Gear up for the Fun

GEAR UP FOR THE 2020 DSBC FESTIVAL

IT’S that time of year again when anglers start getting excited about the Durban Ski-Boat Club Festival which will be held from 24 to 26 April. Mark Wilson recently chatted to Hilton Kidger, Convener of the 2020 event, to get the low down on what we can expect at this year’s festival ...

MW: It’s amazing how quickly time flies, and here we are again seeing everything fall into place for the 2020 event. Tell us what’s new and what the anglers can look forward to. Banks has offered us a prize worth R100 000! This in itself will be a wonderful treat for any angler to win. Just visit their website and you will be blown away by the fishing experience they offer. Many of us dream of visiting these exotic destinations and this is your chance! Remember, you have to be in it to win it!

MW: Will the festival be held at your current premises or are plans afoot to host it at your new site right on the beach?

HJK: We have hosted this popular festival for over 17 years now, and we are excited to announce that the main prize will be a 520 Seacat with twin 60hp 4-stroke Yamaha engines. We believe this will be a major draw card and that the boat is in line with current market requirements of the modern era angler/skipper who is looking for performance coupled with amazing economy. The 4-stroke Yamaha engines are also more environmentally friendly than other options.

The winner will also be able to choose between a forward console or a centre console boat and of course it’s always nice to have a choice!

The value of this prize exceeds R500 000! This is a huge step up from the Seacat 510 with 60hp 2-strokes which we’ve put up as a prize in previous years, and it once again shows DSBC’s commitment to our supporters We must take this opportunity to thank Yamaha and Seacat for their unswerving assistance in helping us keep the prize offering of this festival at the top of the tree!

To add even more to our top class prizes, Adventure Tropicale Charters, a well-respected fishing charter company operating out of Pemba and Lazarus HJK: It would be fantastic to accommodate the 2020 festival in the new premises, which would allow us to not only hold the festival but also include a launch of our new facilities, but alas, timing does not allow for this. However, we will soon be well on our way with our R10-million fit out of the new club, so we will have to wait till 2021 to host the festival there.

MW: How have you found sponsorship? Has it become more difficult to get support for events like this?

HJK: Happily our supporters are right behind us once again, and as this is the premier fishing festival of this sort they know they will get the right coverage with over 240 boats and 800 anglers plus their families attending over the three days. We also work to the philosophy of figuring out what can we do for our sponsors rather than just what they can do for us. This has worked well over the years.Adventure Tropicale Charters’ added support speaks volumes.

For more details on the 2020 DSBC Festival see our advert on page 38 of this issue. I look forward to seeing you all there!