74 February 2014

FISHING BILLFISH 15 000

PEP TALK. It takes teamwork to fight a marlin. CP Kloppers from the boat Break Away works up a sweat in the fighting chair, while Serpico Selvestri gives moral support.

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THE MARLIN MEN

The Billfish 15 000 is an epic deep-sea fishing competition, held in Sodwana Bay each year. Strap yourself into the fighting chair and lean back as we take you behind the scenes. WORDS & PICTURES ERNS GRUNDLING

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FISHING BILLFISH 15 000

BEACH SCENES. The fishing boats at the Billfish are enormous and most are launched by tractor (top). Betsie von Wielligh and Rina Bowie from Beach Control (above) are the “voice” of the competition. They stay in contact with the anglers and make sure everyone gets safely back to shore.

It’s 3.30 am on a Monday and Johan Burger’s voice rips through my tent walls. “Get up Erns!” I open my eyes with a start – I only went to bed two hours ago! Now Johan is inside my tent and he’s passing me a Choice

government condom. It’s all too much for my groggy brain, but before I run away screaming he sets my mind at ease: The condom is to keep my cellphone dry when we’re out at sea. It’s day one of the Billfish 15 000 and I’m heading out with Johan on his boat Fish Buster.

It’s still dark on the beach but people are hustling. Tractor engines are rumbling, ready to get the 70 competing boats into the water from 4.30 am. That’s if the weather decides to play along. If the wind reaches 21 knots or the waves are too dangerous for launching, those 70 boats are going nowhere.

These are serious fishing boats, not little dinghies. Most are around 24 feet in length, with neat cabins and twin four-stroke engines. Each carries an average of four competitors and five fishing rods with gleaming reels attached.

“There’s no shortage of cash in South Africa,” an onlooker remarks drily at my side. Looking at the names of the boats, there’s no shortage of creativity either: Visvraat, Shag & Release, Speeltyd, Overdraft, Ocean Commotion…

The anglers have come to Sodwana from as far as Namibia, Cape Town, Hoedspruit and Polokwane for a five-day test on the deep sea. Participation is by invitation only, something that differentiates the Billfish from many other competitions.

“It’s the cream of the crop,” says Jaco Hendriksz, the enthusiastic competition MC and a Protea angler himself.

On the beach, near the launch site, Betsie von Wielligh and Rina Bowie are sitting in a wooden lean-to on stilts. They’re members of Beach Control and they’re ready and waiting to communicate with the boats at sea over radio. Their task is to assist the boats and note the information when someone catches a fish. Last night, dominee Stanus Cloete, who’s fishing on Fanta Sea today, prayed that Betsie and Rina would be “alert and energetic”.

The weather’s looking promising this morning. At exactly 4.30 am, a ritual happens that will be repeated for the rest of the week: Colourful fireworks explode above the beach like a triumphant 21-gun salute. The anticipation is palpable. Every boat becomes the maritime equivalent of a rugby locker – the strong smell of testosterone and Deep Heat, just before the guys huddle down in a circle.

The first boats burst through the waves and roar out to sea, signalling the start of the 2013 Billfish 15 000. Sodwana’s marlins better watch out…

From mine to marlinA big camp has been set up in the campsite at Sodwana, called the Ramkamp. It’s the temporary HQ of the Dorado ski boat club committee, which organises the competition. Ramkamp will also be my base for the week. Each morning I’ll depart from here on a different boat.

What makes the tournament remarkable is that the Dorado ski boat club is based in the mining town of Carletonville. Yes, South Africa’s biggest and most renowned deep-sea fishing competition is organised 700 km from the coast.

The Billfish 15 000 is 27 years old this year and it’s the Holy Grail for marlin anglers. The name comes from the R15 000 prize money that was awarded at the very first instalment in 1987. Today the total value of all the prizes is close to R1,7 million. First prize is a huge, silver Ram 1500 bakkie worth about R800 000.

Everything I know about marlin comes from Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, which I read in high school. This is about to change. To catch a marlin takes a rare combination of luck, stamina and teamwork. Actually, “catch” is the wrong word. You “fight” a marlin. You sit in the fighting chair, often for more than two hours, while your skipper and your buddies help you out, practically and psychologically. It’s an epic battle – some participants go as far as to say it’s a mental game, a battle of wills, your will versus the marlin’s. It’s an emotional experience, too, as committee member Willie Pretorius explains: “When the fish stands on its tail and starts to dance, that’s when the tears start to flow.”

Five species are recognised on the Billfish points system: blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin, sailfish and shortbill spearfish. With conservation in mind, no one hangs these fish on a big hook on the beach any more. Catch and release is the name of the game and anyone who doesn’t abide faces a stiff fine.

In terms of the competition rules, the onus is on the angler to take a clear photo or video of his fish next to the boat. After the day’s fishing, the photos and videos are checked and points are awarded. Because the fish are freed and not weighed, you get points for the number of fish caught and the variety of different species. Truly monster fish have been caught at the Billfish over

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BOUNCING BOAT. Under gloomy Sodwana skies, a boat comes back to shore after a day at sea. Most of the 70 competing boats launch at dawn and return at about 3 pm. Each angler is allowed two rods and the flags indicate the respective catches.

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FISHING BILLFISH 15 000

HANDS ON. Pine Pienaar (top) sets his reel. On the Wednesday of last year’s competition, a record 36 marlin were caught and released. For points to be awarded, you need to take a clear photo (or video) of your catch, with a colour card from Beach Control as proof.

the years, including a giant of 351 kg. It must be like having a wriggling Kobus Wiese at the end of your line…

There are superstitions aplenty at a competition like this one: Some fishermen toss R2 coins over their shoulders to appease King Neptune, others say there shouldn’t be any apples or eggs on the boat, and there are some who think it’s good luck if one of the guys on board has a serious hangover!

Clear heads & camaraderieThere are two deep offshore canyons at Sodwana Bay, which fall sharply to 700 m and beyond. It’s at these drop-offs where shallow and deep water meet that you’ll find marlin. (It’s also where a number of coelacanths have been discovered.)

The names of fishing sites like Rondekop, Klein Witsand, Diepgat and Rooiwalle echo on the radio as skippers send their positions back to Beach Control. Communication takes place on one channel so that participants are always aware of what’s going on. Besides competition admin and safety, Beach Control is also the sympathetic shoulder of the Billfish. When a skipper mumbles over the radio, “Beach Control, we lost the fish,” Betsie is ready with a heartfelt: “We’re very sorry to hear that.” Similarly, if someone catches and releases a marlin and shares the news, the other skippers answer with a sporting, “Congrats!”

On Tuesday I head out with the current com-petition leaders aboard Naughty Cat. Skipper Tommie Cowan owns the Spur in Randfontein and in 2011 he tamed a 256 kg marlin from this very boat. The mood on Naughty Cat is one of self-confident excitement: Tommie and his men reckon they’re three marlins away from the bakkie.

Once we’ve smashed through the breakers and the boat is on autopilot, we bow our heads. One of the team members, Ronnie Edwards, says a prayer: “Be with us on the sea today, dear Lord. And if it is Your will, give us a fish or two.” Then everyone does a high five and assumes their positions. At the moment the fighting chair is empty, but the second a reel starts screaming, someone will climb up and get into the harness.

Around us is the infinite, inscrutable ocean, with a thin strip of coastline in the distance. “It’s a lot of water,” Tommie says. “You realise how tiny you are.”

These days, most of the anglers fish with “konas”, man-made lures, unlike in the past when live bait was the norm. Each of the rods aboard Naughty Cat has a kona in the water, dragging behind the boat like a colourful octopus.

But nothing happens. The guys have stopped bantering and most of them are staring off into the distance. It reminds me of a Leonard Cohen

song: “There’s a bar where the boys have stopped talking / They’ve been sentenced to death by the blues.”

“On TV, those fishing shows make it look so easy,” Tommie says. “They don’t show the frustrating times when you’re just sitting around and waiting.”

Unfortunately the situation doesn’t improve and Naughty Cat heads back to the beach at about 3 pm, empty-handed. “What a *** day,” Flip Jonker growls. “But hey, at least it’s better than working.”

Free brandy, high spirits In the evenings, everyone gathers for the daily prize-giving where each team that caught a fish is recognised. This get-together in the marquee is one of the oldest traditions at the Billfish. There are serious awards and then there’s the “monkey of the day” award, a floating trophy of a stuffed vervet monkey that is given to the participant who did the silliest thing that day. (Johan Burger would win the overall prize for a joke he played on one of the competition sponsors: The poor guy struggled for more than half an hour with a “marlin” that was actually just a bucket.)

There’s a strong spirit of camaraderie: One evening a bunch of skippers gets a standing ovation in recognition of the work they did coming to the aid of the boat Nirvana, when both of its engines broke down in the waves. There are also strong family ties at the Billfish. There’s a father-and- son combo in almost every team and you often hear things like, “I want to thank my old man” or “Thanks for the fish, Dad.”

Two of the teams are even comprised of married couples. Like Johan and Elize Smith from Sodwana, who are known as the Seevarkies. Johan’s boat is called Seevarkie and Elize’s is called Mrs Seevarkie. On the third day of the Billfish, both Seevarkies reel in a marlin at exactly the same time!

But everyone’s favourite competitor is without a doubt Oom Attie van Rensburg from Vryheid. Oom Attie is 90 years old and he’s still an active participant on his boat Dolos. He wants to sit in the fighting chair just one more time. Hemingway’s Santiago has nothing on Oom Attie: he’s the true “old man” of the sea. He calls a marlin “my sweet meraai” and talks to them often when he’s out at sea.

Despite his advanced years, he still hangs out in the bar tent every night, sharing stories. The bar tent is sponsored by Bols brandy, which is free for the duration of the Billfish (just don’t lose your glass). You’d think that the endless supply of hard tack would encourage bad behaviour, but I’m surprised at how chilled out everything is. Even the guys who try to charm some barmaids with an ear-splitting rendition of Cat Stevens’s

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BILLFISH BRIGADE. At 90 years old, Oom Attie van Rensburg (top) must be one of the eldest competitive marlin anglers around. He bought his first boat, Dolos, at the age of 67 when most people would be thinking of retiring from the sport. (He lost part of his right index finger as a five-year-old when he and his brother were digging for earthworms.) Most of your time at sea is spent waiting (above left) but that reel can start singing at any moment. Getting up early is a given at the Billfish (above right). The anglers and their helpers check out the conditions at dawn before heading out to sea.

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FISHING BILLFISH 15 000

CONGRATS, DAD. Janus Wasserman, skipper of the winning boat Real Passion, with his wife Cheryl and son Conrad.

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“Father and Son” accept their rejection in a very gentlemanly fashion.

After all, there are many other fish in the sea.

Slippery buffaloesOn the last morning of the competition, I head out with a seasoned angling family on their boat Kit Kat. Skipper Jan Hendricksz (66) is a Billfish legend who’s been a participant since its inception. He steers his brand-new boat with his feet while humming quietly, “It’s you, it’s you, it’s you, the only one for me...”

His son Jaco (the MC in the evenings) caught his first marlin when he was just eight years old. “He sat in the fighting chair and every now and then we’d bring him a bucket to throw up into,” Jan chuckles. “But he carried on fighting.”

Jaco’s wife Mariette is part of the team and has also hauled in a few marlins in her time. “When that reel starts singing, it’s music to my ears,” she says.

The Hendricksz family boasts three generations of anglers with national colours. “I think it’s hereditary,” Jaco says.

Pine Pienaar from Potchefstroom is also on the boat. He’s still smiling broadly after catching his first marlin earlier in the week – a moment he’d been dreaming about for 17 years. “I was in the fighting chair for almost three hours,” Pine tells me. “The marlin is the buffalo of the sea, it’s the ultimate rush.”

Despite the angling pedigree on board, it’s not Kit Kat’s day today, which gets me thinking: None of the teams I’ve been out with has caught a marlin with me on board. Maybe I’m the Jonah?

Elsewhere at sea, Real Passion (with Jan’s 19-year-old grandson Mario Els on board) is having much better luck. In a twist that ends up determining the entire competition, they have a double strike – two striped marlins take the bait at the same time and the fishermen manage to reel both in, photograph them and set them free. It’s enough to just nudge them to the top of the points table.

Moving scenes play out on the beach when the boat returns. Family members rush up to the winners and embrace them. That night, at the final prize-giving ceremony, they walk with a flaming torch to the bakkie, while Freddie Mercury belts out “Barcelona” over the loudspeakers.

I watch the happy anglers with their families and friends, and I think back to something Jaco told me in the tent on the very first night: “Winning or even catching a marlin isn’t the only thing. There are people in this tent and that’s the essence of the Billfish: It’s lekker to be a person, so you have to be a lekker person.”

There’s no shortage of lekker people here. Janus Wasserman, skipper of the winning team,

opens the bakkie’s door. His son Conrad, hardly 20 months old, is sleeping inside. “He already walks around with a fishing rod,” Janus says, smiling broadly.

Your own deep-Sea FISHIng adventure

You might not be invited to the next Billfish, but at Sodwana you can go deep-sea fishing with Johan and Elize Smith from the Seevarkie Guesthouse. Trips depart at 5.30 am and last about seven hours. How much? Boat hire costs R5 000 per day for game fishing with live bait and R6 000 per day for marlin fishing with konas. On board there’s enough space for up to five fishermen. All angling equipment is supplied, just bring your own snacks and drinks.Stay over. The Seevarkie Guesthouse sleeps 16 people, with an adjacent cottage that sleeps six. Rates from R300 per person (self-catering).Contact: 082 890 2370 (Elize);

seevarkie.co.za

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MARLIN PATROL. Jaco Hendricksz works in the construction business but fishing is his passion. He’s a former Protea angler, he’s fished as far as Mexico and Portugal and he has 55 marlin behind his name. Here he is on his boat Kit Kat.