Summary: EFSA Iceland staged a successful championship enjoyed by a very large majority of the participants. Fishing was very good but some areas became “fished out” as the championship progressed. The prize giving ceremony was marred by repeated mistakes in awarding prizes to the wrong person, and then having to rectify the mistake to various individual’s embarrassment. The ceremony was either badly organized or the local trolls were managing to disrupt the proceedings. There was controversy over how the line class was decided and claims that the fish that won the longest fish in the Ladies line class competition was not the longest caught; it was the best fish but not the longest. Indeed, there were claims that those who won the lower places in the line class should not have done so. This matter was unfortunate and I am not sure of the rights and wrongs of the situation. I hope this matter is sorted out for Weymouth next year.
All opinions are mine and mine alone.
The competition was fished in the mouth of Eyjafjörður with boats based in Dalvik. Eyjafjörður is the longest fiord in North Central Iceland, the name, meaning ‘island fiord’, derived from the presence of Hrisey Island (the pearl of Eyjafjörður). The surrounding area is the second most populous part of Iceland, with 24,000 inhabitants. The valley of Eyjafjörður is one of Iceland’s largest agricultural areas. Fisheries and fish processing also form a major part of the local economy.
Akureyri will become the key hub of future development as tourism (ski, angling, trekking, sight-seeing, whale watching) develops. There is a need for direct flights from UK locations like Glasgow and a re-thinking over prices - for example the boats were very expensive to hire (up to €800) and alcohol was prohibitive in cost (though the local pub sold half litres of beer at £3.50 equivalent for the championship duration). Hotel costs were expensive and food choice was restricted. Dalvik had three other restaurants of acceptable quality. It is possible to live off the sea and the quality of the fresh fish caught was superb. The hot tub at the local swimming pool is highly recommended and for me was one step from Heaven. Local accommodation was basic with 4 star prices being charged for 2 star facilities, Lonely Planet was the underlying flavour rather than Thomson. Nevertheless there is great potential for future recreational angling activities and I am sure such can be developed through astute business activities and the very evident local good will.
Programme, Friday 7th May to Saturday 15th May:
Friday/Saturday/Sunday – practice boats out each day.
Saturday 8th May/Sunday 9th May registration. Official parade was on Sunday 9th.
Main championship, Monday 10th May to Thursday 13th, Light Line held on Friday 14th.
Prize giving followed by Gala dinner on Saturday 15th May.
The event was dominated by Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano to South, with concern generated over getting to the venue and more again on getting out. Thankfully the Scottish party got in and out by air with only moderate disruption and delay. We were, according to some, on the last flight allowed out of Reykjavik on Monday 17th May. Cancellation of the Manchester to Glasgow leg of the return journey resulted in a minimum journey time of 21 hours for everybody, with some connections being missed to the Northern and Western Isles.
General Fishing and Main Competition
There were 13 species caught during the Championship and generally you needed to catch 6 or 7 species to win your boat or maintain a high percentage. Missing out on a species could prove very expensive in terms of percentage points. Fish were of good quality, coalfish in particular running up to about 10 or 11 lbs (CB 4.92 kg). Dabs, rough dabs and plaice were all good sizes (CB 1kg, 0.42kg and 2.23kg respectively). None of the really big cod expected showed, the largest caught being 11.570kg, but cod were prolific. Redfish were encountered in the deeper water with these voracious little fish even taking baited pirks (CB 0.875kg). No halibut were caught but there was at least one claim of an encounter of a prolonged tussle with a big fish that ended when the hook snapped. A tusk of 1.285kg and a ling of 1.005kg were caught (only one of each through the whole event from what I was told). Haddock and whiting were available on certain marks, haddock running to 2.365kg and some specimen whiting recorded up to 1.590kg. Some of us were of the opinion that we had put bigger whiting into our fish boxes, having neglected to tag them for later weighing in the heat of the action. Fishing at times was frenetic with many fish being landed simultaneously in various boats. Sea scorpions to 0.460kg and a single thornback ray of 0.860kg were landed. There was a dispute of how to measure the thornback (across the wings I thought) with some claiming it was undersize. The most interesting fish of the competition was the catfish, the biggest caught being 6.6kg. They figured everyday and catching 5 of them on day one went a long way to securing my only boat win of the event (hurting the top Icelandic rod severely). I caught two memorable cats on the Thursday, each about 5.5kg, and they way they slithered about the box biting everything they encountered was fascinating. A special mention for Kenny Graham who was noted for doing an energetic highland fling with loud vocal effects as he danced across the deck with a catfish welded to the toe of his boot.
All fish were killed and I believe the catch was sold to help finance the cost of the boats. I ended up talking to one of the dealers that worked at the fish processing factory and he told me what happened to the caught fish. The coalfish were processed and turned into dried discs that Nigeria has a huge demand for. Catfish was high value fish meat that he could never get enough of to satisfy demand.
A lot of fish were landed (including all undersized fish as per Icelandic regulations). It might go against the grain in that one is not allowed to practise conservation measures by returning small fish, but the Icelandic system has preserved fish stocks where others have failed (moratorium on fishing in an area for ?five years when percentage of catch that is undersized hits a certain level from what I have been told). The official EFSA Iceland figures for the catch are, quoting from website http://www.efsa.is
The fishing was somehow strange, relatively few cods were caught but many catfish. We fished 16.489 kg of fish over the five days, 6.188 kg of Cod, 3.544 kg of Coalfish, 3.483 kg of Haddock, 1.461 kg of Whiting, 920 kg of Catfish, 487 kg of Dab and 406 kg of Redfish. We also fished few Long Rough Dab, Plaice, Thorny Skate, Tusk, Ling and Shorthorn Sculpin.
Boat Championships - http://www.planetseafishing.com/downloads/boat-championship-dalvik-2010-full-resullts.pdf
Line Class Championships - http://www.planetseafishing.com/downloads/line-class-dalvik-2010-full-results.pdf
The main competition was close with very little separating the top three rods. Scott Gibson did us all proud by winning the event with 3 boat wins and a 96.5%. A second successive Scottish European Boat Champion. Ray Barron was second, 0.55 of a percentage point behind. The accomplished Heiko Drier was third. I have had the privilege of fishing with all of these anglers at the various European boat events and I am bold enough to say, from those experiences and my own observation, that a champion has qualities of determination, stamina, the ability to think fast as things happen in the boat, in depth preparation and consummate skill, allied with friendliness, openness and the offering of advice, and indeed tackle, to their fellow competitors as the day progresses. Scott fished very well, indeed I would say his performance was the best I’ve ever seen him put in – congratulations and well done!
Scott Gibson 100%, 100%, 96.5%, 100% = 396.5%
Ray Barron 98.82%, 100%, 97.13%, 100% = 395.95%
Heiko Drier 95.22%, 100%, 100%, 97.19% = 392.41%
Charles Carreras, of Gibraltar, who engendered much fun and hilarity with his chatter and patter was fourth with 386.18%.
Conditions were cold but calm except for Thursday when some boats did not venture to the outer fiord due to rough seas and high winds.
Light Line Event (European Line Class Championship)
Roy Shipley (Ireland) won this for the second year running, with 64 fish and 423 points, beating Ken Smith of England. Joe Edward of Scotland tied for third on points but lost out to Joseph Gough of Ireland as he had caught two more fish. So close to a pin, Joe!
I’m not going to comment on the controversy over how the results were calculated, no doubt this will figure at the next EFSA executive meeting if complaints have been submitted.
Scottish Positions in top 50 - main event
1. Scott Gibson 396.5% 3 boat wins
17. Doug McKendrick 371.97% 2 boat wins
20. Howard Foster 364.58% 2 boat wins
21. Joe Edward 364.25%
24. Kenny Graham 359.83% 2 boat wins
26. Mark Duncan 359.59% 1 boat win
31. Geoff Carlin 351.57% 1 boat win
33. Laurence Williamson 350.42% 1 boat win
48 Lee Chesterman 334.12%
50 Ian Bryce 332.32%
International Teams
1st England A (Russell, Searles, Smith, Barron and Galbraith) 1508.83
2nd Ireland B (O’Connell, Dreier, O’Neill, Hutchison, Jones) 1478.04
3rd Ireland A (Doyle, Gough, Squires, Shipway, Robinson) 1470.32
Scotland A were 6th, Scotland B were 9th.
Purely for devilment I have taken the top 5 Scottish anglers scores, combined them as a team, and adjusted (minus about 16% from what I can work out). Of course we won the International event with a score of 1559.98 on that basis! Scotland forever! The next 5 came in 6th with 1451.53. Freedom! This, of course, is manipulated fantasy fishing. Would this be worth doing as a specialised executive team exercise based on nationality – a packet of jelly worms for the winners?
Scottish Achievements
Scott Gibson, 1st in main championship, European Champion. 3 boat wins
Joe Edward, 4th in line class event, 21st in main event, 4th in life members line class
Kenny Graham, silver medal in Executive fours, 24th in main event.
Dan MacKay, 2nd in Seniors line class, 5th in Seniors, main event.
Graham Forbes, 3rd in seniors line class, 6th in seniors main event.
Laurence Williamson, 3rd longest fish, catfish 85cm, line class. 33rd in main event.
Mark Duncan, largest long rough dab 0.420kg, 26th in main event.
Donnie Morrison 5th in line class, 5th in life members line class.
Robbie Robertson, silver medal in Executive fours.
10 Scottish Anglers in top 50. 12 boat wins.
I think that is sufficient stats!
Gala night
Our Icelandic hosts laid on a sumptuous banquet with the main service table groaning under the weight of the food. Icelandic cuisine featured throughout with Icelandic dried beef and trout fish cakes among the starters; halibut and char, Icelandic lamb and pork among the main courses. There was as much as a person could eat and more. I found the roast lamb deliciously spiced and memorable. We had a five man kitty of 5,000 icicles each – that did not last long. There was not a sign of the rumoured lamb’s heads, sheep testicles, puffin dips or guillemot pasties. John Speirs must have scoffed them all.
It had been decided to liven things up by asking each nation to contribute to the entertainment. Gibraltar kicked off when Charlie Carreras came up to the stage barely carrying two huge bags of leads, and thanked the English team for giving all their lead to Gibraltar. Then we listened to a Russian competitor sing ballads about unrequited love, accompanying himself on the guitar. Eventually Scotland joined in the fun with an ethnic Shetland ballad about underwear sung with gusto by Ally Fullerton; he was joined by Mark Duncan, Howard Foster and Jimmy Smith – a jarl squad! – who sung the up helly a’ song:
The Up Helly-Aa Song
From grand old Viking centuries Up-Helly-A' has come,
Then light the torch and form the march, and sound the rolling drum:
And wake the mighty memories of heroes that are dumb;
The waves are rolling on.
Chorus: Grand old Vikings ruled upon the ocean vast,
Their brave battle-songs still thunder on the blast;
Their wild war-cry comes a-ringing from the past;
We answer it "A-oi"!
Roll their glory down the ages,
Sons of warriors and sages,
When the fight for Freedom rages,
Be bold and strong as they!
The company loved it! Read the rest at
http://www.uphellyaa.org/about-up-helly-aa/up-helly-aa-songs http://www.uphellyaa.org/
Next up was yours truly who sung Bachelor Boy and Folsome Prison Blues. I also told the Championship joke which about 10% of the audience understood. I will not repeat it but catfish were involved. The English contributed a speech through Ken Smith that was funny and there was further entertainment from local performers and dancing. At the end of the night most people walked to the public bar at the other end of the village, where celebrations, dancing and drinking, continued until about 5.00am. It was a good party and a good end to a brilliant weeks’ fishing.
There may be a complaint going in to Icelandair about the return journey so I will not comment. Will I return to Iceland? Very probably if they can maintain their stocks in the face of European pressure, and if I can raise the icicles required.
End of report.