CYCLONE Marcus missed Nhulunbuy but more than 160 women in the town’s annual Ladies’ Fishing Classic felt its impact and braved 2.5m waves during the first day of their event on the weekend of March 17 and 18.
Organising committee member Kylie Field said the weather gods were more favourable on the Sunday but Cyclone Nora forced the awards presentation to be shifted to another weekend. “Nora thankfully missed Nhulunbuy, but we still took the safety precaution of postponing our awards night to Saturday, April 7,” she said.
“With more than 754 fish caught, measured and released, the participants had to wait a few extra weeks to find out if they were winners.”
More than 200 people attended the awards night at the Gove Boat Club and Ms Field said the wait for the presentations ceremony was worth it as the evening was a fantastic success.
The fishing event has been running for 14 years, is well supported by local businesses and is a highlight on the town’s calendar. Nhulunbuy local Danielle Petersen – an entrant in the Unreel Banana Peels team – said, “We may not have been great at the fishing part but we enjoyed the journey and the dressing-up part was my favourite.”
Ms Field said next year’s event will be in either February or March and the exact date will be carefully selected to suit moon phases and tide times to optimise fishing conditions for the entrants.
Kylie Abood