All systems go and some great stories from the anglers yesterday at the World Boat Angling Championships 2015 of big Bluefin Tuna breaching the surface of the water near their boats and of their fish catches being stolen by sharks following the fish to the surface!! Bluefin Tuna sightings confirmed by Myles Kelly of Inland Fisheries Ireland who took to the water today as a steward on the Irish Team Boat.
Donegal Bay is alive with fish – large and small!
Most of them are really impressed with the quality of the fishing and as usual a few trying not to look impressed. Watch out for the TV crew from RTE on the MalinWaters sponsored media boat Wednesday & Thursday.
Fourteen charter boats, used for actual fishing on Official Training day, one Standby boat, one media boat courtesy of Malin Water and Inland Fisheries Ireland provided safety boat/assist boat and that’s only Official Training/practice day. That’s some commitment to promoting the sport of Angling in Ireland and it just would not be possible without the support of our sponsors and the sterling work of so many volunteers on Committees and stewards.
The first day of the World Boat Angling Championships 2015 official practise starts today and the teams are heading out to their zones.
The teams are as follows;
IRELAND: Tony Santry; Heiko Dreier; John Dennehey; Josie Barrett; Dan Lynch; Anthony Austin ; Dave Roe ; Manager Kit Dunne;
BELGIUM : Jan Aspeslag ; Wilfried Buls , Bram Cole, Stefan Ruys, Eddy Van Camp, Captain Ronny Cleymans.
CROATIA : Marko Sikiric; David Pinezic; Ivan Galzina; Sinisa Budisavljevic; David Bajlo; Stefano Erman; Managers Milivoj Juric; Saso Rasovic :
ENGLAND : Cliff Newbold ; Gary Galbraith; Mark Smith; Colin Searles; Steve Batchelor ;/Angling Manager Rolf Marschalek:
FRANCE: Julien Bayod; Sylvain Ferachoglou; Jacques Yves Feraud; Matthieu Hervouet; David Richard ; Julien Rondineau; Managers Jean Pierre Caginicolau; Amine Mammeri;
GERMANY : Horst Hennings; Hans Heinrich Grossmann; Andreas Matthiesen; Karl Schmidt ; Uwe Sugge (Captain) ;
ITALY : Marco Volpi : Paolo Volpini; Mauro Salvatori; Gabriele Brunettin; Anthony Giacomoni; Fabio Grati ; Manager Alberto Marchi .
LUXEMBOURG: Jean-Pierre Hansen; Henri Jungers; Andre Stemper; Guy Remy; Rene Royer (Captain).
NETHERLANDS : Piet Buijk; Ernest Ripson; Frank Van Schilt; Sjaak Verburg; Kees Westdorp ; Manager Henri Karremans:
PORTUGAL : Claudio Cristoval; Silvio Santos; Joao Santos; Manuel Neves; Ricardo Lavandeira; Alexandre Dionisio; Mjanager Carlos Vinagre :
SAN MARINO : Federico Soldati; John Bruschi; Daniel Moroni; Federico Francesco Bruschi; Michele Bacciocchi; Manager Bruno Zattini:
SLOVENIA : Dejan Struna; Aliosa Tomsic; Nik Kocjancic; Janez Petkovsek; Vladimir Melinc; Vinko Mojskerc ; Manager Zdenko Grando :
SPAIN : Josep Barcelo Bonet; Xavi Perez Rojo; Juan Lorenzo Sepulveda Romero; Luis Ortega; Rafael Mesa Martinez ; Managers Jose Luis Fernandez Inigo ; Angel Fernandez Dominguez.
WALES: Arthur Beechey; Mark East; Chris Hamblin; Dewi Roberts; Colin Orme-Thomas; Manager Robert Roberts.
This international event takes place on the spectacular Wild Atlantic Way in particular the Donegal Bay area where all participants will be presented with not only tremendous sport fishing but spectacular scenery. The base for the competition is Bundoran in Co. Donegal, with daily departures from Mullaghmore harbour in Co. Sligo. There are likely to be some larger fish such as Rays, Huss and Tope (sharks) on offer with the majority of the catch being made up of Pollack, Wrasse and Ling. The event is proving to be a huge boost to the local economy. It is estimated that the competition will result in 1000 bed nights for the area, while many local businesses ranging from restaurants to bait suppliers are also benefitting. The local charter boat fleet is providing the many boats required for the competition and for media. This is a good news story for the area and the local people who we have worked closely with all along are eager to show what great amenities are on offer in this part of the country. Inland Fisheries Ireland are the main sponsors of the event.
The EU Interreg funded MalinWaters brand support of the World Boat Angling Championships is in keeping with their commitment to nurturing the development of marine and coastal activity such as angling, in the MalinWaters regions. MalinWaters wish all those taking part the very best of luck and we look forward to many more angling events. The World Boat Angling Championships are already a significant addition to the MalinWaters maritime calendar of events for 2015. Representing MalinWaters, Joy Harron, Marine Marketing & Development Officer for Donegal Tourism Ltd said “the World Boat Angling Championships encapsulate all that is great about our shared MalinWaters regions of Donegal and Sligo in terms of the excellent world class angling opportunities and the wealth of local maritime culture, MalinWaters are delighted to support the event and we look forward to welcoming teams from around the world to the Wild Atlantic Way”.
Our organisers, partners and sponsors will soon extend a céad míle fáilte when our local clubs Mullaghmore SAC and Bundoran SAC and the local charter boat fleets will present to the world the treasures of the North West of Ireland in what we hope will be a truly memorable championships.
Please follow the championships on the Irish Federation of Sea Anglers Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/seaanglingIFSA with further details on the event itself available at www.discoverbundoran.com/angling
