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NZSFC's POD AND REEL Podcast
Welcome to the Pod and Reel podcast, presented by the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council, a national body with over 50 affiliated clubs across New Zealand, and over 37,000 members.
Since 1957, NZSFC has focussed on setting standards for responsible fishing practices, collating records, organising events like the Nationals, and supporting its affiliated fishing clubs. This podcast dives deep into the history, the people, and the clubs that make up our fishing community. We'll explore the highs and lows of fishing and learn from mistakes made, striving to be better, safer, and smarter when we interact with the water. With 15,000 kilometres of coastline, New Zealand's fishing history is rich with stories of the tussle between us and the sea.
Join Mike Plant as we delve into these topics and more on the Pod and Reel podcast, your gateway to the world of all things fishing in New Zealand.
NZSFC's POD AND REEL Podcast
Episode 9 : Women at the Helm Pt 2
New Zealand's fishing and boating world is being transformed by women who are taking leadership roles, challenging stereotypes, and creating inclusive spaces for everyone on the water.
• Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club women describe how clubs should focus on fishing opportunities rather than just becoming social drinking venues
• The "Girls in the Bay" fishing competition showcases women's abilities and creates an even playing field for all participants
• Wild Chix explain how they're filling the knowledge gap for women who never had fathers or uncles teach them boating skills
• Coast Guard skipper Sarah Psilas shares essential safety advice including having two forms of communication and proper life jacket use
• The importance of women understanding proper safety protocols to save lives in emergencies
• Lisa Noble describes her journey in fishing competitions and building her fishing gear brand Ocean Obsessed
• Women's fishing competitions foster a supportive environment where participants build each other up rather than focusing solely on competition
To learn more about women's fishing initiatives and upcoming Wild Chix workshops, visit our website at nzsportfishing.org.nz or check out the Wild Chix website for course dates around New Zealand.
This Podcast is brought to you by The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council a not for profit, incorporated society funded by its member Clubs.
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Welcome back to the NZSFC Pod and Reel podcast. I'm Mike Plant from the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council and today we're handing back the reins to the women at the helm. These Kiwi chicks aren't just along for the ride, they're leading the way, turning the dial at fishing clubs, saving lives, teaching skills and showing the boys how it's done. Today's episode features the same crew from last week Lisa Noble from Ahi Pata Sport Fishing Club, a charter operator, commercial fisher and far north local. Sarah Silas, a skipper and coast guard educator.
Speaker 1:Chanel and Izzy from Wild Chicks, a new venture running camps and workshops to upskill and empower women in hunting and fishing. And the crew from the Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club, tanya, lisa, anne and Caro. The crew from the Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club, tanya, lisa, anne and Caro the women behind the successful Girls in the Bay Fishing Competition. In previous episodes we learned that knowledge about boating has often been passed down generationally to other family members. Unfortunately, often women are missing out on these stories and that knowledge. We're joined by our first guests from the Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club, tanya and Lisa and Caro, who tell us in detail what's involved for women behind the scenes in club life.
Speaker 2:Well, I think it starts with our committee. Our committee are made up mainly of fisher people.
Speaker 4:So we're very lucky in that respect that we haven't lost it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and once again, it's almost like you know the participation kind of thing and getting your volunteers to help and, you know, keeping them involved. It is actually hard work. You've got to make sure that you're actually pushing the fishing and you are giving the opportunities and making it. You know, that's why we have so many competitions and tournaments, because if you, if we don't have that, then it really only becomes a social kind of drinking place. Um. So yeah, we've got to bring the fishers here we've talked about the ladies taking on the guys.
Speaker 1:it's an even playing field. We've got disabled fishers who are in a wheelchair, who have modified boats and that to get out on their wheelchair and fish off their boats. We have anglers of all shapes and sizes all competing against each other. You don't have to be big and strong, you don't have to be a certain type of person to be able to have a go and participate.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 5:Just try not to throw up Top of the list. Take your sea legs if you get seasick.
Speaker 1:Getting sick on a boat is a horrible experience. We've all been through it and I noticed the other day a lot of people having stickers. This was at the Girls in the Bay comp Stickers behind their ears. Do you guys know about those?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. Well, actually one of our daughters get really seasick and she swears by them. She actually loves them. She went on a team day cruise using those and she never even got sick once.
Speaker 1:Let's hear from our next guest, Izzy and Chanel from Wild Chicks.
Speaker 6:Izzy shares her story as a German immigrant to New Zealand and how she learnt boating. When you come in, like me, as a foreigner into the country, there is no dad or no uncle or no brother to teach you like. That is really the thing. Yes, definitely, I would say. People from overseas possibly are more likely to do a Coast Guards skipper's course, because in Germany you need a license to play golf.
Speaker 6:So seriously, coming into New Zealand, thinking that you can drive a boat when you're 15 years old without a license blows your mind. So I think all this like not just half the population rules out half the population as being female. It also rules out the population which moves freshly to New Zealand and sees the opportunity of being able to use a boat and go fishing. That's, for so many people outside of New Zealand, a new and unique experience, but then building their confidence and dealing with their boats and creating family memories on the water is also quite important but there's also the whole, like parents need the desire and partners, and you know it's they need they need to have that desire to want to share that information.
Speaker 7:So I have an older brother and he was allowed to go game fishing and, yeah, granted, I did get a little bored when I was, you know, 10 years old and I wanted to snorkel with the dolphins, but still I wasn't given those opportunities more than like over him, like he was always taken before I was ever asked, and so it's, you know, that information was there. We've been a big boating family, you know. Know, I, my brother, was always offered that opportunity and I just never, like I never had it. My. So it's that desire of wanting to share that intergenerational information as well as being receptive to it. So, you know, I went and got a marine science degree and I have spent my life on the water dedicated to that since I was, since I left high school. So, go figure, like you know, my brother still enjoys fishing, but he didn't make it his life passion what would you say to the guys listening that are like my, my wife?
Speaker 1:she sits in the passenger seat. I bait the hook, I let it out like that works for us. She doesn't want to get bait on her hands. She doesn't, you know, need to do this because I'm in charge. What have you learned over these workshops and that why? That's probably not the best idea?
Speaker 6:I mean, first of all, it's obviously a safety thing, right, like when you are out there and you're doing everything for her and she doesn't understand how to drive the boat, how to get you safely back on shore, and something happens. And it might be the best fisherman out there who never falls over the board and always wears his life jacket, haha, but he could even really have a stroke or a heart attack or something might go wrong. And I mean this guy probably would be super grateful if his wife would be able to go. Honey, I got this.
Speaker 6:I know how to ring Cosguard, I know what channel to use, I know how to drive us back, I know how to reach out for help. We have all the safety gear on board. I can save your life rather than being like, oh honey, can you, can you not bite my hook? What are you doing on the ground? Right, pour me my wine. So it's all fun and games until this happens. And it's the same with spending money for an e-perp it's all a lot of money, but the moment you need it and you don't have it, that's where you kick yourself and go. I wish I would have spent $500 for my life.
Speaker 7:There's also that vein of I mean, if she doesn't want to bait a hook and she just wants her mind pulled, I'm guilty of that. I can be a boat princess just as much as I can step up and be the boat captain. Everyone loves to be a boat princess at some point and if it's not for them like they don't want to get involved in the fishing aspect of it or they don't want to drive the boat it's still super relevant and important for her to be able to have the confidence to pick up the VHF. It's no joke, Talking on the VHF is terrifying and it took me a really, really, really long time to be able to pick it up and actually relay a message back to Coast Guard, because it's intimidating. But if you have a little bit of knowledge, like, push the red button, take you to channel 16, that's only going to go to the Coast Guard or to whoever is listening to the.
Speaker 6:it's the international distress channel, right, like so if they know that and it's not being broadcast everywhere far and wide, it just gives them that little bit more confidence to be able to use the tools that are there also I think sometimes it's maybe why she doesn't want to do all those things is the the scarcity of being criticized because we are very guilty and I say this the time it's not just always the guy's fault who tell us how to do it better and how to do it their way, like guys just always want to offer a solution and want to help, and we feel criticized very, very quickly. And it's even with me like I'm very confident in backing our trailer into the driveway, for example, but the moment my partner steps onto the scene, I get really tense and then I'm pretty much waiting for him to tell me how to do it. And the moment he goes left, hand down, my head goes where the hell is left, and then everything is out the window and then I'm yelling and he's yelling and I can't do it, and then I'm like I'm not doing it again. And that's in the story. And it's the same with driving the boat. I'm driving the boat and I almost feel his breath on my neck and I'm waiting, waiting for him just to say something. And it doesn't matter even if he would just say like you're doing well, I go like what do you mean? Like we are like this and they are like this and it's.
Speaker 6:It's just very tricky to learn from each other or with each other and building that safe community for girls where they can ask a dumb question there's no such thing as a dumb question. There is not such a thing as a dumb question but that is really where we can laugh about this, where we can really take a joke, really make a joke out of our husbands and just people laugh about the forgotten pee buckets and the forgotten bungs and we just talk about those things and it's just a nice, friendly, fun environment where we just chat about all those things without feeling judged from anyone. It's even quite interesting what I learned, because the more we teach and the more we talk to ladies, obviously, the more we learn as well. And I thought what was quite interesting is, even if I know where our life jackets are on the boat, I know that there are probably for a long time there. I know we have enough of them, but I never realized how relevant it was that you actually have to have almost your own, which fits you straight from the get-go and you should wear it right, because the moment your boat sinks or something happens and you need to have that life jacket, just to find your one which fits you, you to put it on and make sure the crotch strap is on. By that time you're you're already in the water. And it is really this point where you will grab a life jacket and those big guys will not fit their wives and then they end up in the water and that life jacket does do nothing to them. So just really talking them through it and go, hey, wear your life jacket. Probably best to keep it on all day, apart from when you're anchored up. But even then, if you have it on, you'll hardly feel those those days. So why not? Same thing with flares, e-perps, pobs, little little things really, just the whole Chanel set before.
Speaker 6:We talk a lot about safety and it's mind-blowing often how little they know. It's even to the point when she goes home from a seminar and goes, hey, honey, where's our e-perp? And he goes, nah, we don't need one of those. Then she goes, cool, okay, I've got a new Father's Day present, a new Christmas present, because he will not go out there and spend the 500 bucks, but she will. Yeah, we had ladies there who really want to go fishing and want to buy their first boat. They don't have one and they just want to build their knowledge before they go out and get one. Then a lot of girls who are divorced or widowed and they just really want to keep boating. And I think then the other 50 at least are the ones who have been fishing for 20 years with their husbands and realize that they know less than they think have any come and joined your course because they've had a safety issue or something like that happened?
Speaker 1:do you guys talk about past experiences or anything like that with the team?
Speaker 7:we do, I think most of the women come and they have some kind of story um, it's quite, it's, everyone's got a story about bungs being left out. But no, I mean, I think it's just they are oblivious.
Speaker 6:I think for me the biggest thing was that lady who told me that her and her husband go out to Kaha a lot to go fishing and she said my husband has never done a VHF trip report. And that was where I thought well, it's not really the safest coast, right? So at least that would be, would be good if he would make a habit of that or what.
Speaker 7:Like, what are the flares? Like, what are the flares for? And they're like, do we need to have these? Like, what are these? And they've never heard of them, seen them, I guess, and from their perspective, if it's not on their boat and they've never looked into it, they wouldn't even know. Like a flare would be something that you would see in a movie. Right, like, looking at it from a perspective of someone who's not a boatie, like you see flat, what was that movie top gun, when his flare goes off, when he falls in the water, you know, like that's probably what they're thinking. And so they're like when we bring out the box of dummy flares and we're like, pass these around, have a look at them, and they're just like their minds are blown. They're just like what do you mean? So it's just that education around what it is.
Speaker 7:I've done a lot of game fishing and it's even something as simple and it's exciting. You know when you, when that reel goes off and all of a sudden you have four dudes screaming at you. If you are on on the rod and it's your fish and you're meant to be winding it in, and then all of a sudden you're winding, winding, winding and then the fish is gone and the yelling subsides. But it's this you're like, instantly, as a woman, you're like what did I do wrong? What, like this, was my fault? Like everyone was yelling at me. I obviously messed it up and it can be enough to stop someone from wanting to go back on that boat again. It never deterred me because we would always debrief with the crew. I had a really good crew who taught me how to game fish, which was amazing. So it's just about that.
Speaker 7:Communication Like communication on a boat is critical for anything and the way I think something happens in a female's brain when she's being yelled at by a man. It's very intimidating and it's very scary. So you can instantly shut down from that. There was a story that was told by one of the guys there and he said that he'd taken his niece out and it was exactly that situation. She used to go fishing all the time and then he yelled at her and she didn't step back on the boat again for like 12 months after that because it's just, it's not. You're not yelling at us like we get that, I get that, I'm not being yelled at, but it's that excitement it's hard for lots of women to disassociate that it's not just about fishing, right, it can be anything.
Speaker 7:It's like when you're tying the lines up, if you're backing the boat in at the marina, and all of a sudden you drop the boat hook or, like you know, anything could happen, anything as little as that. Or you could be cooking sausages on the barbecue out the back and all of a sudden the barbecue catches on fire. Because all of a sudden the barbecue catches on fire because the catcher wasn't emptied and it's got oil in it and all of a sudden you're to blame. You take that on board and you sit with that and then you end up thinking, well, if I'm just going to get yelled at because I did it wrong, I'm not going to try again. It's trying to get past that and it's a whole psychology thing really.
Speaker 6:I think also it is just this, because we really have so much more little confidence in ourselves and we are not backing ourselves up as much as the guys do. And even it was quite funny. I was talking at a woman's conference yesterday in Auckland and there was a lady talking about an imposter syndrome. I was talking at a woman's conference yesterday in Auckland and there was a lady talking about an imposter syndrome and she said it's evident that there are 97% of females feel that they're an imposter. And then she asked into the room and I'd shit you not I don't know if I can say that, but it's 97% of ladies put their hands up. And it's really crazy because I think we always we try, like with Wild Tricks, we try to build confidence to the level that when the husband goes, you need to do it this way that she goes. No, just because I'm not doing it your way, it doesn't mean that I'm doing it wrong. I know what I'm doing and I have been practicing this and I have been learning this and I know what I'm doing and I stand by it. And they know that they're in the right and they can, they're able to reel that fish in, that they're able to back that trailer and that they're able to drive that boat. And I think that's what we're trying to overcome in all those seminars and building that community. It's just the most empowering feeling. When you rock up as a woman at the boat ramp and you have the feeling, the moment you line the boat or the trailer up to back it, in, the world around you seems to stand still and all the guys start watching you and you almost feel like they go, like watch this and just doing it perfectly fine, and not even if it's not even perfectly fine I mean seriously, the guys don't do most of the time a great job either but as long as you get it down there and you help your husband and you help the family and you help the crew when you were part of the crew, when you were helpful to everyone and you just don't, are not in anyone's way, just jumping out of that car, looking at those faces going. I've done that, so you do. You do your thing and it's a normal thing. It's like just having that feeling of being judged right from the get go and then just nailing it and turning around and go. You didn't expect that and it's so nice, it's so empowering and on the other hand, you are a big help.
Speaker 6:There are a lot of boat rams those days where it is so much easier If you get dropped, you can run, get the trailer. The person in the boat drives it on. If you can shear that, that load, you don't need to stand in the waves and hold a six, seven, eight meter boat which gets pushed by the waves closer to you. You're struggling, it's painful, you're panicking because, especially like Waihau Bay on a good day, right, how long would you need to stand there and hold a boat? That's just. That is worse than learning how to back a trailer.
Speaker 6:Really, and, funnily enough, the last boat backing session we had here in Tauranga, we had at least five guys standing around us telling us how to do it better. And the next minute one guy was pulling out his buccaneer out of the water and dragged his skig all across the boat ramp. It was gold, it was perfect timing, and I actually went to him and I said I'm really sorry this happened, but thank you so much because we just wanted to show the girls that you guys are also not perfect and we always think you guys are and that's the problem, because we think we can't live up to it and it is just not right. And I've seen so many guys and everyone has jackknifing down trailers about RIMP, but we are the ones encouraging them. And go honey, it's fine, no one is judging you here, take your time, it'll be fine. But as soon as we do that, we think, or think we know, that our husbands would go honey. Everyone's watching, my God, hurry up. Oh my God, do you want me to do it? And that moment it snaps and the whole day bolting is already ruined for everyone. It and that moment it snaps and the whole day bolting is already ruined for everyone.
Speaker 6:I know for sure how many guys struggle at least four or five times a year for anniversaries, birthdays, christmases, mother's Days, and they go, oh my god, on the day what do I buy my wife? And then they run and buy something unusable or a bunch of flowers, and that happens every time on the day and it's really easy just to go hey, I want her to be more engaged, I want her to learn something, and just maybe try that and just send them along. Or even ask a girlfriend, because often it's intimidating for a woman to come to some seminar, some workshop by herself with a room full of strangers. So maybe just like buy two tickets, go here, take your bestie along, go to this and just have a great time and then quiz me afterwards It'll be funny, what I know and just really make it a little bit more fun and engaging for her and just send her along to something like that.
Speaker 7:It's about sharing that mental load, right? I'm hearing you say, mike, that you might like to be a boat princess once in a while. I'm hearing you say, mike, that you might like to be a boat princess once in a while. Let her take the helm. But it takes a really special person to be able to. Well, it doesn't take a special person, I guess, it just takes someone who wants to recognize the fact that when you go boating it doesn't just have to all be on the dad or the husband or the brother or the boyfriend or the male that's there. You could share it with your family, your daughters, your wife. If you teach them and you just give them some really basic information and if there's a desire and a willingness to learn there. It really important to like grow that like. If it starts out as this little baby flame, it could turn into something beautiful, you know, and being able to foster that and encourage it.
Speaker 1:As a coast guard skipper, sarah Silas recalls the time when dads at the helm have scared the whole family off boating by going out in too dangerous conditions or not having the whole crew comfortable on the boat. Have scared the whole family off boating by going out in too dangerous conditions or not having the whole crew comfortable on the boat.
Speaker 5:And the wife's annoyed because she doesn't want to go back. Yeah, no, I've met people like that. We've rescued people like that. You can see the wife is really not happy and it's their first and it's been their maiden voyage as well, which sometimes can be even worse. My advice to them is, before you go out on a boat is, just do as much training as you can. Do courses, learn, learn about the water.
Speaker 5:And if you're in a local area where you've got a bar, a sandbar or something like like to go out fishing and we're going out this day, would anybody like to come with me, go out and experience it with people who are doing it a lot, and get that and start building up your confidence with other people. Make some friends. You might find that you quite like going out fishing and maybe your wife doesn't want to go out, or maybe the husband doesn't want to go out and the wife does, you know, because that's happening more and more. But just gain more experience before you go out and it's even down to ramp etiquette Make sure that you understand if you're going to go onto a ramp. Be ready be ramp ready I think they call it and make sure your boat's ready to go, that you don't start loading your boat and everything when you're on the ramp. It's just little things like that. Just don't think you can just go out on a boat and it will be okay, because it might be but it might not be. And if you're prepared, if you're prepared well, and it goes wrong, you can come home. But if you're not prepared at all, then that's when we have problems. So obviously, life jackets is a big thing for me. I'm massive If I see people not wearing jet life jackets. I rarely not say anything because they're needed so badly. Coast Guard do pull bodies out of the water because they're not wearing life jackets.
Speaker 5:But communication is another key thing. Communication Make sure before you go out you're telling somebody where you're going and what time you think you're going to be back, definitely what you're going to be back by the latest. But communication, so I know. So Maritime and Coast Guard, when you get to the summer months they start saying like two forms of communication Talking, communication, if you can. So your telephone, your cell phone and your radio.
Speaker 5:Radios are really, really important. My preference would always be a radio. You do need to have a radio license to operate one. You don't need a license for your boat, but you do need to operate the radio. Which is what we teach the children is that your radio, hopefully, will be more waterproof. It will last longer. The battery life will be longer. A cell phone if you haven't got signal when you're out on the water, if you haven't got signal, your battery will be chewed up really quickly and the battery goes down and down and down until you're almost flat and the battery goes down and down and down until you're almost flat. The phones will sync very easily, unless you've got them in a waterproof case and then they float. Radios most of them are waterproof, not all of them. The cheaper ones are not.
Speaker 5:But if you use the International Distress Channel 16, that is listened to by a lot of people it's 24-7, monitored anyway, from maritime Coast Guard also monitor it and people when they're out there they'll have 16 on their radios, because whenever I go out I have one radio on 16 all the time and so I'll be listening out. So if you call for help on 16, you've got a whole network of people that could be right next to you that could help you. If you call on a cell phone, it's fine. You can still call 111. It's not a problem, but you'll talk to the operator. The operator will then get the activations going on in the background, but the people who could be quite near to you will not hear you and if they could help you in any way, it would be better for them to get to you quickly, before Coast Guard or police or Westpac or whoever has to get to you so communication is massive.
Speaker 1:Different types of communication. Right, Because cell phones one-to-one, but a broadcast on a V8 shift boat radio is one-to-many. Anyone can hear that.
Speaker 5:That's right, absolutely. And that would be my first thing would be go up for a radio. If you haven't got a radio, at least have a cell phone, but have it in a pouch and tell people where you're going. And then you've got things like your EPIRB and your PLBs, your personal locator beacons, and they are very good, but it depends on how far you're going out. I actually travel with a PLB in my car now because of the amount of traveling I do, and many times I've been stuck. I've been in the car and there's been no signal whatsoever. So I'm like I'd rather just have that extra backup and I take it with me whenever I go. That's how they're the things I would have. But then you've got little things like you've got secondary propulsion. So you really need to have some oars or paddles in your boat, especially if you've got a trailer boat. Because I've heard calls to Coast Guard just recently and somebody was 150 metres off a boat ramp and they were calling for help and I was like, well, if you just had a some set of oars or paddles that you could just paddle in, you're calling out.
Speaker 5:What people don't realize is Coast Guard are made up of volunteers, but because they've got a membership. Sometimes people just think you'll come straight out, which we do. But we are all volunteers and we have to leave jobs and we have to leave children, we have to leave lives behind and then come and help people. But what we want them to try and do first is to try and help themselves first and then we will come and get you. I mean, obviously, if anyone's ever in trouble, we're always there, but try and take responsibility. Like, don't run out of fuel for a start. That's one of the most triggering points that we have. So, yeah, help yourself. Oars are good Communication life jackets. Make sure you've got enough fuel. Just the basics.
Speaker 1:Do you ever come across like a certain person or a certain boat or family that keep making the same mistake, like get three flat batteries in a year or something like that?
Speaker 5:We have serial offenders, yes, people who just keep coming back. I remember one gentleman. I think he'd only just bought his boat and I think he'd done three for three. He'd been out three times, called us three times. That's the point where you think can you just take your boat back, go do some training and then maybe come out again. But yeah, he was three for three in a very short space of time. So we do help people and people, you know, they just don't really take responsibility for themselves and they just say, oh, don't worry, don't worry, coast Guard are coming at us. Yeah, we will, but please remember, we're all volunteers, we're not getting paid for this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and Remember, we're all volunteers. We're not getting paid for this, yeah, and you have to live your life and getting a call out when you're at your daughter's first birthday or something these things happen, right, yeah absolutely.
Speaker 5:You know we've all run off and missed family events and stuff like that because the pager has gone off.
Speaker 1:So, on that note, what would you like to see change in boating culture in New Zealand? What things do you think need to?
Speaker 5:have a bit of attention or spotlight on them or change. I would like to see life jackets a must. I really would, especially for children. But I do see some families where dad's not wearing a life jacket but the children are wearing great life jackets. That's great, fantastic. Who's going to save your kids if you can't save yourself first? You know, when you get on a plane, they teach you to put the oxygen on your furs before you put them on your children. It's the same thing for a life jacket Make sure you're wearing one too. So if I could change that to make sure that they're more compulsory, rather than you don't have to wear them if it's over six meters, I always wear a life jacket and they don't have to be big and bulky. You know there are adult ones that are very, very light and easy to wear very light and easy to wear. For children it's a bit harder, but it will be to wear life jackets.
Speaker 5:Would I love to see the boats licensed? Yes, I know Kiwis are. It's the last right of them going out and they don't want to do that. But I'd love to be able to say, where you just can't buy a boat and just take it out and do nothing. You've got to have done something, even if it's just an online course, that you understand that these are the rules and you can hurt people. You can't take a car onto the road without doing some license, some rules and regulations. You're not allowed to do it On the water. It's harder because you have no lanes. It's all open water. You can go anywhere you want. At the end of the day, there are rules, but if you don't know them, you're going to ignore them, and that's where people have accidents. So that would be something that I would very much like to see.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's a bit of a fine line, because New Zealand prides itself on having this ability and freedom to go do it, but on the other side, you and your crew are the ones mopping it up when it doesn't go right. So where is that line between compliance and licensing and actually just being decent Kiwis who look out for the members on their craft and are the boaties on the water as well? I think that's the dance we're currently doing to find it, and I'd hate to see it on the full compliance side, but I'd hate to see things being on the other side. So I think the best way forward is for all of us Kiwis together going all right. We are united on this. We're going to wear life jackets, we're going to be clued up and if we see someone who isn't, we're going to put them towards the day skipper courses and these other educational courses that are here to get people clued up, and that would include anyone selling a boat as well.
Speaker 5:Yeah, absolutely, I agree, if we could. Every time I've got my boat supply because I have boats for the program that I have little inflatables that are made I get those for my boat supply. And he for many times was trying to encourage it was giving away a day skipper course, for if you bought a boat but people were just not using it, that was the problem. I mean it was smaller boats with the bigger boats and people were like, oh no, I don't need that, oh, I've been boating all my life, don't need that. And that's when the problems can happen, because sure, they've been boating all their lives, sure, they've been lucky and yeah, maybe they still will be and maybe they've learned a lot.
Speaker 5:But there are certain things that some people just you don't know what you don't know at the end of the day. So you have to just keep learning. Even as a skipper for Ghost Guard, I learn every time I go out on duty. There's not one duty that I've done that I have not learned something of that on that day, and it could be from my crew member, it could be from the public, it could be anything. And that's my attitude, that I'll just always keep learning and I don't know. I certainly don't know everything.
Speaker 1:I think that's how we keep mentally fit as well as physically fit is by constantly challenging ourselves and doing things like this. And so, for any women listening, how would they be able to step into these leadership roles on the water, like you have? How do you keep pushing forward to go to the next level, the next level, to get to where you are now?
Speaker 5:I'm lucky because I've got a very supportive husband and family and I've got some very good friends that have gone. Sarah, you, you can do this, and they saw a lot way, way, way before I saw what I could do. They saw it in me a long time ago. But if you push me too hard I back off. So they've had to do it very, very slowly. So I'm lucky to have that support network.
Speaker 5:But if you do want to get involved, then go to the clubs, go come and join Coast Guard, do some courses, go to the yacht clubs and start sailing or whatever. If you want to be on the boats, just start getting in that environment and be around people who are in that environment. There are lots of female crews out there, you know, when you go racing or sailing or anything like that, we've got an all-female crew. I think we've got two. There's more than a few in some of the units around the country and I mean I take both male and female. It doesn't bother me, but I encourage them. What I say is get in there and own the space, own it, just do it and don't be put off with it. And even if someone puts you off, just come to give me a call.
Speaker 5:I had a lady that I spoke to in January bless her who lives in Taranaki and she was in the industry marine industry trying to do some courses. And she'd been in there many, many months I think eight or nine months, pushing, or even a year, to get some courses done so she could go on to the next level. And they kept sidelining her. And another younger guy came in and literally within two, within a month, what courses would you like to do? And she was like I've been here a year and you've not let me do this. So she was. She was quite despondent about it, but I just encouraged her. Encouraged her. She said right, I'm not going to give up, I'm not going to give up, I'm going to go back, I'm going to push, I'm going to push. Unfortunately, ladies have to work twice as hard as the men. But if you really want it, you will get it. But get in there and own the space and don't be put off by anybody. Is there anything else? I don't really know.
Speaker 5:I did make a load of notes, for, obviously, when you were sending all those questions through, one thing that helped me was that Coast Guard did an all-female skipper leadership course. This is before I became a skipper and I was sitting on the fence I was like I really want to do it, but I don't think I do. But I like it, but I'm always too much responsibility and too hard and I'd really. I got encouraged and I thought, right, I'll go on the skipper leadership course, that's fine, let me go and do that. And then were like I was like, oh, it's a month early, I'm not sure I'm ready for this, but anyway I did it. Uh, we did the course, emma and I. Oh my god, how much fun did we have. It was, honestly. We came away on the sunday exhausted, but so blown away and excited and empowered by. There was rachel, who's one of the trainers, and there was graham, who's one of the trainers, and there was Graham, who was one of the trainers Poor Graham. We had eight women there, or nine women, because Rachel was there. He was just laughing all the way through because we changed all the dynamics of the courses that he'd had so far.
Speaker 5:So we had an exercise to do on the Saturday night. Because we are all women. We did it differently to what they've done in the past, and I won't say what it is because I don't want to give it away if anyone listens to the podcast and they end up coming to the Skip Leadership course because word has not got out what the exercise was. We did it differently and we did it really quickly and we got back for dessert. That's all we were concentrating on was we had to get back for dessert. So we did the exercise, we came back back and then Graham was doing the speech and he's talking to us and he said that was really good and everyone was really happy because we'd done it within the hour and no one's broken that record yet. And then I'll put my hand up and wait.
Speaker 5:Graham, I kind of got a confession, because I seem to be the spoker for it all. They go why what have we got? I said well, I want to confess what we did and how we did it, because we did it slightly different. And he went why did I not see that coming? He says I knew, I knew, I knew you ladies would would, would change what we thought would happen. We just didn't know which way it would happen. We just knew things were going to be different on this course and it was really the way we all thought was different. So we came away from that and it was fantastic and I went I can do this. This has made me decide now I am going to do this and everyone's going well. We told you. We told you. So I set a goal. I set six months.
Speaker 5:I wanted to be a skipper before the summer, so, and then I had to get exams done. So I was away in September. I was going on holiday to see my family in Canada, and so I had to get my exams done. And it got to about August. I thought I've not done my exams and that's why I just did them, got them done really quickly, managed to pass them all came back and then I was like sitting on the fence a little bit, thinking I've got to get this assessment done, I've got to get it done, I've got to get it done. And anyway I did the assessment in the November. It was a long one because there were other people doing it as well and the guy just combined it all day. I was exhausted, but I was very happy to do it.
Speaker 5:And then, after I became a skipper, then I saw the application for the International Maritime Rescue Federation at Women in SAR training in Finland and I was like, well, I'm a skipper now, I can probably apply for this. So I thought, oh, just apply, it'll just be good fun, I'll see what happens. And then two days later I literally got an email to say, hey, sarah, we'd like to invite you to join 16 ladies, because there's only 16 spaces in Finland next year. And I was like, okay. And then I just kept working towards that. I was really lucky and it was. That was again. The next empowering bit. For me to become a skipper was actually made me realize what we do in New Zealand is actually really good. We are a little country on a big stage and we do it really really well. So that was really exciting to see and be involved.
Speaker 5:There were 10 countries still keeping contact with all the ladies. There was two ladies the two of us that came from New Zealand, australia, estonia, germany, Netherlands, sweden, ireland, senschin Islands and, I think, uk. It was amazing. It was a whole weekend with all these ladies doing training and talking about our experiences, of how our journey has come through and what have been our holdups, what stopped us and how we've overcome them and what's helped us, and there was only probably one lady that said that she had none of what we'd all had none of it. She'd been actively encouraged and pushed and, pushed, and pushed and it was the Irish lady. So, yeah, that was a real point for me to write. Okay, how can I help more ladies? That's what I came away from there, going right. I want to do more of this because it's just, it's so inspiring to help other people, see them come through.
Speaker 5:I was at the boat show just recently, the on water boat show. So Auckland Coast Guard was there and I was there for my safe boating for Coast Guard New Zealand. And on the Friday morning I was invited to be on a panel of ladies for another it was all about maritime and engineering because I was a skipper and could I answer some questions. So I said, yeah, I'll come to the yacht squadron and I'll do that. Isabel was there. It was a really good morning.
Speaker 5:And then we get to the boat show and I carried on doing it. I was on the stand and I walked. I was walking through somewhere and I was behind two guys and I overheard them and I was so gobsmacked I couldn't say anything because normally I should have said something, but I'm also in uniform so I have to be a bit more polite. And he said for an exhibition for men, there's not many toilets around. I looked and I went an exhibition for men. Is that what you think the boat show is all about, men? I was so gobsmacked I couldn't say anything. I was yeah, I can see, mike, you're a bit gobsmacked.
Speaker 1:Like all the women on this podcast, Lisa Noble has also dealt with some dumb comments from guys.
Speaker 4:I remember this one time, actually one of my girlfriends, helen, you probably know her we caught a fish I think it was the Wongara ladies or maybe the Bay ladies no, it was the Bay of Islands ladies and she was our skipper. She's bloody awesome, she's another girl you should talk to and we pull up to the weigh station to weigh our fish and I remember this guy turns around and said, well, who's your skipper? And my friend Helen was so offended and we just all cracked up laughing. We're like who needs a man? You know, but yeah, so I don't know it is changing, but it's. There's always going to be a few people set in concrete, you know, in their ways. But I think the likes of, like the wild chicks bloody awesome and Nikki Sinden really cool, showcasing that chicks can do it, you know like, yeah well, a lot of the world records are actually titled by women fish like they have heavier than fish, than men.
Speaker 1:If you look at Donna's bluefin tuna, for instance, kelly Chambers won um angler of the year last year most notorious catches as well. So like the girls are out there doing it. And what I love about fishing is it's a sport that you know. It's not like rugby or netball. We have to be tall or strong Like anyone can actually be on the reel and have a chance at it and have a go.
Speaker 4:And you know, the biggest thing I love about Kelly is she's a new mum. I'm like go you girl, you get that baby out there and you smash those records. I think that's really, really cool.
Speaker 1:Like, involve the family. That's what it's about right, at the end of the day, is having fun and creating those memories. And so what would your advice be to families who are out there? You know mom, dad, the kids especially when it comes to record chasing, because you've got a bit of experience there as well. We've got the youth nationals, where there's a whole lot of new world records that igfa have opened up, so all the line class um. There's a lot of female records that are achievable in new zealand waters. What would be your advice to, you know mums and families listening to who want to maybe take that next step from just a day out on the water to chasing records?
Speaker 4:definitely think like, educate yourself, like from a safety point of view. You know, if you're going out as a family, depending on the age of the kids, but get them involved, teach them how to drive, like straight away, get them straight into it. You know, making sure they're wearing life jackets which I know sounds stupid, and all kids you know, oh, I don't want to wear that. That's dumb, well, tough, titty. If you want to come on the boat you've got to wear it. You know, and we all know, it takes two seconds. If you're chasing records, like, obviously more often than not you're on lighter lines, so it's less drag. But if it, you know, if you're on the heavier tackle and something goes wrong and you kind of slip or pull and you can go over the side so quickly. So, yeah, putting those safety measures in place, teach those kids how to drive young, teach your wife, your partner or anyone on the boat who doesn't know how to even use the navigation gear or the VHF radio. It's so much fun. There's nothing like going out on the water with a group of girls, like you know, you think from a male's perspective, you guys love being on the water with your bros, your boys. You know it's the coolest time and we're exactly the same. Like you know where you guys might want to listen to your rock or this or whatever music. We can listen to our chick music, you know, like it's the same vibe but it's so much fun like dress up, catch fish, put our tunes on. You know we just love it. Like so cool. Yeah, definitely, definitely get into it. And the best thing is you meet like-minded other fishers too. Like when we do do girls trips. Like we put in a girls team at the best of the west this year. My partner was very lovely and he went fishing on his dad's boat and gave us girls his boat and honestly, we just had the best time. Like everyone wants to help out you know, whether it's launching, finding fish, anything like that. Like everyone is really supportive, which is cool. Yeah, so it's a bit different off ahi para because we actually don't have coast guard on the west coast so we use far north radio. I'm sure a lot of people listening know annette and how blimmin amazing she is. So, yeah, she is like our first point of contact and depends who's coming on the boat too. Like I guess the charter fishing and me. I actually always do a bit of a safety brief. You know, like life jackets are here, um, vhf, like I guess the charter fishing and me, I actually always do a bit of a safety brief. You know, like life jackets are here, um, vhf, like this is the call sign, blah, blah. But yeah, it really. And we do like a buddy up system so say, if we're going out to um, get some blue nose or go sword fishing, we usually actually go with another boat and you buddy up and you stay in contact all day. So that's quite important. But, yeah, making sure you've got a few points of contact on your boat, whether it's cell phone I mean we get bugger all coverage out here but you know, still handy to have your VHF like an EPIRB.
Speaker 4:And I think the PLBs are actually very important in fishing, especially if you're doing offshore passages and that kind of thing. Like when we took a boat up to Vanuatu on our night watch, we had to wear our PLB, you know. And if you're going toilet, if you're a male, you are not allowed to like pass on the deck. You'd actually have to use the toilet in the middle of the night, like you know, just things like that. Usually, if I'm at the helm. That means my girls are on board. If my partner's on board, he's on the helm. I got no shit show grabbing the helm then. But to be honest, I prefer it that way because I'm captain catch one. He's caught heaps. So, yeah.
Speaker 4:But I mean, like, you're always going to get a few people that probably are going to roll their eyes or whatever, but safety never takes a day off, and I know that sounds stupid too, but honestly, it's all common sense. Like, if you're going out and it's variable winds, your life jackets are probably sweet under the bunk. You know, like, let's be honest, if you've got common sense and a capable crew, if you're going out and the weather looks like it might be a bit dicky or you're doing a beach launch and the swell's a bit bigger, why don't you get your life jackets out and throw them on the bunk? Like, because, at the end of the day, like if you think, if something does go wrong and that boat flips and you're on as an eight or nine meter boat where you're not required to wear one I can't remember the all the rules now but um, if they're under the bank, how on earth are you going to get them? You know like yeah, so it's just, it's common sense really.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think as an angler, one of my standout moments and this is really actually what got me hooked on marlin fishing and I'm surprised it didn't put me off um, we're on one of rick's charters and we're doing the nationals, and it was the first time I got to do the nationals with dad and his mates and I was fizzing like I'd wanted to do this for years and being told, no, you're too young, or no, chicks don't go on the boat, or no, whatever it was, anyway got to go and so they fish like a rod per person type thing, instead of doing time slots. Anyway, dad's rod and reel went off and he said to me earlier Lisa, if it's a stripy, you know I'll give you my strike, you, you know you wind it in, but if it's a blue, I'm having it anyway. This thing come into the spread, kind of mucked around for a while and finally bit dad's lower and off it went. And so everyone thought it was a stripy, just from the way it bit Me. None the wiser, I'd never seen a marlin before in my life. Dad said righto, girl, get your gimbal on. Well then it jumped, didn't it, and it was a bloody blue and it was a decent one, and we're on 15.
Speaker 4:Anyway, seven hours, seven hours later, we bloody cracked it off and I seen Dad's favorite lure. It was close, like probably five winds and we would have had it to the boat, like the leader was right there, but it was quite light leader, and it was tail wrapped and I don't know whether it was rubbing on that like anal fin or the tail for that long the leader just wore through. But yeah, anyway, lost this fish after seven hours and seen Dad's favorite lure just into the drink. Dad was gutted. He missed his blue and he bloody lost his favorite lure.
Speaker 4:But that's what got me hooked was that excitement, you know, and I think, oh, that I'll never forget that. I'll never, ever forget seeing that fish swim off and healthy shit yarn. I was gutted, that was gonna be my first marlin. But also so cool to see a fish of that size have that strength and swim off so strongly. You know it was cool.
Speaker 4:I honestly feel like it's an addiction, like yeah, I can't even describe it just when you see that bloody dorsal pop up, when you see a big bait ball. I don't know, it's kind of like I can't find the words for it but it's the unknown. You know, like, what's going to happen, and we're quite lucky here in New Zealand too, because we do have quite a few different pelagic species. You know whether it's going to be a blue marlin, a striped marlin, or if you're going to get really lucky and it's going to be a black marlin or a tuna. You know, like it's kind of that unknown which is really exciting and I think too, like going through the motions, you, you start out sort of as an angler and that's really cool. You catch your first fish and you're fizzing and that's such a buzz. And then as you do more and the more you move through, like when you leader your first fish for a client, for a friend, like seeing the angler grin from ear to ear is the coolest thing.
Speaker 4:Like I remember we were in Kona two years ago and my dream is to like for ages is for my mum to catch a marlin and she doesn't want to borrow it. She's like I'm not bloody doing that lovey. Anyway, we get her in the game chair on this boat in Kona and it's a bloody big one. She's on it for quite a while and this particular boat only ran one crewman, so he was on the leader and the skipper was going, oh shit, like who are we going to get to gaff? And I was like I mean I can like, but a bit scared. And he's like, have you ever used a flying gaff? And I'm like only on a stripy, like bloody hell. Anyway, we were all in the cockpit, whatever, and I just remember seeing this fish jump right at the back of the boat like perfect jump, and I honestly I just went like jelly. I was like holy heck, like this is a serious fish. You know, unfortunately, we pulled hooks on the leader they fish long leaders and he literally took like two wraps so it was out of gaffing range. But yeah, and we pulled hook. But holy heck, like I don't know.
Speaker 4:It kind of numbs your body when you're that excited, like yeah, you got to really love it. You know there's always something to learn in whatever you do and the moment you think you know it all, you should probably stop. You know like, yeah, fishing's always evolving, there's always new techniques and I think it's important to educate yourself and you'll have way more fun. Like, and I think too, like a lot of stuff these days is online and sponsorship and this and that, which is really cool. But I feel like that kind of limits yourself too, like you know, like, open your mind, like when you're fun fishing. Obviously, when you've got your brand and that's your business, you have to do that stuff. But, yeah, I think, open your mind to it. Don't just use one particular brand for this. Or you know, like I think, get out of your comfort zone, push yourself, because it can open doors and you can literally live your dream life.
Speaker 4:Yeah, obviously, now being settled down with my beautiful family, my partner, I probably probably wouldn't enjoy it as much because you're away from home for, you know, quite a while. But now we kind of get the best of both worlds. We do family trips, you know. We do fun trips, like my partner will go out with his boys and I'll stay home, and vice versa. Then sometimes we got together and like our parents will have our daughter or we'll take her, depending on the weather. But yeah, and then again, I can't really sit still myself and you know that itch always needs to be itched for fishing. So, yeah, I've actually created my own fishing brand now. So I kind of live through like customers through Ocean Obsessed.
Speaker 4:And yeah, when I worked on the water I don't know I spied a gap in the market for like a comfortable and safety aspect gumboot. So that's what I've created, custom designed and, yeah, lived through all of our customers now, which is really cool. So I've named them sortie boots built tough and they're durable. Um, how did I get into it? Oh well, I always wanted to do a clothing line since I was a little girl, but, yeah, so I never thought I'd end up doing the gumboot thing. But, like I say, when I worked on the water, it was either like sailing boots, which are super comfortable but don't really have any safety aspects, or it was, um, like how do I just describe it without knocking brands, or other ones were quite heavy and clunky and stiff and not very comfortable. So I kind of can join this all into one boot. And so ours have like reflector strips for low light safety.
Speaker 4:Whether you're fishing off the rocks, you want to keep an eye on your mate walking down the road, anything like that. Their neoprene lines, they're really warm, they are steel cap but they're super lightweight. So, whether you're dealing with cray pots, big fish swords, anything, or even rock fishing and you trip over, you know they're non-skid and non-marking, which is really good, and they have an adjustable draw string. So, yeah, yeah, and they're professional looking, because, of course, I'm a girl and I do like my fashion, so they've got to look good too. And even the clothing, like you know, I'd always wear my partner's t-shirts, or when I'd order, you know, fishing clothing, it would always be men's stuff, because there's not really any women's there is. Now, don't get me wrong, there's some really cool women's stuff out there. But, yeah, I wanted something that it was a better cut for women, cooler styles and not so in your face, you know.
Speaker 4:So, yeah, some subtle designs and some hardcore fishing designs too, I think, depending what route you want to go down, like if you want to do it as a career, definitely just keep going, like you know, just keep going, have that drive and don't give up. And now the beauty with social media message people on Facebook, email them, harass them until they reply. Who cares if you look like a dick, if you show that passion, you know, like they'll understand. And then, yeah, like from a more casual point of view, like I don't know, pack a bottle of wine and a cheese board, take your wife out and then teach her how to drive. You know, like, put her on the helm, say, okay, babe, you drive to this next spot, and she might look at you like, oh my god, stun mullet, but the more she does, the more comfortable she'll become. So, yeah, just get in the deep end. As if I can say that and do it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think the clubs are great because it connects you with like-minded people. The rads comp really cool. Like I love the concept of that comp. You know, like club versus club, boat versus boat, angler versus angler that's really cool. So it just brings everyone together. You learn off people too. Like you know, you get back to the clubhouse after a day's fishing and the yarns that come out, like you learn stuff from that. It's yeah, it's really cool.
Speaker 1:And, of course, wild chicks are the ones educating women in this space.
Speaker 6:What I'm going to say now probably the guys don't want to hear, but I think we really want to get the girls to a level of confidence that when he's at work on a Saturday and it's a five knot variable day that the mother can look out the window and go. You know what I want? To take my kids for a little harbour fish. Or I'll ring up girlfriend Sally and we'll just go for a fish and it is absolutely fine for her to take the boat, take her to the boat ramp, launch it and has a great day, spends a few hours in the harbour on the water, catches a few snapper and has dinner ready when he comes home. How awesome would that be.
Speaker 6:We are in a time at the moment where everyone is always so incredibly busy. It doesn't matter who you ask. As soon as you ask, how are you? The question is busy, the answer is busy and not good or anything. It's like everybody is stressed busy, works hard, then everyone is glued onto their devices. Ai is taking over.
Speaker 6:Everyone has always something to complain, and I really think it is more and more important for the women as well as it is for the men, to detach themselves and have a place where they can go, where they can fully relax.
Speaker 6:And for me, I think and Chanel says exactly the same the ocean is a place where my whole heart just opens up, my whole body just sulks in, something which gives me energy and which gives me peace and my brain can relax and it doesn't think about the busyness and the laundry and work and the next appointments on the next day. I'm just present and we always get expected to have take 25 minutes out on a yoga mat in a corner and be present and while we are trying to plan the cooking and pick up the kids and organizing whatever. But the moment you are out on the boat, you are out on the boat and you are on the ocean and you are breathing that salty air and it's just so liberating and recharging and beautiful that I think, even when women might think that they don't like fishing as such, but just being out on the ocean is just so incredibly healing and beneficial for everyone's health. I think that's a big, big point.
Speaker 7:I think 100% of the people listening to this will absolutely agree with that statement, and I think the difference is that the stereotype of women not enjoying it because it's typically being the Kiwi way for men to do this but we do, like it is our safe space too, it is our home, like it is not something that should just be put in those stereotypical boxes there's a lot like safety is big for me. We do want all of our fishermen and ladies to come home.
Speaker 6:Also, on another note there as well is what I realized doing those courses as well is that we started talking to Coast Guard a lot because of the safety aspect, because they are saying you are talking to the people who are more receptive to the message.
Speaker 6:And it's the same with MPI. They rung up recently, for example, because they want us to talk more about biosecurity, because the girls care a lot more about our paradise still being available for their kids in 30, 40, 50, 100 years, right, and not just me right now today. And the same thing with the legacy guys in sustainability, when we start talking to the girls about putting your submissions in and really making sure that we can still fish and that we can still get our crayfish in the water and that we can do all of those things and educate them on catch limits and actually on fish species. That is actually also quite a big thing which a lot of them don't know, and because they just get put on the boat and reel the fish in but don't know proper fish care and all those things. So we're definitely teaching those things as well and bringing the message across for people who want to bring messages across which protect our oceans and ourselves and then be able to teach others that.
Speaker 7:To hear that there was a junior, a girl, that took out the junior category in the youth nationals is amazing, and we've got a few amazing young girls coming up through the ranks here at our club as well, and you know they're 16-year-olds. You know my daughter, she's 17, and she has been chasing those records too, but just not enough time on the water for her, but she's really, really keen little fisher girl, her own self.
Speaker 6:So there was a lady in the first course ever, which was held in Tauranga in January last year, and she was 63 and she came to the course and she said, isabel, I lost my husband to cancer not that long ago and then a year later my son died in a car accident. And she said, and I fully lost my availability to go on the water. And I was like why? And she was like I'm just not confident to drive our boat. So now I'm in a kayak and I'm okay with it, but I wish I could be out there again in the boats. And I thought that was that was really sad to see that with obviously losing two of her family members in such a short time, but then also that her passion and her love for the ocean was taken off her because of that. So I thought that was really that stood out for me a lot. And she came back now several times also to several courses. But funnily enough she took it so good, because we do a little quiz at the beginning where the girls need to find out like how, like it's a boat terminology sheet and they fill in the words and where they are on a boat and we usually give them like two, three minutes to fill it in. And she started laughing and I was like what are you laughing about? And she said we owned two trailer boats and one launch. And she said I have no idea how all those parts are called. I was like, wow, this is really crazy. Yeah, no, she's definitely a legend. So, yeah, just check out the website.
Speaker 6:We are constantly adding new courses. We are always traveling around the country, going in different location. Napier gizmon again coming up. I really do have to say um, we started this with the new zealand sport fishing, with the clubs, and the first ever white chicks event was at the tauranga sport fishing club, who has been amazing so far. We had over six or seven events held at that venue. So they have been amazing and super accommodating. We've been in Auckland, whakatane, whitianga, gisborne, tulekaka, like we've really traveled around, and most of them are very supportive. They help through their social media channels. They give us access to their bar. They make it really comfortable for the girls so we have our own space and don't sit in a room full of blocks who have beers and yell in their opinion most of the time. So they can help us with the marketing a bit as well, and spread the word.
Speaker 7:The game clubs and the council have actually been really great. They're always beautiful venues, which is really lovely. They're always on the water and lots of the managers have been really really accommodating and helpful. So thank you for doing that for us.
Speaker 1:Finally, we'll finish with the women of Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club, who are seeing the women outfish the men in competitions.
Speaker 3:We've got a few really great lady anglers in our club that really push the envelope hard and we're very competitive, um, which is great, um. So yeah, the likes of kylie and um x yeah, and of course you too they're being humble, but of course tanya and annie.
Speaker 2:I mean, I I guess you watch all kind of celebrity fishermen and women and you're all keen to get you know, see what they're doing. But really the internal competition is really what's driving me. To be fair, you know I follow a lot of pages from abroad and you know some fishing clubs it's ladies fishing clubs and you know some fishing clubs it's ladies' fishing clubs and you know we try and learn a bit from them as well and in the end it's competition. But it's just striving to kind of accomplish that as well. It's not oh, I've got to do better, I want to do the same. That's kind of what it is for me.
Speaker 3:I think, ladies, it's also a little bit different to how men are competitive. I think we encourage each other in terms of being competitive and doing better, where I think men are just really too much competitive.
Speaker 1:You're onto something there, because I feel like all the female fishing competitions I'm involved in, the ladies are trying to build each other up and they're celebrating the successes together, Whereas the guys are kind of. Let's just say I've been in more disputes in men's competitions over first prize than in ladies' competitions for instance.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's so true. Yeah, and I think that's just, men and women are not the same, and thank goodness for that. So, yeah, well, I think something like our ladies' blue is quite good for me. Yeah, we love it because it's game-fishing and it's over a long time. So you, you're not that time pressured to, actually restricted to one day yeah um sort out the house, sort out the kids, sort out the family and yeah yeah, deal to it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for me that's a really cool comp now, lana she she's leading the fishing board at the moment, I think, with Tag Marlin, and she has been fishing all summer, lucky girl, she's been going hard. But also Kobe, he's a young fella, I wouldn't be surprised if he has his first marlin in the next year. But on the Kubota weekend as well, she's running a ladies' breast cancer event. You know another thing, for the ladies as well. So you know, for those girls who are not going fishing, but they, they now have a reason to come to town because there's this massive event that she's putting on on the back of all of it, you know.
Speaker 1:So we've got to, we've got to give her credit on that as well I think that's a great um one to end on and I want to thank you, tanya, and carol and Lisa, for being part of this podcast. Any final statements, for maybe a female listener that's tuned in for the first time isn't a member of a club and has come across this podcast, what would you tell them to do to get involved?
Speaker 4:Get out there and join a club. You'll meet new people. You'll make great friends. Those friends turn into family. It just snowballs.
Speaker 3:So get out there and do it Just join a club, come and say hello. Yeah, come and see us.
Speaker 2:Tighten your bra straps and then tight lines. Let's go.
Speaker 1:The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council Pod and Reel podcast. The new zealand sport fishing council pod and real podcast is brought to you by the new zealand sport fishing council, maritime new zealand and the safer boating forum. We aim to share powerful stories from the coastlines, clubs and characters that define new zealand's fishing community, with over 50 affiliated clubs and 37,000 members. Each episode spotlights on real people and the true events that shaped their journey on the water. To find out more, visit our website nzsportfishingorgnz. Thank you.