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Te Kai Whakarongo Issue 1201 | 17 March 2026 | Proudly locally owned and operated
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CONNECTING COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COROMANDEL PENINSULA
“CORBLIMEY” WHAT A CATCH! On Day one of the world’s largest billfish tournament, angler Jason van Esch aboard the 8.5m trailer boat Corblimey (skippered by Mark Phillips) landed a 384.9 kg black marlin, considered a “record setting” and “fish of a lifetime” catch in terms of the history of catching marlin in the waters of New Zealand. BY RAEWYN WATKINS
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Photos supplied
Tuesday 17 March is St Patrick’s Day See page 7
f fishing tournaments are not your thing, we can only share the joy that many feel from simply being on the water, being part of a team, plus of course catching (and releasing) a BIG ONE! As an amateur fisher person myself, I’m all too familiar with the excitement of the potential for catching my own dinner. Sadly, the reality is most often disappointment. Fish are smart and can be a challenge to land. Along comes Kubota Classic Billfish Tour-
nament – officially the world’s largest. On a dull and windy Wednesday morning, 11 March, I headed down to take a good look at the boats heading out. Due to the conditions, the shot gun start could not happen. This didn’t seem to put people off standing on the waterfront to watch them head out and I was pleasantly surprised how many showed up. I guess the allure of seeing so many boats on mass is still an attraction. How many boats you ask?
Continued on page 3
42 years of fire See service – Tairua page 9
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