Sea Angling Classic hosts Gunwarf Quays event to unveil £150,000 boat as grand prize

The city is set to host the inaugural Sea Angling Classic this summer, with events across Guildhall Square and a boat parade leading up to the two-day competition on Friday, June 17 and Saturday, June 18.

Now the competition has drawn a crowd at shopping centre Gunwharf Quays to unveil the grand prize for the competition’s main recreational boat category – with one expert caster set to net a £150,000 high-end fishing boat.

The winner – who is set to compete against 1,500 anglers in the competition - will be able to sail home in a 22-foot 745 Game King boat from Extreme Boats.

But the competition aims to create an event for the enjoyment of the whole city and not just those taking part, according to Horndean-based Ross Honey, founder of Angling Spirit and Sea Angling Classic.

The event organiser said: ‘This is a lot more than just a fishing competition.

‘It’s about raising awareness about the environment.

‘And it’s about creating something for the city – we will be having a min-festival in Gunwharf Quays on the weekend of the competition.’

The competition will open with a parade from Gunwharf Quays to Guildhall square on Wednesday, June 15, before a boat parade in the harbour the next day.

And the approaching competition already has anglers across the city buzzing, with those present at the reveal of the grand prize keen to nab the top-of-the-range fishing boat.

Luke Fitzgerald, who goes on regular angling trips in his boat moored in Port Solent, said: ‘I’m going to win that boat – I haven’t won a competition before, but I have a good feeling about this.

‘The competition is massive. It’s huge for Portsmouth.

Entry to the competition costs £250 for a boat with a minimum of two anglers and a maximum of four.

Smaller prizes will be available from those placed 1st to 40th.

The Charter Boat category prize table is set at £50,000 with prizes for 1st to 20th place.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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