Snoek Derby 2010- On board the Engelsman

The annual Luderitz Snoek Derby, originally planned for May 29th had to be postponed due to swells until Sunday May 30th. This did not dampen the spirits of competitors thankfully, and a lot of boats still took part on the Sunday. Luderitz Yacht Club was busy with all the would-be competitors on Saturday, supporting the rugby and enjoying the food provided by Brightstart Montessori School.
I cheekily invited myself onto one of the participating boats in order to get a better idea of what the Snoek Derby is all about. Pieter, the skipper of the Engelsman allowed me to observe four of his normal crew fishing, and the eight visitors on the boat, all trying to catch the biggest Snoek of the day.
The swell on Saturday meant the boats only went out for a couple of hours, by Sunday the waves were still fairly big but manageable, or so I thought until half an hour later when I started getting sea sick. Having never before been sea sick, despite spending a lot of time on boats, I thought it would be over after the first wave of nausea, but no, I had to be held onto while leaning over the edge of the boat as the skipper didn’t want a ‘dame overboard’. I spent an hour sleeping it off in the boats cabin, forced down a travel sickness pill and headed out on deck to watch the entertainment!
At about 4.30am all the boats left the harbour, heading far out to sea to try and find a good spot to start. Once we were there all the lines on board were instantly thrown in the water enthusiastically, from here we travelled around for the next seven hours following the routine of stopping the boat, spending time fishing then moving on again. All four of the regular crew members were particularly good at catching the fish, they seemed to reel one in every couple of minutes, wrestle with it, break its neck and throw it on their own pile. Everyone had their own crate in which to keep their catch which hinted to me how serious people take the competition, no one wanted to lose one of their biggest fish! It was exciting each time one was caught, often leading to tangled lines, a chase around the boat after the flailing fish and yells of ‘picture me’!
Everyone on board caught at least one fish, most participants caught whole crate fulls, so it was a successful day for all. The success rate however apparently varies according to the length of the line and the fisherman’s position on the boat as the snoek come from the front of the boat and are about 80 metres deep.
The boats GPS and fish finding instruments proved useful though and often led us to good schools of fish, as well as showing me that we were above 200 metres of ocean, which the varying lengths of line could never reach the bottom of.
The last line on the Engelsman came up at 12.30pm and as we headed back in to the harbour the fish that weren’t going to cut it in the weighing competition were gutted and given back to their owners so that they could enjoy the fruits of their labour at home, or even sell it to the many people who were stood at the Namport gate waiting to purchase cheap snoek from the fisherman.
It was nice to look out and see the sea teeming with Luderitz fishing vessels, small motor boats and tour boats all competing to win the massive prize of N$20000 and a plasma screen TV for the biggest snoek. In the past there have rumours of cheating competitors, trying to get their hands on the big prizes, doing everything from putting lead pellets in the fish to entering a defrosted fish they caught previously. The snoek derby manages to be so prestigious because of its numerous sponsors; companies like OK Grocer and Cymot sponsor the event. The overall winner, was unfortunately no one from the Engelsman, but Willem Van Zyl who went away with the top prize of N$20000 and a plasma screen TV, for his snoek which weighed 5.95k. He caught his prize snoek from Heiko Metzger’s boat, the Zeepaard. The prizes were awarded at 5pm on Sunday 30th at the Yacht Club, and after a long weekend of partying and early mornings most of the competitors were ready for an early night.
My first and only snoek derby was great fun; I’d like to say thanks to Pieter for giving me the opportunity to go, and also for looking after me while I was sick- obviously taking this girl on a fishing boat is a liability. It was a long day of broken lines, listening to retro music and being sprayed with sea water and fish blood but it was definitely worth it.•