Very windy weather and rough seas prevented the boats from fishing on Day One of TOMT so there is not much to report about today’s activities. Dinner, was, of course, served at the club and this evening it was yellowtail and Cape salmon braaied to perfection.
A huge thank you Julian and Mark – Braai Masters Supreme!A great spread for the hungry crew
After enjoying a lovely evening together most of the anglers opted for an early night as it would be a fishing day on the morrow!
Monday 24 February 2024
The competition was called on and lines in was at 06h00. At that time the south easterly wind was around 12 to 15 knots. The sea was choppy but flattening.
The first sighting of a marlin was from Multi. The fish almost jumped onto the boat! That must have been both scary and exciting! What a great start to the day.
To add interest to the competition there is a Calcutta taking place. The boats can opt to join in by paying an entrance fee. Each angler may weigh one fish per day and a winner will be announced each evening. The overall winner at the end of the competition wins the pot.
At 14:17 a call came in from Maverick, a new boat in this tournament. Jaen van den Berg was vas with a striped marlin. He fought it till 15:01 before safely releasing it. It was Jean’s first marlin. Veels Geluk Jaen!
Jaen will write an account of Maverick’s effort to land their marlin and it will be posted on this blog shortly. All photos will be posted then.
Once again wonderful food was served for dinner at Suidpunt Diepsee Hengelklub this evening. On the menu was a delicious Osso Buco and the anglers, after a tough day at sea, ate heartily.
Here is a slide show of some of the participating boats as they came in this afternoon. I missed getting photographs of those who returned before lines-up but I will post them in a future blog.
Andrew from Marlin Control presented the prizes to today’s winners of the Calcutta and also metered out ‘straf dops’ and snuff to those who committed misdemeanors!
Maverick had already caught and released a marlin and then hooked another very big fish which they thought might be a second marlin but it was an enormous dorado!
Team Maverick with their beautiful winning ‘Dorado Marlin”Juan receives the Calcutta prize for MaverickEmile from Team Dory received the Second PrizeTeam Mojo was ill-prepared for the day causing confusion on the boat so skipper Jacque had to sniff snuff and down a straf dop for not controlling his crew!
Today marked the start of the Eighteenth Two Oceans Marlin Tournament, a popular annual event that is held at Suidpunt Diepsee Hengelklub in Struisbaai, Western Cape.
You can click on this link to read about the history of TOMT.
This is a fun catch, measure and release competition and the emphasis is on the conservation of these magnificent fish. All the prizes are donated by our generous sponsors who are listed below. Please support our sponsors,
Airmar
Astron Energy Struisbaai
Biltong and Java
Blenco
Bon Courage Wines
Buffelsfontein/Halewood
Cape Agulhas Surf Shop
Cemstone
Central Forklift
Chas Everitt
Corneilis Ham
Distell
Hadassah Interiors/Magda’s Leather
Four Cousins
FPM Suppliers
Garmin SA
Greenfish
Heinrich Tips
Henk Aggenbagh
HUSQVARNA
Jacita Bait & Tackle
Jebo Connect
Matthee Fire & Safety
Mercury
Peninsula Beverage
Pulsastor Lures
Raymarine Avion
Robertson Toyota
Simrad
Ski-Boat Magazine
South African Breweries
Springfield Wines
Suidpunt Marine
Vatalot
Vijoensdrift
Yamaha
Thanks to Suidpund Deepsea Angling Club for Hosting
This year boats are participating and they are listed below.
Kinda Magic
Andre Swart
Mojo
Jacques van Niekerk
Kevin Swart
Hannes Schreuder
Jared Swart
Anthony Tait
Iaan Viljoen
Grant van der Westhuizen
Steven Shanken
Brendon Tait
Bad Co
Mike Broderick
Multi
Roelof Visagie
Campbell
Dawie Theron
Richard Bell
Darious Steyn
Patrick Christodoulou
Andrew Pawson
Ivaan De Jager
Catitude
Mike Riley
Henk Ackerman
Michele Fleischer
Ted Horn
My Way
Simon Lowe
Nick Fleischer
Aaron Sachs
Tommy Von Wildenrath
Charlie’s Cat
C Geldenhuys
Nic De Stadler
D Geldenhuys
N De Beer
Sea Cat
Chris Steyn
F Greivenstein
Craig Maas
Simon Hipkin
Dory
Dudley Rosslee
Ben Johnson
Emile Le Roux
Andrew Davidson
Marco Polo
Rikus de Beer
Chris Gillet
Anton de Beer
Johan van der Walt
Christo de Beer
Quinten Jansen
Grace
Nuts Rupert
Theunis Kruger
G Rupert
Harold Turner
Gwaza
Andrew van Zyl
T Maree
Kobin Koch
Heinrich Tipps
Indigo
Gawie Bruwer
James Taylor
Werner Kotze
Eugene Terblanche
Maverick
JP Groenewald
Serge Wessels
Juan Needham
Pete Kotze
Jaen van den Berg
Ronald Penninkhof
John Graeme
Chris Goatley
Hylton Goatley
Loslappie
Peet Botha
Wayne Cooke
Monica Botha
John Leppan
Brendon Gravenor
Willem Skein
Briers van Rensburg
Chris Hepworth-Brown
Phillip Erasmus
Pierre de Wit
Ada de Wit
If any names are incorrectly spelled please let me know and I will correct them. They appear here as they were given to me.
At the opening function this evening the teams gathered to sign in, collect their goodie bags, and find out the modus operandi for the week.
As usual Marinda, manageress of Suidpunt Deepsea Angling Club and her amazing team put on a delicious spread for the anglers to enjoy. We have an Island Theme for this entire week and it was great to see how many embraced this by dressing up, wearing flower garlands and really getting into the spirit of the theme.
Marinda’s awesome kitchen team Nothing is too much trouble for these two (Trevor’s Photo)These guys always help with a lamb on the spit for the shawarmas
Most of the boats have fished the competition a few times before but this year we welcome two new teams – Maverick and Loslappie. Welkom hier by die Suidste Punt. Mag julle ‘n wonderlik tyd hier saam met ons deurbring.
Grant van der Westhuizen, the tournament director started the proceedings explaining the rules for the week and fielding some questions from the floor. Then Dudley Rosslee, the club president welcomed everybody before handing over to Andrew Perrins who controls the radios and announces weather conditions. A weather committee was elected and Sea Cat, the smallest boat will have the biggest say on whether to fish in dickie weather!
Grant our tournament director (Trevor’s Photo)Dudley Rosslee – Club President (Trevor’s Photo)Andrew Perrins – Radio Control (Trevor’s Photo)
Every year at TOMT Gawie Bruwer honours one of the legends in fishing and this year the plaque went to Mike Broderick.
Gawie expounds on the merits of Mike (Trevor’s Photo)Mike feeling flattered (Trevr’s Photo)The Award
The wonderful vocalist, Ted Horn, gave a wonderful rendition of “Danny Boy” to honour Mike. Ted is almost ninety years old, still fishes this competition and is still in full voice! Ted, never stop singing. We love your songs!
Uncle Tes singing “Danny Boy” (Trevor’s Photo)Mike Riley telling us that Uncle Ted is about to turn 90! (Trevor’s Photo)
Thank you to Trevor Brinch (Spotter One) for helping with the photography. His photos are amazing. The slide show that follows shows how TOMT 24 started on a very viby note. Click on the first photo and then use the arrows to move on to the next. The photographs were taken by Trevor and me.
Catching up Our hardworking Dahlene in perfect Island StylePiet feeling festiveTeam Dory MembersStraf Dop for naughty PietAnd for this guy too!Dahlene and me feeling IslandyMike loves the girlsLoving the island themeBar LadiesIsland LadsDon’t they look handsomeBar Girls dealing with the IslandersThese Two!Love this island shirt and that smile!Island BoysMike and mePiet annoying DahleneReady for TOMTWe support Airmar because they support usSome of the prizes and a couch for auctionThe Earl and I ready for the Island Week
Last night we put our camp chairs into the back of the car just in case it rained and rain it did! We had quite a few downpours during the night but by morning it had all gone away and we awoke to sunny skies.
This morning I was at the showers by half past seven and the Earl and I left camp at half past eight to meet our daughter and granddaughter at the Sedgefield Market. Only I had misread the time on my watch – it doesn’t have numbers – and it was an hour earlier! It was only when we saw the digital time in the car that we realised my mistake! So we did a scenic tour around Wilderness and then wandered around the Wild Oats Market until Lauren and Shannon met us at 9.
The Farmers’ Market at Sedgefield is well worth a visit. It is held every Saturday morning and is popular with locals and tourists alike.
Wild Oats Market
Opposite the market grounds are a few shops and more craft market stalls and when the kids arrived we went there and found a lovely restaurant where we could sit comfortably, have breakfast and chat. It was lovely to catch up with Shannon as we did not see when we visited for the Christmas holidays as she was in Queenstown with her fiance. She is getting married in March and the whole family will be gathering at St Francis Bay for the Easter Weekend. As you can imagine most of our conversation was about the forthcoming Big Event!
The other side of The Market – Lovely sculptures
The rest of the Gecko gang did their own thing all day today and gathered for a communal braai for the last evening which we missed as we had to leave to attend a function in Struisbaai. Our good friends Cath and Alec kindly left with us to provide support should anything go wrong. We really appreciate their support.
Thanks to all the Gecko Gang for a fantastic getaway. We had such fun and thoroughly enjoyed bonding with everybody at Ebb and Flow.
John Magner as I mentioned before took the opportunity to do a pentad for SABAP2. This project is very important for tracking the movement of birds in South Africa and where they are likely to be found. Many dedicated birders send in their cards to help with this project and we really appreciate their contributions.
This is the list that John got during our Gecko Camp. I have put an asterisk on the ones I personally saw too.
The day started a little later for me this morning and I only emerged from my Gecko just before 08h00. It was slightly cooler weather and it looked like it might rain. Once again we were all left to spend the day as we chose. John popped by to say that he and Jane would be going into town and then to do some bird trails. I asked him to please fetch me after the shopping and take me with him which he kindly agreed to.
While sitting enjoying the ambiance of our campsite and waiting to bird with John and Jane, I spotted a flash of red wings and leaped for my camera and then ran to the tree where I was sure the bird had landed. This roused the curiosity of the others in our laager and I excitedly pointed out the beautiful green bird. There were in fact three of them and everybody managed to see them.
One gave up his game of hide and seek and posed for his portraitKyk daar! Is hy nie mooi nie!I really don’t know what the fuss is about!
While all this fuss was going on Jane rang to tell me to come to their site but I didn’t hear my phone so she came to fetch me – Thanks Jane – I should have been ready and waiting!
We did three different trails one of which was the Galinule Hide near the Fairy Knowe Hotel. You need to get a key to the hide from the hotel and then do a walk to the hide. It was very quiet and we did not see many birds. The most interesting flying creatures we saw were in fact human beings paragliding over the beautiful holiday homes of The Wilderness.
We then did a kingfisher trail along a boardwalk and only saw a few birds at a distance. Near where John parked the car, however, we saw double-collared sunbirds. (I will post a complete list of birds seen in my final blog tomorrow.)
A very distant photograph of a Hartlaub’s gull – We also saw kelp gulls and cororantsSouthern Double-Collared Sunbird
The last place we stopped was also part of the Garden Route National Park and is next to the Island Holiday Resort. This proved to be a very rewarding spot. The most prominent birds were the red-knobbed coots – hundreds of them. We also saw a malachite kingfisher but my photo is so blurred it is not fit for publication.
Lots of red-knobbed cootsReed Cormorant drying his wingsWith wings folded and now looking for evidence of fish beneath the surfaceA Little Grebe just up from a diveCattle Egrets – the one on the right is a juvenile A Purple Swamphen – a little too far away for a good photographA White-throated Swallow taking a break from constantly flying about.A feral domestic goose! He was hanging with the Egyptian Geese hoping to be adopted, I think.
After enjoying a great day at the Wilderness and surrounds most of us went off for dinner at a few of the local restaurants, all of which offer great food at reasonable prices. We opted for The Girls on the Square and were not disappointed. Earl had Mediterranean Calamari and Alec, Cathy and I settled for Caeser Salad served with a really stunning dressing. Cath and Alec shared a Melba Pudding and Earl and I shared a Creme Brule. We were not disappointed.
Entrance to The GirlsI thought the salt and pepper with their mussel shell spoons were rather cuteAnd the sculptures of The Three Little Pigs, AKA Warthogs were just too adorable
When we got back to camp we joined the ‘after party’ of people returned from the restaurants or beginning their own braai. The fun does not stop when you’re camping with fellow Gecko Okes!
An informal gathering at Johan’s Gecko
Dankie vir ‘n lekker day, almal. Ons sien uit na meer pret môre
It was a little cooler when we woke up this morning but still a very pleasant day. In fact, we are quite pleased that it is neither too hot nor too cold. By the time I peeked outside my Gecko just after 7 this morning, a handful of others were already drinking coffee and visiting others in the laager. There is such a relaxed, friendly atmosphere here and it is clear that everybody is having a good time.
The laager taken from outside the perimeter looking in.
The Earl and I had a little wander around the campsite before breakfast and I took a few more bird photographs. Of course, the really interesting birds were hiding in the foliage of the trees but at least we got to see them with our eyes even if they scorned the camera!
White-breasted cormorantEgyptian Goose improving the scenery
John and Jane are also here and they are keen birders too. For many years, John and I served on the Cape Bird Club committee and John still leads many birding outings. While here he is Atlassing for SABAP 2 so is keeping a list which he will give me at the end of the week. I will then post which birds we have seen in my final blog. Today John, Jane, Earl, Nida and I did the Half-collared Kingfisher Trail. Earl and Nida turned back a little earlier but John, Jane, and I continued up until the pont before turning back. It is a very pretty route through the forest but some of it is up and down steep steps and the ground is quite uneven. It was also quite humid as we did it in the middle of the day. It was pretty quiet as far as birds were concerned but we heard bar-throated apalis, sombre bulbul, southern boubou, and Knysna Turaco. We caught sight of the turaco but it refused to look at the camera. The half-collared kingfisher was conspicuous by its absence!
The Touw River from the bridgeLooking across to North Camp from the trail.We saw some lovely flora – Jane identified this as Wild HibiscusWe did not cross over on the pont but these hikers allowed me to photograph them doing it,Canoist patiently waiting Then off they goAnd a paddle ski comes through from the other direction.
Everybody did their own thing today, some chatting at each other’s sites, going for walks or excursions to surrounding places of interest or simply chilling with a book or having a nap. We also took care of our own cooking for the evening but many shared fires and a lot of ‘kuiering’ took place.
Chris maak vuurColin kom kuierHoe belangrik is vuurmaak en geselskap tussen mansmenseShirley demonstrates the importance of camp fashionBaie mooi!
Today the Gecko Getaway officially began and by around 3 pm all twenty-two caravans had arrived. Several of us have formed a laager where a beautiful wild fig tree provides shade and privacy from the rest of the campsite. The rest of the caravans are scattered around nearby and are in easy reach of the laager.
After breakfast I joined Chris and Rita on a walk around the campsite. The Touw River flows through it and one can hire canoes or even book a scenic boat trip. We decided against these two options!
Fun on the Touw RiverChris and Rita
There were lots of birds about and saw weavers, wagtails, drongos, martins, sunbirds, hadedas, geese among others but I only managed to get three reasonable photographs.
Helmeted GuineafowlAfrican HoopoeBar-throated Apalis – he was a bit camera shy!
As each Gecko arrived there was much joy at reuniting with friends made at previous gatherings and getting to know those we had not met before. Gecko owners have an instant bond!
Nida and Pottie – Lekker om julle weer te sien!Colin the main organiser with Earl and RitaRita and Avril met for the first time today and are already good friends!Cathy and Alec I am always behind the camera, so Cathy took this one of me with The EarlBoet and AvrilJohn, Jane and The Earl
In the evening all 44 of us gathered at the laager to braai together. Thanks to Johan for providing the meat, Nida for the broccoli salad, Maria for the pasta salad, John for the corn bread and Rudie for the dessert. Colin our awesome organise opened the evening by welcoming everybody to Ebb and Flow and thanked Nardus and Adeline and his wife, Diane for all their hard work in the background. Without their teamwork this wonderful getaway would not be possible. There have been other gatherings in the country, but this has been the best response yet with 22 caravans participating.
A good way to defrost the meat – hang it on the line!Doing what South African men do best! Dit was ‘n lekker braai!
Almal het lekker saam gekuier, lekker gebraai and net ‘n bietjie gedrink! Hoe geseënd is ons om ‘n wonderlik plek soos Ebb and Flow te kan geniet met ander vriendelike Gecko eienaars!
Thanks to Colin’s wonderful initiative and organisation we are once again having a Gecko Caravan gathering in the Western Cape. This time the venue is in the beautiful Garden Route National Park – Wilderness Section. Twenty-two Geckos will be invading Ebb and Flow Rest Camp for four nights. Some of us, however, have chosen to come for a little longer.
For those who are reading my blog for the first time or have come across it by accident let me explain about Gecko. A small family business in Haenetzburg, Limpopo has been building Gecko Off-Road Caravans for some years now. Each caravan is numbered in the order in which it came off the production line. So in our case, we are Gecko 81 having been the 81st Gecko built. Most Gecko owners belong to a WhatsApp group where ideas and experiences are exchanged. Because we are all proud Gecko owners we get excited when we meet a fellow owner and all over the country Gecko rallies are sometimes arranged. This will be the third one that we have attended and because it is being held in a summer month on the very popular garden route it is being very well attended with some folk coming from other provinces to join us.
Together with Cath and Alec, owners of Gecko 109, we decided to come a day early. We then contacted new Gecko Owners who recently bought number 12, and also live in Struisbaai, to join us. At the last minute they agreed and we set off together this morning at quarter to eight. BUT – disaster struck and just outside Struisbaai, Chris and Rita lost a wheel from their caravan! We were just about to pull off to wait for them when we noticed them not following when a car flashed lights at us and pulled over. We stopped behind her and she informed us of the disaster. Chris had been unable to ring us as Vodocom was down. But then it came back into function and we rang to see if we should turn back. Chris said that help was on the way and we should just go ahead. Thanks to Agri Bredasdorp they were able to get the problem solved at the roadside. We had just set up at Ebb and Flow when they arrived with no damage done to their caravan.
Ons is so bly dat julle veilig deurgekom het, Chris en Rita. Dit gaan ‘n baie lekker paar dae wees!
The weather today was overcast but very warm and there was no wind. Our three caravans are parked together under large shady trees. There are about eight of us already set up and ready to greet the rest of our fellow Gecko friends tomorrow.
Click on the first photo to enlarge and then use arrows to go to the next slide.
All set upHennie and Francis First BraaiAlbebert and ShirleySuzetteBushbuck making themselves at home
Ons kan nie wag om julle almal te sien nie! Ry veilig!
1. Who is your oldest living relative (aunt,grandparent etc)?
I don’t have many relatives older than me. (I am 71) I have a ‘young’ aunt who is 83. She is actually an aunt-in-law having been married to my father’s brother. If you met my aunt you would not believe that she is in her eighties. She still looks fabulous.
2. How often do you visit them or is distance a factor?
I try to get to see her when I visit my home town which is four to six times a year. But I know that she is not waiting in anticipation for a visit from me!
3. Have any of your family lived to be 100?
I don’t know of any family member who has lived to be 100! My great-grandmother, I think, lived to be 98. My maternal grandparents died in their eighties. My parents died in their seventies. My paternal grandparents died in their fifties and sixties. One of my father’s brothers died in his eighties, the other three were in their seventies. On my mother’s side, one brother died in his eighties the other two siblings in their seventies. All in all, I guess longevity is not in my genes! I have even lost a few of the cousins with whom I grew up. But on the positive side, my siblings are well and don’t look as if they will expire anytime soon!
4. Would you like to celebrate your 100th birthday?
If I can maintain good health to 100 then yes, I would like to do something special on my hundredth birthday like celebrate in an exotic place like the Serengeti. My oldest grandchild will be 56, his brother 55. My granddaughter will be 50 and her brother 48. I am sure they could organise something! I just hope I can remember their names and that I wrote this post!
Gratitude:
I am grateful that I can joke about old age. For some, it is not funny!
We are coming to the end of January so there are just a few more daily prompts for this challenge left. I have contributed most days and hope to continue till the end! Today’s word, ‘congregate‘ comes from Fandango.
It’s human nature to congregate in small or large crowds. Often similar people congregate together. You will often find that expats from the same country will congregate together, at church and clubs, or even live in the same neighbourhood. We also tend to gather in groups where everyone has a common interest and that is why ‘clubs’ are formed. The word congregation is used to describe a group of people in a church and of course, they congregate because of their common faith.
The instinct to gather together with like-minded people probably came about for survival reasons as strong bonds are formed and people learn to work cooperatively. This can be an advantage but if taken to extreme it can lead to those who don’t quite fit in being shunned. This happens in certain sects where you could be excommunicated if you do not obey the leaders or question their doctrines.
I am usually not one who likes to be in large crowds of people, preferring smaller groups of friends at a time. But gathering in a very large crowd can be great fun. I did not grow up going to rock concerts and thought I would definitely not enjoy it. However, when I went to one I was thoroughly caught up in the excitement and joined in the dancing, cheering, and singing along with everybody else. Being amongst other people can change your mood and your attitude to some things.
Many people were traumatised during the Covid Pandemic as they were not able to congregate with others. Their mental health was affected and some are still suffering anxiety since that time. On the day that we were all allowed out to exercise for a limited time, the streets in my town were crowded with friends meeting and greeting after such a long time of isolation. The relief was tangible.
Now that things are virtually back to normal some companies are still encouraging their employees to work from home. This can be both a good and a bad thing. I have two daughters who have this privilege. One loves it and goes into the office as seldom as possible. The other goes in as often as possible as she really misses the interaction with people. I really believe there should be a good balance between the two and that if you don’t go into the office at all you need to make some time to gather with people. For working parents working online can be awesome. Most people say they are way more productive when they have this option.
This past weekend we had six Air BnB guests to stay. That for us, is quite a congregation! But what fun we had as they were fishermen and therein lay the common ground! They opted to share meals with us and they provided the fish and I did the sides! Congregating with like-minded people is the best!
A congregation of fishing kids – Two brothers and friends, a friend and girlfriends – Dad not in the pic
Adventuring into Retirement 