perfectly dry with the spray being pushed way aft. A forward beam sea ride was much more comfortable and again from this position the centre console helm kept us very dry considering the excessive speeds I was putting her under. While testing her lateral stability with only Grantley and I aboard, I never had to ask him to use his body weight and position to obviate any sign of undue instability. I admit to trying hard to prove him wrong, but I couldn’t! In the rough stuff, with marginal bow-up trim she ran with the wind with alacrity and showed no tendency to yaw. I must admit there was minimal swell, so it was no real test in this regard. However, after many years of SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 21

DEADLINE for the July 2020 issue of SKI-BOAT is 13 May 2020. To book your space phone Mark on 073 748 6107 or email <mark@mags.co.za>.

22 â&#x20AC;¢ SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

owning monohulls I know yawing can be relatively easily controlled with bowup trim, aft placement of crew and, naturally, speed reduction when cresting a following sea. While weathering the south-westerly chop I did a lot of slow- to moderate fast trolling in figure of 8 trials, noting SOW and obviously comfort and fishability for those aboard. Even on the drift her rock and roll was not serious and slow trolling was very acceptable for a craft of her size. Statistically her SOW was impressive, with 13 knots at 3 000rpm, 17 knots at 3 500rpm and 20 knots just sub 4 000rpm. According to Grantley, at full throttle this craft ran at 68 knots on the lagoon. I found she was up on the plane at under 3 000rpm. Saying that, I also took cognisance of her power needs when used as a pleasure boat with more crew aboard than one would ever take to sea.

LAYOUT AND FINISH Grantley, arguably one of South Africa’s leading boat manufacturers, puts in an incredible amount of effort to ensure the craft’s external and above-deck design are immaculate. He is not scared of regenerating designs, especially for above deck facilities and layout according to market demand and his own personal desire to ensure top class stan-

dards for the finishes and the craft as a whole. With the Explorer 19CC Sport Grantley realised the needs of the young family man who wants a craft he can comfortably take to the ocean to go fishing, and yet which is both aesthetically pleasing and practical to take to an inland water venue with family and friends. This boat can undertake the full range of watersports activities while being beautiful to look at and practically laid out for the demands of the rest of the family and friends who want to go pleasure boating. Apparently there’s such a big demand for dual purpose craft like this that Grantley has also designed a sideseated console helm station for the Explorer 19 to enhance seating and onboard lounging facilities for family and friends. He’s cleverly done it in such a way to ensure that when the owner wants to take the Explorer out SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 23

to sea to go fishing it is still practical. My function, however, was to carefully evaluate this dual-purpose craft in terms of deck layout, fishability and sea keeping standards. Although the deck layout includes a smaller centre console and windscreen and much more lounging space, it still ensures that the essentials for the offshore angler are provided. The aesthetic design and positioning of the necessary fish hatches, livebait wells and tackle storage areas that no fisherman can do without have been extremely well accomplished, and in most cases can be turned from a fishing requirement to a feature that will enhance

pleasure cruising. A close look at the accompanying photographs of the above mentioned features will show the practical but stylish design which allows for effortless transformation of this craft from fishing to pleasure boat. The long-style lounge seating up front and space availability for wife and kids and watersports equipment aft of the centre console and the important tow rope binnacle on the aft roll bar finish off the stylish transformation from a fishing “skuit” to a beautiful pleasure boat one’s teenage daughters will be proud to be displayed on at the local watersport venue.

CONCLUSION The craft’s beautiful, solid feel is noticeable and it is within this sphere that Grantley and his staff have risen to the next level on the path of boat building excellence. Grantley taking note of what the marketplace was looking for was a brilliant first step, but being able to design and present a craft that can adequately cater for two such different categories of boating is a big ask. However, this top class manufacturer has indeed ensured that whichever facet the boat is used in it will perform beautifully, be completely practical and will be visually pleasing. She’s great addition to a family’s assets.

Bill Harrison and Geoff Courtis of Natal Caravans and Marine show off the Explorer 19CC Sport. 24 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

BOATING BASICS

Part 1: How the hull and chines affect your craft’s ride

By Rob Naysmith, Down South Marine

REMEMBER reading many decades ago, an article adorned with pictures and diagrams, mentioning chines, gunnels, strakes, dead-rise, transom angles, and the likes, and thinking to myself: “It’s fine knowing that these are parts of a boat, but technical jargon is for land skippers, not fishermen. If boat builders know to put these things on boats then we’re all fine.” During my lifetime I’ve been fortunate enough to have skippered many different makes of boats, along different parts of our coast, through the surf, in the massive Atlantic storm swells, in the most idyllic conditions and everything in between. Some boats I’ve loved and on some I’ve wished I’d taken along spare underpants. The one conclusion I’ve reached through all of that as a skipper is that the writer of the article was right — I

Even in the cross-sea approach the strakes of this monohull retain its lateral stability and throw the spray created down and aft.

26 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

did need to understand that technical jargon. Understanding what makes a boat ride and behave like it does goes a long way to helping determine the best boat for your application and how you can take full advantage of its design. So, to follow on while adding the many new developments I’ve witnessed since that article, I’ll try to explain the fundamentals of what the various boat parts do and how they inf luence a boat’s performance, what to look for and what to avoid. Now bear in mind that I’m no naval architect or boat design expert, nor am I a highly qualified engineer; I can only speak from experience and from witnessing firsthand the effects of the sea on the different aspects of hull design. This may take a while, so get comfortable while we talk boats …. HULL TYPES The most common disagreement you’ll hear amongst boaters is over which is the better hull type — a mono or a cat?

Then comes the stability issue — which is more stable at sea? Which has the better ride? Which is the easiest to handle? These are all basic but essential considerations. As more of a mediator, I am not going to stick my neck out and say which is better; I own both kinds, so it’s my prerogative to sit on the fence Let’s take a look at the histor y behind the two major recreational boat designs along our coast. Mono hulls were around long before cats appeared on our shores — not necessarily because they were better, but because they were tried, tested and best understood. When cats first appeared there was huge scepticism from traditional boaters, but eventually their advantages came to the fore, primarily along the east coast. In essence, the “V” of a boat’s hull determines its ride. The sharper the V, the better it handles rough conditions simply because it slices through the water more easily. However, the downside is that they tend to lean to one side

while running in calmer conditions. Conversely, the flatter the hull of the boat, the more economical and higher on the water it will ride, adding speed and manoeuvrability. The downside of flat hulls is that they give a very hard, uncomfortable ride on anything but calm water. Our monohull ski-boats are, for the most part, somewhere in between. Then comes the difference between a displacement hull and a planing hull. Our ski-boats are termed â&#x20AC;&#x153;planingâ&#x20AC;? hulls because they ride on top of the water, making use of engine power, speed and manoeuvrability, at the sacrifice of stability. A displacement hull â&#x20AC;&#x201D; like that of an ocean liner, trawler, pole boat or tanker, rides in the water with a low centre of gravity giving it much more stability at the sacrifice of speed and agility. Monohull boats are designed to use their bows to cut through the swells giving a softer, more predictable ride into a head-on sea or wind. In a follow-

ing sea many have a tendency to â&#x20AC;&#x153;bowsteerâ&#x20AC;?; this is where the bow leans to one side as the weight distribution moves forward, like down the face of a swell, and the boat uncontrollably veers off to the side. This is also known as broaching. Monohulls naturally roll at rest, but it is a steady, predictable motion and usually easy to retain oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s balance. The distribution of weight while travelling is important, and because of the angled flat surfaces of the bottom of the hull and rotation of the propellers, tend to lean to one side once on the plane. A good skipper can easily overcome most instances of this by using the engines if there are two, and if not, trim planers do a wonderful job. Catamarans, affectionately referred to as cats, are planing hulls with all the associated attributes. They make use of lift, be it air or water funnelled through the tunnel, to ride on two thin hulls, thus minimising drag. Minimised drag (technically reducing the hullâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;wetted

areaâ&#x20AC;?), in theory, equates to less effort, thus requires less power and uses less fuel. Cats do not like head-on swells as the water is compressed into the tunnel, making the ride hard, erratic and uncomfortable. A good skipper can overcome this by simply tacking to the destination, taking the swell at an angle which allows the hulls to cut the swell one at a time. Cats have less of a tendency to broach as the two parallel hulls are less likely to lean when riding the face of a swell. I say â&#x20AC;&#x153;less of a tendencyâ&#x20AC;? because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve skippered a few cats that broach even while running on a flat sea, but this is usually a result of bad boat set-up or design. Are cats more stable? Yes, in the greater scheme of things they are. However, while at drift they ride the swells one hull at a time, which makes for a quick double roll. This can be unpredictable and makes it less easy to retain oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s balance. My experience is that we all need

When studying the hull over water movement of this big catamaran, one can clearly see how itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s planing on its aft wetted area and that the chine and strakes are providing good stability and spray management.

SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 â&#x20AC;˘ 27

28 â&#x20AC;¢ SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

The complex chine and strake design of this very big catamaran ensures lateral stability while also providing a substantial aft planing area which ensures both lift and support of the big motors powering this craft.

two boats if we are free to roam. If golfers must have a whole bunch of sticks then why can’t we have a couple of boats? The sea conditions west of Cape Agulhas are, for the most part, very different to our east coast conditions. Surf launched boats are often styled quite different to ramp launched boats. Sometimes a big boat is preferable while at other times smaller is more practical. Do you see where I’m going with this? There is a perfect boat for every situation but not always a perfect situation for your boat. So, let’s step out beyond the type of hull and take a look at what makes a boat ride like it does. Here we will

delve into the different features on a boat and the how they affect performance. We’ll look at, amongst others: • Chines and strakes; • Dead rise and transom angles; • Gunnels and deck heights; • Bulkheads and stringers; • Weight distribution; • Steps, outmounts and trips. CHINES A chine is where the angle of the hull changes to form the side. A chine can be termed a hard chine or a soft chine; the sharper the angle, the harder the chine, while a soft chine has a more gentle transition. In theory, a boat with

a hard chine should, because of water resistance, roll less but be more jerky, while a soft chine will make the boat roll more gently but also land more severely. One of the fundamental requirements of ski-boat design is to get the hull to rise out of the water as quickly as possible to reduce drag. This in turn gives better fuel economy and requires less power once on the plane, reducing engine wear. Our boat designers have used the chines on the hulls to deliver just that. As mentioned earlier, flat surfaces create more lift, so by flattening out the chines before they become sides, they create that flat area for lift.

A careful look at this hull shows not only its full straking, but also its full complete port chine and its aft non-trip section.

SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 29

A wide, flat chine for easy lift and holding the plane at lower speeds.

A reverse chine on the transom will tend to push the bow down so engines require more trim out. However there’s a balance as to how wide the flat piece should be because a very wide chine will lift quickly but will in turn harden the ride. Chines also serve to def lect the water, so the angle plays a big part in determining whether the boat will be dry or wet. Water comes off a flat area in a straight line, so a non-shaped chine will send the water up into the air at the dead-rise angle of the hull. (We’ll come back to explain “dead-rise” a bit later.) Therefore, a flattened chine will send the water off at a low trajectory while adding lift to the hull and that’s a really nice feature. As ski-boat designers became more innovative, they pinched ideas from great boats around the world, and one of these features was the “reverse” chine. These look like a cup or inverted “V” under the boat, before the hull goes up the side. These will run at varying lengths along the hull, depending what the designer wanted to achieve. A reverse chine allows for water pressure to build up quickly, thus creating excellent lift with the added bonus of deflecting the spray downward. But again the ride becomes harder. You may well ask, if reverse chines give so many more advantages, why not run them the entire length of the boat? Some boat builders do run them from bow to stern to get a certain type of performance. Understandably the area where one would most like lift and water deflection, is at the bow and midships. If your boat has a heavy load at the stern, such as engines, fuel, batteries, etc., you’ll want to lift that as well, and in this case reverse chines run right through. But in designing chines one needs 30 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

A non-trip chine like this one (above) allows the stern to slide out in turns, minimising the chance of the boat capsizing. A wide chine lift enhanced with the use of lifting strakes.

to look very carefully at the application of the boat. In a sharp turn the inside chine will tend to dig into the water as the boat leans, causing the hull to become a flat surface, pushing water and slowing the boat. This also causes an element of instability which, if not controlled, could cause the boat to capsize. By flattening the chine in the rear of the boat — or in the case of a cat hull putting a 45 degree angle (non-trip chine) on the face of the chine — the stern is allowed to slide out, minimising the risk of capsizing and making the turn sharper. But we’re not out of the woods yet ... One thing you do not want your boat to do is unnecessarily push your bow down. So, to overcome this phenomenon the upward water pressure needs to escape before the back, which it will do if the chines are flat. Reverse chines in the aft third of the hull will lift the stern and force the bow down. It’s fine if that’s what you need, but

scary if you don’t. Reverse chines in the bow help minimise it digging into the sea when running down a swell and deflect spray out to the sides. Now is the time to take a closer look at your own boat and maybe understand a little better why it performs the way it does. In the July issue of SKI-BOAT I’ll be back with more of a technical explanation of what makes one boat different from the next, and give some tips on how you can change its performance. I’ll also show you how we at Down South Marine have taken a renowned boat design and updated it for the modern boater. The new design is currently in test phase and is due for release later in the year, so watch this space. • Should you have any queries or require more information, you’re welcome to contact Rob Naysmith at Down South Marine, Cape Town 083 235 9550 or 021 712 1069.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Phillip Marx, SADSAA President S I write this, the world is experiencing extremely challenging and uncertain times. Covid-19 does not discriminate, and will affect us all. The practical and economic implications it

brings cause stress and fear for so many. However, I hope that the lockdown will also encourage us all to reflect on our lives and the things that are actually important. We have the opportunity now to realise how much we can do without, and to focus on all that is important. I trust that as a nation, we will emerge from this crisis stronger, a little kinder, and more grateful for what we have. Many of the competitions planned for the early part of the year were proactively cancelled, which has proved

to be the correct decision. Some of these will be re-scheduled, and we appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding while the organising committees change their arrangements. All the postponed AGM and prize giving functions will also go ahead once we have more clarity. Congratulations to the anglers chosen for the SADSAA and Protea teams recently; there is much competition for these places, and your selection is an outstanding achievement.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

RECENT RECORDS

Billfish Inter Provincial Richards Bay 4 – 7 March 2020 Unfortunately fishing was very slow despite the teams’ best efforts. However, as always, there was a great atmosphere amongst the anglers Gold:

Free State (two fish on day one) Silver: Zululand (one fish on day three) Bronze: not awarded

•

Seth van den Berg 26.10kg Red Steenbras (Copper) on 10kg line fishing off East London: 10kg Junior South African record.

•

Graham Burdett (EP) 10.9kg Black Spot Kingfish during the Gamefish Nationals:All Africa 10kg line record and potential World All Tackle record as well.

• Kevin Tait (Ballito SBC) 22.16kg garrick on 17kg line: 24kg SA Record

Left: Seth van den Berg with his 26.1kg red steenbras caught on 10kg line.

SADSAA CONTACTS: Email: <info@sadsaa.co.za> • Website: <www.sadsaa.co.za> 32 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS 22 – 27 March: SADSAA Junior Gamefish Nationals, PYC — POSTPONED 27 April – 1 May: SADSAA Senior Gamefish Nationals, St Lucia — POSTPONED 1 – 3 May:All Coastal Bottomfish Interprovincial, Gonubie 1 – 3 May: Marlin SBC Annual Classic Competition 2 – 3 May: Umlalazi Couta Classic, Umlalazi 3 – 9 May: ILTTA, Guatemala 4 – 8 May:All Inland Interprovincial, Sodwana 8 – 10 May: Shelly Beach Interclub, Shelly Beach 11 – 14 May: EFSA Billfish Tournament, Cape Verde 14 – 17 May: Mapelane Trophy Interclub, Mapelane 16 – 17 May: Shelly Beach Interclub, Shelly Beach 19 – 23 May:Tuna Interprovincial, Rumbly Bay 22 – 24 May: Umhlanga Prestige Andy de Wet Interclub

30 – 31 May: Zinkwazi Interclub, Zinkwazi 30 – 31 May: Mapelane Couta Derby, Mapelane 31 May – 5 June: Guinjata Species Bonanza, Guinjata — CANCELLED 13 – 14 June:Warnadoone Interclub 24 – 27 June: 20th Shelly Beach Fishing Festival 25 – 28 June: Mapelane Junior Interclub, Mapelane 3 – 5 July: 21 Species Tournament, Meer & See 6 – 10 July: SADSAA Light Tackle Billfish Nationals, Sodwana 11 – 12 July: Snoek Derby, St Lucia 12 – 17 July: SADSAA Tuna Nationals 4 – 8 August: Kleinbaai Bottomfish Inter-Provincial 20 – 25 September: Junior Bottomfish Inter-Provincial, Struisbaai

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENTS

3--man SADSAA Masters team — Dave Murgatroyd (Natal) Captain, Brent Egling (Natal), Frank Sykes (Natal).

E have selected the following anglers for SADSAA and Protea teams:

70th IBT, Cuba, 8 to 13 June 2020 (heavy tackle billfish): 4-man Protea team — Mike Riley (Griquas) Captain, Mark Beyl (Zululand), Sam Botha (Mpumalanga), Piet Nel (Natal).

Light Tackle Billfish Nationals, Sodwana Bay, 6 to 10 July: 3-man SADSAA team — George Breedt (Zululand) Captain, Charles Du Plessis (Natal), Mark Cockcraft (South Gauteng).

EFSA fishing championship, Denmark, 10 to 14 August 2020: 5-man Protea team — Martin Gierz (Eastern Province) Captain, Daniel Hughes (Western Province), Francois Beukes (Natal), Louis Becker (Western Province), Kobus Koekemoer (Border). POSTPONED: Gamefish Nationals, St Lucia Zululand, 27 April to 1 May 2020: 3-man SADSAA team — Shane Dennis (Natal) Captain, Abed Khan (Natal), Brad McLaren (Zululand).

3-man SADSAA Masters team — Henk Du Plessis (North Gauteng) Captain, Francois Bezuidenhout (Mpumalanga), Marius de Vos (Mpumalanga). Tuna Nationals, Shelly Beach, 12 to 17 July 2020: 3-man SADSAA Masters team — Dave Murgatroyd (Natal) Captain, Brent Egling (Natal), Frank Sykes (Natal). Congratulations to these anglers on their achievement; we wish them tight lines.

READERS’ QUERIES SADSAA’s President, Phillip Marx, has undertaken to answer a limited number of readers’ queries regarding SADSAA in each issue. If you have a question you would like answered, email him on <president@sadsaa.co.za>. SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 33

34 â&#x20AC;¢ SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

TOP CATCHES By Peter Harvey

Peter Harvey with the 93.8kg yellowfin tuna he caught off Sodwana in March 2020, an unusually large tuna for that area and a possible All Africa record on 15kg line.

T was the fourth beautiful day of the 2020 Qeqesha Mynmanne competition at Sodwana and our Goloza crew of seven were looking a bit weary, having undertaken the long trip to Black Rock on the three previous days. Skipper Gary Prentice suggested we try a shorter run south to “Rooi Valle”. We were lying fifth but we needed some weight and maybe a ’cuda or two to put us on top. After a few hours and only two small skipjacks, Guzzi fought a monster from the deep which was bitten in half by a big tiger shark. We decided to head back to “Diep Gat”. Gary tossed me a rapala-style lure made in Sodwana by Africa Lures, called a Blood Pearl, to add to the spread.

A little later, with three lures out and in 45m of water we were heading home a bit grumpy when my reel screamed off. Fortunately I was close to the rod as we had a few well known rod snatchers on the boat. It was lucky we were on a walkaround, because when this fish — we’d figured it was a tuna — decided to go on tour I had to follow, and with much shouting to clear the deck, I was able to do the 360. After an hour of fighting with no harness I was feeling the burn and I asked Ryan Williamson if he was sure it was a tuna. He replied, “Probably a small one hooked in the side.” Well, into the last 20 minutes the crew went very quiet. Dave was feeding me water and then I heard that we were only 200m from where the tigershark had eaten Guzzi’s fish . My pumping arm was dead and I was starting to think that maybe the Yanks are correct as they wind with the left hand and pump with the SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 35

right. We had not seen the fish yet, but with much encouragement from the team the fish finally popped onto the surface and I heard the tone in Ryan’s voice change. There was great excitement as this was a fantastic fish which slowly came to the boat. Ryan and Dave hauled it onto the boat with much effort and jubilant shouting from the team. A 93.8 kg yellowfin tuna, possibly an All Africa record on 15kg line — now that doesn’t happen every day. Thanks to the team and especially to our skipper Gary; without his generosity and skill this would not have happened — he’d spooled new Suffix 15kg onto the Shimano 30 and tied up all the leaders. The custom rod, a Calstar 800 by BMK was a beaut, and although not designed for tuna it worked fantastically. Although we did not win the competition we had a fantastic fish to celebrate as a team and that is what it is all about. My thanks to the Mynmanne Fishing Club Chairman Allan Beukes and the organising committee and sponsors for another great week.

Team Goloza with their dream fish. From left: Dave Rattray, Peter Harvey, Ryan Williamson, Gary Prentice (skipper), Dave Gaul, Geoff Woollatt and Gareth Reeves.

36 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ 37

OFF THE CUFF Rhori Kane and angler Byron Kane celebrate landing a rare redbacked snoek.

Musings of a fishing widow during the COVID-19 lockdown By Mary Kane

REMEMBER watching the special broadcast when our President announced the lockdown and immediately imagined the upheaval and major changes that would need to take place in homes and businesses across the country. The dread of home schooling and ensuring the safety of our elderly parents ... grocer y shopping with the growing uncertainy of the future of available food supplies. What do we buy now and what will be available in the coming weeks? Bottle stores will be closed!! What?? I looked at my husband with a million questions going through my mind. He was already preoccupied on this Whatsapp group. I saw his face drop, his eyes mist over and his shoulders slump. He looked up at me. Bad news, I thought — what could it be now? He managed to draw enough breath and get his mouth to form the words before whispering,“No fishing for three weeks. I heard a small whimper, then he managed, straight-faced, to ask me to please buy five cases of beer the next day. Every certified boat in Durban must have launched that Thursday morning before lockdown. The last day of good weather and the angling addicts all rushed to the beach for one last soul feeding launch. Anglers with tears in their eyes parked their boats that afternoon and put on their boat covers in a silent gesture of commitment to the president and the lockdown process. As I write this we are six days into 38 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

lockdown and my man has not been too bad really. We’ve made it through the first weekend of no fishing and other than the trawl of homemade videos and memes on social media to keep him occupied, there are no signs of his Rapala lip yet. I did, however, catch him fishing in the pool on Sunday while my son, a belt tied around his waist, swam in the opposite direction. Anything just to hear the sound of a reel screaming I suppose. I like to keep him on his toes though. When we’re watching TV I might comment that “This movie has a great CAST!” and then he jumps up with his hands in position. Or, if we’re watching the news showing unrest in some of the areas, I’ll comment that “Those people are going on STRIKE!” and he’s up again looking around for a rod to grab. I have to get my kicks somehow! I’ve also seen videos of guys mock fishing or should I say “wishing” from their ski-boats parked in their driveways, fishing kayaks launched into swimming pools and even Jack Russells used as bait! (Note to the SPCA, animal lovers and Child Welfare: No animals or children seemed to be harmed in the making of these films.) I really enjoy the South African mindset and approach to this pandemic and the fact that, while it is absolutely serious, we find a way to still be human about it. The anglerhood of fishermen who share their challenges on social media only prove that while the playing field may have changed, the competive streak is still alive and well. So too is the old story of “I’m just

having the boat washed” while he actually shares a few beers with the boys. Well he can’t use that excuse when the boat is safely parked on dry land, now they’ve formed “down down” challenges on Whatsapp. What next? As a fishing widow I find I’m also trying to adapt — not only to having my other half working from home during the week, but now he’s staying home over the weekends too! We’ve recently moved house and my plan was to get all the fishing tackle relics cleared out — the ones that have moved with us for the last three times and still haven’t been unpacked. I’m convinced that some of this stuff came off the ark; I wonder if Noah ever wet a line at some stage ... While three boxes have been emptied so far, the tackle-room creep has already started its shift towards the living area again and I start to wonder if we will survive this lockdown after all. I’ll just have to resign myself to the fact that my home will never be in those designer home magazines and there will still be the odd sheet thrown over fishing tackle when visitors are due to arrive. That’s the small price we pay for loving a fisherman, I suppose. Their passion cannot be contained, just like their fishing tackle and beers. For the duration of the SA Covid-19 lockdown SKI-BOAT magazine is inviting anglers to send videos of themselves “fishing” in whatever guise, or photos of their homemade lockdown lures to the SKI-BOAT Facebook page. Three lucky posters will win a year’s subscription to the magazine.

Subscribe to

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YOUR NEXT YEAR’S SUBSCRIPTION ABSOLUTELY FREE! Three lucky subscribers will each win a full year’s subscription to SKI-BOAT magazine, valued at the newsstand price of R216. This means, should you subscribe and win, you will receive your next year’s subscription ABSOLUTELY FREE!

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FREE DIGITAL E-ZINE ON WWW.ISSUU.COM SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 39

PLACES

42 â&#x20AC;¢ SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

“Men m

ay com

By Erw

e and m

in Burs

en may

go but

I go on

forever .” — T he Bro HE pro ok by A verbial lfred Lo southe li fe b lood of rd Tenn rn Afric o yson u Namib a ia, Bots via the mig r continent — w h b t a r y w n o aa Za ad ter m at Capric s, prov nd Zimbabw mbezi and K er — is pum orn. p e — in a ides th This ye tersect vango rivers ed across th e p re c ar’s abo e hear . in ip water a Fou it v as ation b ve-n nd incr ase for t wetlands an r countries — tland of eased v ormal rainfall d m An ce o s t a re egetatio h as nor ntral plains t gola, n grow as swelled the t h th as fa s o e f t the Tro hat, in wo m r afield pic of as Moç assive “arter ambiqu ie e and n s”, promising orthern li South A fe-giving frica.

SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 43

The dark mood of the Zambezi at sunset.

Team Namusha. Dick Pratt and Erwin Bursik with all the skippers including general manager Annetjie Theron, who also underwent training.

Team Mubala. Dick Pratt, Erwin Bursik and general manager Farieda Diergaardt congratulate the skippers from Mubala Lodge and Camp as their certificates are handed over. 44 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

It was into this heartland that Dick Pratt and I, together with our wives, travelled in late February 2020 to visit three of Gondwana Collections’ “jewels” — Namushasha River Lodge on the Kavango River system as it branches into the Okavango Delta, and Mubala Camp and Mubala Lodge on the mighty Zambezi River. We started off by visiting the Victoria Falls and witnessing it in all its splendour as moderately high water levels spilled over the cliff into the cauldron in the gorge below. This wonder of the world is indeed just that — a natural wonder that explorer David Livingstone came across over 100 years ago. Walking along its verge after viewing it first during “The Flight of the Angels” in a helicopter makes an even greater impact. It truly is the experience of a lifetime. From Victoria Falls we drove through Botswana over the Chobe River into the eastern part of Namibia’s Caprivi panhandle to reach Gondwana Collection’s Mubala Camp and Lodge 40km east of Katima Mulilo. We felt privileged to sit on the deck of Mubala Lodge, Gondwana’s recently opened five-star lodge, and watch the sun set over the might Zambezi and Zambia’s flood plain to the west, experiencing the morphing of day to night in a kaleidoscope of colours that even the greatest of photographs cannot do justice to. That in itself made it well worth the time, money and effort required to get to Mubala Lodge.

The various types of single and twin engined crafts used by the lodge on the Zambezi.

Wind against river current can make for interesting boating conditions. The real reason our group travelled into this magnificent area of Africa was ostensibly to work. Back in 2015 Dick and I undertook the task of providing advanced skipper training at Hakusembe Lodge and Namushasha Lodge, both on the Kavango River. Our training was so well accepted that Gondwana Collection, Namibia’s biggest tourist lodge group, asked if we could train of ten of their skippers at their Mubala resorts on the Zambezi and repeat the course at Namushasha for eight skippers. Whilst the skipper training is basically the same, the boating environment at these two locations is totally different. On the Zambezi you have a wide, fast flowing volume of water whereas at Namushasha the myriad narrow channels still hold reasonably fast flowing water as the Kavango River enters the Okavango Delta and fans out over the vast flood plains. One complication of navigating these narrow waterways is figur-

ing out where you actually are, and another is encountering hippo pods that hole up in these tributaries approximately half a kilometre apart. Those aspects — along with hidden sand banks and dead-end tributaries — test both local knowledge as well as advanced “boat driving” skills. In my articles on these lodges published in the July/August 2015 and January/February 2020 issues of Ski-Boat I discussed the fishing opportunities for targeting tigerfish and the variety of large bream and barbel caught in the region, especially in the Zambezi. Apart from the pleasure cruising, game viewing and total relaxation offered at all these lodges, early morning and late afternoon fishing of these waters can prove very worthwhile. In describing a river’s twisting journey, Alfred Lord Tennyson’s final line says it all:“Men may come and men may go but I go on forever.”

Annie Bursik surveys the outlook over the river and flood plains of the Kavongo Delta, from the dining area at Namushasha Lodge. SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 45

“A day dream, an idea, a concept can come to fruition if there is a driving force strong enough to make it happen.” — Erwin Viktor Bursik

HE think tank at Gondwana Collections had a dream — a floating houseboat stationed in a backwater canal in the Okavango swamp where a couple could be safely ensconced overnight in complete luxury with all the modcons yet in total solitude with no means of “escape”. After a few days spent training the Gondwana Collection skippers it was time to relax again, and some of that time was spent aboard the realisation of the houseboat dream ... The Namushasha River Villa was built in Windhoek and is now anchored in a small backwater cove in the delta. The aft

46 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

deck overlooks the grass plains of the Bwabwata National Park and its abundant wildlife, and the front deck has views of a magnificent papyrus swamp which boasts an abundance of bird life. It’s a wonderful place to spend some time — fascinating and relaxing during the daylight hours before they bloom into magnificent sunsets, and haunting as darkness descends surrounding one with Africa’s night noises. Many of those sounds floating across the water are made by the ever-present hippos and, depending on the season, elephants and other terrestrial beasts of Africa which come to quench their thirst after dark. The narrow beam of light from a handheld spotlight not only adds visuals to this “sound vista”, but also creates a million minute “stars” as the numerous flying insects take to the air over the glittering waters.

Spending a night on the floating villa is a unique experience that would be hard to emulate even in a luxurious African bush environment. The Namushasha River Villa is something special and fully complements the environment in which it has been situated. It is constructed on a large aluminium double pontoon base with two-storey deck, with a curved roof cladding the entire craft. The accompanying photographs show more detail of the craft itself. Our first sight of the villa as we rounded the bend in the river was breath-taking; no literature nor photograph we had seen prior to that moment could portray the magnitude of the first viewing from the craft ferrying us to the villa. Having boarded the houseboat on her aft deck and vaguely taken note of the gas braai and open fire pit, our attention was immediately drawn to the vista of the deck-level lounge

and living area. It’s all five-star luxury, and we were totally enthralled as Namushasha River Lodge Manager Annetjie Theron showed us all the facilities and the abundant provisions for our night on the villa. Food and beverages were way beyond expectation and way beyond what we could consume. We could have been marooned on this craft for a week and still have had surplus provisions. Climbing the flight of stairs led us to the vast bedroom and bathroom that was superb to say the least. Both rooms have unmatched 270-degree views of the surrounding vista. It was complete luxury in an environment that blew our minds. Despite a lifetime of memories of incredible trips in Africa, Dick and I and our wives all agreed that a night on the Gondwana Collection Namushasha River Villa was an exceptional experience that will never be forgotten. Indeed, we have a fervent hope that we’ll be able to repeat it.

SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 47

SCIENTIFIC

Freshwater protected areas used as a management tool

Professional angler Johan Burger with the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest radio tagged tigerfish Hydrocynus vittatus (6.011 kg) to date.

SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 â&#x20AC;˘ 49

From this study we predicted that protection of 10km river length could protect at least 50% of tigerfish for at least 75% of the time. The idea is for protection of the species especially to promote successful spawning. If these protected areas could be established across the SADC region, we should see an improvement regarding the inland fisheries sector. Note: FPA locations on the map are only for presenting the idea; actual positions will differ.

Tracking tigerfish from the air. The Cuito River from Angola on the left can be seen snaking towards the Kavango River in Namibia.

50 â&#x20AC;˘ SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

TAGGING TIGERS IN THE KAVANGO By Dr. Francois Jacobs Chief Fisheries Biologist, Kamutjonga Inland Fisheries Institute, Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Namibia

NOWLEDGE about area use by freshwater fishes — such as for feeding, spawning and colonisation of new habitats — is important for managing fish populations. In Africa, there is scant information on area use by most freshwater fish species and this has constrained the effective management of many fishes. This is concerning because many fish populations have come under increasing pressure and declining catch rates, particularly of the larger, more valuable species is evident in

many systems. One of these species is the African tigerfish Hydrocynus vittatus, a large predatory fish species that is endemic to the African continent, is important in small-scale fisheries and, is one of the most sought-after species by recreational anglers. In an effort to improve management of freshwater fish species in Namibia, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of Namibia and, and Namibian Nature Foundation combined their resources to determine whether freshwater protected areas (FPAs) could be an effec-

tive tool for the management and conservation of this species. Freshwater protected areas are a promising management and conservation approach for freshwater fishes. FPAs are modelled on marine protected areas where benefits, including the spill-over of fish from protected areas to increase fish biomass and yield in adjacent fished areas, are well documented. To be effective, FPAs need to afford protection for a considerable portion of the lifetime of a fish and knowledge of the life-history, movement and migration behaviour of the target species is required if FPAs are to be designed appropriately. During the study 49 tigerfish were caught with standard recreational fishing gear and tagged with radio trans-

SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 51

Radio tagged tigerfish revived and released back into the Kavango River. Note: This tigerfishâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;shead was normal colour on one side while the other side wascompletely black.

On capture the tigerfish were placed in a 50 litre aerated water-filled container into which 2-phenoxy-ethanol had been added as anaesthetic. While the fish were in an anaesthetised state, hypodermic needles were inserted through the musculature below the dorsal fin. Orthopaedic wires were threaded through the hypodermic needles and used to firmly secure the external radio transmitters against a plastic back-plate. The tagging procedure took about two minutes and total recovery time ranged between two- and five minutes. Total air exposure was kept to a minimum, never over ten seconds. 52 â&#x20AC;˘ SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

mitters (approximately R3 000 per transmitter) in the Mahangu Game Park area of the Kavango River. Of the 49 tagged tigerfish, data from 14 tagged fish was excluded from the analysis because 11 tigerfish could not be located for the whole period, one tigerfish was caught by a crocodile, and two more tigerfish were reported recaptured by anglers. The final dataset, therefore, comprised 35 individuals. Tigerfish were manually tracked by boat and light aircraft in the core study area of 33km every 12 days from July 2016 to May 2017 for up to 246 days. In addition, 14 extended surveys were carried out for up to 680km to determine the total area use of the tagged individuals. Twenty-three (66%) of the tigerfish had high site fidelity, using an area of less than 33km of river, whereas 12 tigerfish (34%) undertook long distance movements of up to 397km upstream and 116km downstream from their tagging locations. This substantially exceeds the previous estimate of individual means that ranged from 0.5â&#x20AC;&#x201C;105.9km river length recorded in the Zambezi River. The distance of 397km by an individual tigerfish documented during this study is currently the furthest movement recorded for any potamodromous fish species on the African continent. Although smaller pelagic species such as Brycinus leuciscus and Alestes baremoze in the Niger River were believed to migrate similar distances, during the time of those studies (1952) the technology to accurately record freshwater fish movements simply did not exist. It is plausible that other freshwater fish species can move similar distances, but behavioural ecology studies on freshwater fishes in Africa is scant.

During the long-distance movement, tigerfish crossed the territorial boundaries of Angola, Namibia and Botswana which highlights the need for international cooperation in the management of this species. The river use recorded during this study further indicates that a portion of the tigerfish population may be migratory while others exhibit residential behaviour. Migratory and residential behaviours are important within the same species as this promotes genetic diversity, and are considered highly important in the formulation of conservation and management strategies, especially concerning the protection of local tigerfish stocks and special habitats. Of the 35 fish that were monitored, 40% spent more than 80% of the monitored time in the 33km study area and 51% stayed within the study area for at least 50% of the monitored time. These findings suggest that freshwater protected areas may be a useful management tool and we predict that a protected river area of 2–5km river length could protect 25.9–34.6% of the population for at least 75% of the time, whereas protection of 10km river length could protect at least 50% of tigerfish for at least 75% of the time. This suggests that FPAs would provide some protection to at least a portion of the tigerfish population in the river. It is essential that FPAs incorporate the lateral and longitudinal connectivity of the river system required for a species to access habitats required for spawning and feeding, and accounts for the human activities in the area under consideration. In this regard, we note that the recommendations of the current study are limited to recommending the size of potential FPAs based on an assessment of area use by tigerfish. Ultimately, recommendations on the optimal design and placement of FPAs will require additional research to elucidate on the linkages between the biological habitat requirements of tigerfish (e.g., for spawning and feeding), their movement biology, and the risk that interactions with human activities pose to the maintenance of these biological processes. Furthermore, there are at least 30 tourist lodges situated next to the Kavango River in Namibia and Botswana. The majority of these lodges offer recreational fishing for tigerfish and are directly benefiting from healthy tigerfish populations. From this study it is clear that the local subsistence fishermen living next to the Kavango River and recreational anglers at tourist lodges share the same tigerfish resource. Therefore, the decline in tigerfish populations could cause further conflicts between stakeholders of the Kavango River that are often dependent on one another. Increased con-

Twelve tigerfish (34%) undertook long distance movements of up to 397km upstream and 116km downstream from their tagging locations in the Mahangu Game Park area. The figure shows the furthest locations recorded for the 12 tagged tigerfish.

Chief Fisheries Biologist Dr Francois Jacobs about to release a radio tagged tigerfish.

Fisheries Biologist Deon Tiyeho recording positional data and environmental variables.

flicts between subsistance fishermen and recreational anglers have occurred along the Zambezi River and this has been attributed to the declining fisheries. Fairly recently the first communitybased fish protected areas were established within the Sikunga (Sikunga channel) and Impalila (Kasaya channel) conservancies on the Zambezi River, Namibia. Following the successful establishment of these fisheries reserves, several areas on the Kwando River have also been identified by communities and are currently in the process of being Gazetted, as are two areas on the Kavango River. These protected areas are co-managed by communities and function on the same principle as conservancies in Namibia, and may be the only viable

option that can ensure tigerfish (and other riverine species) populations remain viable. In conclusion, we could see that tigerfish cross the territorial boundaries of Angola, Namibia and Botswana which emphasises the need for cross boundary initiatives and ideas. We are therefore working to ultimately promote the establishment of FPAs over the entire SADC region to ensure that our rivers remain sustainable for future generations. The scientific article “Implications of the movement behaviour of African tigerfish Hydrocynus vittatus for the design of freshwater protected areas” can be downloaded from the Journal of Fish Biology. https://onlinelibrary. wiley.com/doi/10. SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 53

54 â&#x20AC;¢ SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

COMPETITIONS By Quentin Clark Photos by Justin Klusener

T’S been 11 years since a Rosebowl has been hosted in Moçambique, but Guinjata Bay, its ocean, weather, restaurants and community really came to the party delivering what was certainly from a fishing point of view the most productive Rosebowl hosted in the last five years. Twenty-five boats from the Southern Gauteng zone entered the competition and made their way up to Guinjata in March for the greatly anticipated event. Guinjata SFC got off to a great start on Monday morning in seas that could be described as slightly unpleasant. Johnny Boy, one of only four boats that launched, nominated for 37kg line class on Monday. They successfully released their first marlin just after 2pm. At the end of weigh in on Monday Guinjata were leading the field by quite a margin, mostly thanks to the marlin, but their gamefishing boats also came to the party with five boats in the Top Ten for the day. On day one 43 fish were brought to the scales but the marlin released by Johnny Boy was the only billfish. The weather improved considerably on Tuesday morning and the fleet had a relatively easy send-off. This would prove to be the only day that did not produce a marlin, but Guinjata managed to keep the top spot with four of their

boats in the Top Five behind Fin Rider from TSC which took the day with their haul of three species. The biggest fish on the day was a 17kg yellowfin tuna caught by Tarreck Byrne aboard Prime Zulu. Day three belonged to Johnny Boy. After losing a marlin the previous day, they managed to bag two before 11am. Johno Joseph skippering Little Hooker also successfully released a marlin, helping the Makaira surge that was imminent. Guinjata’s gamefish boats also produced, and five excluding Johnny Boy were placed in the Top Ten for the day. Marlin were proving to be where the points lay, and the two released by Johnny Boy on day three pushed the Guinjata team well ahead of the pack. This was not missed by some of the other clubs, and the following morning would see almost all the Makaira boats, and several East Rand Boats start targeting marlin. Marlin Frenzy was about to begin. Johno Joseph on Little Hooker took the day in a ding dong battle with Johnny Boy as they radioed in hookups and releases throughout the day. In the end Little Hooker had three and Johnny Boy two. Wessel Grimbeek on Maestro had an amazing day, calling in a double hook-up and successfully releasing both marlin. Two hours later he called in another double, but this time they unfortunately lost the fish. Attitude from Makaira and Silverback from East Rand also managed to release

Marlin caught off Johnny Boy.

a marlin each taking the total to nine marlin for the day. The marlin released by Attitude made it four for Makaira for the day, pushing them beyond Guinjata into the lead. Anton Lingenfelder was out in the marlin grounds with his 10kg setup and although he had three marlin on during the day he failed to get even one next to the boat and under control on the light tackle. This day also produced 58 fish at the scales, the most for the week, with Wednesday having 56 and Monday and Tuesday 43 and 42 respectively.

SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 55

Johnny Boy was the top boat of the 2020 Rosebowl.

Maestro came third. Friday produced only 31 gamefish, the least for the week, but by this time Guinjata had woken up as well and sent its fleet to the deep for marlin to try and wrest the lead back from Makaira. The marlin hook-up calls came in regularly throughout the day, and once again Johan Eloff and his crew on Johnny Boy came through with the first marlin of the day. Guinjata had done the calculations and they needed to get two more marlin than Makaira to take the lead. It was touch and go all day, but Guinjata got a marlin from Johnny Boy, one from Shipfaced and the last marlin of the tournament from Prime Zulu, this on 15kg line for a few extra points. Only one boat from Makaira got marlin on Friday but Trawling Sable dashed all hopes for Guinjata when they reported a double hook-up and release on marlin and shortly afterwards another release to take their boat total to three for the day. Maestro and Silverback also released a marlin each for East Rand 56 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

Little Hooker came second.

Mike Correira with a beautiful cuda caught off Prime Zulu.

Boating, bringing the marlin total for the day to nine again and the total for the tournament to 21. It should be mentioned that marlin on Bucket List and Attitude were disqualified earlier for being caught beyond the competition rules. The last day produced the only qualifying sailfish for the week, and was caught by brothers Collin and Mike Green on Reel Screamer. When they told us they’d caught it on the 600m mark it we realised why not many had been seen in the week. The only other was a close disqualification of Michael Jobert’s fish on Dreamcatcher. FINAL POSITIONS Makaira club took the top spot (767.6 points), Guinjata came second (641.28 points) and East Rand Boating third (475.75 points). Johnny Boy, with an amazing six marlin in the week, was pronounced Top Boat and also produced the Top Angler — Tristan McGregor who was the only double marlin angler to get

Tarreck Byrne and Mike Correira with a greater barracuda caught off Prime Zulu. some of the scarce bycatch. Little Hooker came second and Maestro third. Four anglers got two marlin each — all three of Johnny Boy’s crew (Tristan McGregor, Bruce Swatton and Lynton Swatton), and Petrus Geldunhys on Little Hooker. Top Lady was Annalene Grimbeek with an 8.3kg dorado. One hundred ’cuda were brought to the scales, but it must be said that at least 200 more did not make it as they were undersize. The small rat ’cuda were in abundance and took anything you put in the water. The fishing in the comp was electrifying, with this being the first competition I have been involved in over the last ten years where every boat brought fish to the gallows. As far as Rosebowls go, Guinjata produced 70 fish more than any of the previous comps in the past five years, proving once again what a superb venue this is. It may answer a few questions anglers have about the Chinese trawlers as well.

MY FIRST TUNA by Brendan Vermaak (12)

N 24 December 2019 I went fishing at Shelly Beach with my stepdad and his brother on his brother's boat, Wild Thing. We trolled but tuna were scarce and sharks full up on Protea Banks. We moved a bit further out to get away from the sharks and to avoid losing lures when all of a sudden all four reels started screaming and I saw my stepdad and his brother grabbing a rod each and start fighting tuna. Two reels were still screaming and one line was about to get tangled in the motors so I asked if I could help. My stepdad said yes and took the free rod out and gave it to me whilst still fighting a tuna on the other one. He then tightened the drag and told me to hold on tight and not lose the rod! The next moment the tuna pulled me off my feet! I knew I had to hold on to the rod. It dragged me across the deck on my stomach and I crashed into the rear of the boat between the motors, but I just held on tight. By this time the other rods were out and my stepdad helped me up and made me sit on his lap. He then showed me how to pull with my body by holding the rod to my chest and then reeling when I bent forward. Suddenly I found the tuna was coming in. After about 20 minutes the tuna was next to the boat and my uncle gaffed it. Only then did I release my grip on the rod. It was my best day ever! We weighed the tuna with the club scale and took pictures. It weighed 14kg and was the biggest on the boat that day.

SKI-BOAT magazine, in conjunction with Mercury, is proud to offer all junior deep sea anglers the opportunity to win awards for excellence in angling. If you are 16 years old or younger and you submit a photo of yourself and the fish you caught, you will receive a handsome certificate suitably inscribed confirming the catch. And there’s more ... Once a year the names of all junior anglers whos photographs appeared on the Mercury Junior Angler page will be included in a lucky draw and the winner will receive, courtesy of Mercury, a fantastic prize of a 2.5hp outboard motor. All you need to do is send us a photograph of yourself and your catch, together with the following details: • Your name address, telephone number and date of birth • Species and weight of the fish you caught • Line class used • Date and place fish was caught • Boat and skipper’s name All entries should be sent to : Mercury Junior Angler SKI-BOAT magazine PO Box 20545, Durban North 4016 or email your entry to <angler@mags.co.za>. There is no restriction on the number of awards that can be applied for, and SKI-BOAT magazine reserves the right to use the photographs as it sees fit. A selection of five award winners will appear in each issue of SKI-BOAT magazine. Junior anglers, Mercury and SKI-BOAT magazine acknowledge that you hold the future of our sport in your hands. Here’s your chance to show us what you can do!

60 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

BOATING

REVIVAL OF THE KINGCAT Testing the freshly tweaked legend By Erwin Bursik

IKE a Phoenix, the legendary bird in Greek mythology that cyclically regenerates or otherwise is “born again”, the turbulent path of the Kingcat — originally designed and built by the late Peter Motzouris of Z-Craft — is in the final stages of its evolution. Peter was one of South Africa’s leading offshore ski-boat designers and builders. His Invader and Kingcat ranges were his final legacy to the boating public. After ten years of turmoil regarding the Kingcat moulds and the continuation of this range of craft, Stephen van der Westhuizen of Blue Mile Boats and Toby van Rooyen of Zululand Marine Services in Kwambonambi have now taken them over. They are in the final stages of modernising the construction methods involved in building these craft. However, as Toby reiterated time and time again during our recent trip aboard the Kingcat F200 off Richards Bay, no changes whatsoever have been made to the hull design of the Kingcat range. And that’s just as well, because the hull is a large part of what makes this craft as popular now as it was when Peter was at the helm of Z-Craft. Toby says the internal construction of the Kingcat has been upgraded using the most modern construction methods in the GRP industry including lamination techniques that totally exclude the use of wood or marine ply. Foam is only used in the three lateral support frames, which are ultimately completely enclosed in glass fibre, making it impossible for the ingress of water. All other floatation is obtained by the way of Sondor foam which is

inert, lightweight and totally unaffected by fuel seepage or saltwater. The top deck changes will better suit the modern instrumentation and electronics presently on the market. A major benefit of all these innovations is to lighten the overall weight of the Kingcat craft, and it was particularly this aspect of the “trial” F200 that I was invited to assess on my test drive. In view of its weight reduction,Toby had mounted twin 50hp Suzuki 4-stroke motors on her transom — one swinging an 11 pitch propeller and the other a 12 pitch for experiment purposes. This combination intrigued me because I’m very well aware of the ride and performance of the F200 Peter designed as I own one of those craft powered by two Yamaha 100hp 4stroke motors. To further confuse me Toby loaded five of us aboard — three of which were big guys. “What is he trying to prove?” I wondered. “First he reduces the overall weight of the craft to achieve performance with smaller and naturally less expensive motors, and then he loads the boat with nearly 450kg of human baggage!” The results would be very interesting indeed. Des van Bosch who is involved with this specific craft wanted it as a second inshore play boat in addition to his incredible 10m-plus Triton. He’s enjoyed great fishing from the Triton, and the day before this test he released an 800 lb blue marlin off Richards Bay’s “Die Berge” 58km offshore. To start with Des was at the helm and he only knows one speed — full bore. So that’s what we did — a full bore attack on the turbulent water as the low spring tide’s ebbing water

faced the ocean’s push through the harbour entrance. A fair swell and upsidedown chop was the order of the day. Comparisons were my focus as we charged through this maelstrom — what differences would I have felt if I was aboard Mr. Ski-Boat? When I eventually took control of the helm it became apparent to me that this hull actually floated down much more gently than mine would have if she were carr ying the same crew weight. With Des topping out the Suzukis with the 11-pitch motor at 6 700rpm and the 12-pitch motor naturally a tad less, her high-speed performance was in excess of 40kph. I repeated this operation but balanced the motors at just under 6 000rpm. With the twin 50s always at the forefront of my mind, I was staggered at just how well this craft performed at high speed and also the way she pulled herself out of the hole and onto the plane. To me this was the crux of the trial. The F200 then also maintained an SOW of 17/18 knots on the plane for long distance inshore travelling, a facet I was happy with. We never got around to ditching three of the crew to see how she then performed relating to speed, something that I am positive would have shown much improvement. However, Toby’s point was proven — smaller horsepower motors than are traditionally used for boating can power the new Kingcat F200, especially in cases where a harbour or protected launch site is used. I have been assured that I will be given the first fully completed Kingcat F200 to fully test for Ski-Boat Magazine, and I look forward to that. SKI-BOAT May/June 2020 • 63

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Last word from the ladies

RAPALA LIP

ZORRO When grown men become their comic-book heroes

VERYBODY knows George is gorgeous. Not because they actually think so, but because he tells them so. He always introduces himself as “Gorgeous George” and then simply ignores the resulting chuckles. I think George genuinely believes his face is very handsome. If we weren’t married I doubt he would require much Dutch-courage to try and charm young and pretty girls, his prodigious beerboep and balding head notwithstanding. So, when the tragedy happened, I thought the scar to George’s “gorgeous” face might serve a devastating blow to his charming and confident personality, but it had the opposite effect. After a few litres of brannas and Coke, he confided in a mate that his new scar was a babe-magnet. Gorgeous George also tells everyone he meets he is an outstanding hunter. He will regale people for hours on end about stories of the trophy buffalo he shot or billfish that he caught. Often these stories border on the miraculous, superhuman or at least require a flight of fantasy. But if you seem even a little sceptical he will tell you his stories are all true — promise. As a hunter, I think George considers himself to be a little like Zorro. Yes, the comic-book hero who wears a mask, fights with a sword and rides on a black horse named Tornado. When George goes fishing he wears a black bandana around his head, refers to his filleting knife as his “rapier” and certainly rides his boat (Gorgeous Georgeous) 66 • SKI-BOAT May/June 2020

as wildly as one might expect Zorro to ride Tornado. George has also taken the bleeding of any freshly caught tuna to another level. He carves a “Z” into the fish with his “rapier”, just like Zorro does to his defeated foes. George then poses for the camera, clenching his “rapier” between his teeth (like Zorro). George does the same with billfish. Whenever he catches one, he carves a “Z” into its bill and then poses for a picture before releasing the fish. I think this makes George believe he is the ultimate warrior and, of course, it does wonders for his ego. It might have been George’s extraordinary confidence in his own ability which lead to his “gorgeous” face being scarred during a recent fishing trip. Of course it’s also possible the brannas and Coke from the previous evening’s braai with a mate played some part in it. Late into the braai George and his mate, overflowing with Dutch-courage, boasted they needed little sleep before a full day’s fishing. They only went to bed at 2am, having finished every drop of brannas they could find, and woke up again at 4am to launch an hour later. George and his mate looked a sorry sight when I accompanied them to the beach to film their launch. When George saw I was worried about their condition, he assured me he would be careful. The visuals captured on my GoPro tella different story. They show “Zorro” mounting “Tornado” in a handicapped state, struggling with his balance and taking a good five minutes to

tie up his life jacket. To escape the teasing from other boats waiting for him to launch, George immediately charged the surf when he should rather have timed his run. It was a spectacular sight to see “Tornado” crash through a massive wave and, miraculously, emerge unscathed on the other side. A few hours later George’s mate called me and said there was nothing to worry about, but George had suffered a cut to his face (“not too bad”) and required some medical attention; they were heading for the beach. Fortunately, a doctor friend was around to attend to George, when they beached, and George’s cut was quickly stitched-up in a perfect “Z”. According to George, they had hooked up on a gigantic black marlin and only managed to get it next to the boat after a ferocious battle. He then grabbed the marlin by its bill, carved a “Z” into it and was posing for a photograph when the marlin over-powered him and cut his face with its bill. George’s mate’s version was a little different, and I quote, verbatim: “Okay, okay, I will tell you the truth, but then you must promise not to tell my wife how much we drank last night. And you must also promise not to tell her I then barfed my dinner all over your kitchen floor. And I am sorry for not cleaning it up. “George wasn’t steady on his feet all morning and he got horribly seasick. I offered to stay awake, allowing him to sleep while the boat was on auto-pilot and we were slow-trolling lures. Neither of us could stomach livebait or sardines. “George was snoring heavily when one of the reels screamed. We had hooked a small ’cuda and I grabbed the rod. I had difficulty waking George to gaff the fish, but he eventually surfaced. When he gaffed the ’cuda George must have lost his balance and let go of the gaff. The fish was about to bounce off the boat with the gaff stuck in it when George lunged at it and the protruding sharp-end of the gaff grazed his face. There was a lot of blood pouring from George’s face so we came back in. “He made me promise not to tell a soul, so please don’t tell anyone … I will die if I say anything more about the fish and the gaff.” George affectionately refers to the scar on his face as “the mask of Zorro” and is always ready to entertain anyone with his fantastic story of the black marlin he defeated, only for the “beast” to take its revenge. And when his audience appears a little doubting, he promises them it is all true — how else could he possibly have acquired his “rapala lip”?

SKI-BOAT May 2020

Articles inside

Guinjata Shows Off

Understanding Your Boat

Tagging Tigers in the Kavango

Locked Down with a Fishaholic

Luxury Hidey Hole in the Delta

Lifeblood of Africa

My Dream Fish

Grab a Live One

Dual Purpose Beauty