Episode 9 : Women at the Helm Pt 2

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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.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to the NZSFC Pod and Reel podcast.
I'm Mike Plant from the NewZealand Sport Fishing Council
and today we're handing back thereins to the women at the helm.
These Kiwi chicks aren't justalong for the ride, they're
leading the way, turning thedial at fishing clubs, saving
lives, teaching skills andshowing the boys how it's done.

(00:21):
Today's episode features thesame crew from last week Lisa
Noble from Ahi Pata SportFishing Club, a charter operator
, commercial fisher and farnorth local.
Sarah Silas, a skipper andcoast guard educator.
Chanel and Izzy from Wild Chicks, a new venture running camps
and workshops to upskill andempower women in hunting and
fishing.
And the crew from the MercuryBay Game Fishing Club, tanya,

(00:44):
lisa, anne and Caro.
The crew from the Mercury BayGame Fishing Club, tanya, lisa,
anne and Caro the women behindthe successful Girls in the Bay
Fishing Competition.
In previous episodes we learnedthat knowledge about boating
has often been passed downgenerationally to other family
members.
Unfortunately, often women aremissing out on these stories and
that knowledge.
We're joined by our firstguests from the Mercury Bay Game

(01:04):
Fishing Club, tanya and Lisaand Caro, who tell us in detail
what's involved for women behindthe scenes in club life.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Well, I think it starts with our committee.
Our committee are made upmainly of fisher people.

Speaker 4 (01:20):
So we're very lucky in that respect that we haven't
lost it.

Speaker 3 (01:24):
Yeah, and once again, it's almost like you know the
participation kind of thing andgetting your volunteers to help
and, you know, keeping theminvolved.
It is actually hard work.
You've got to make sure thatyou're actually pushing the
fishing and you are giving theopportunities and making it.

(01:45):
You know, that's why we have somany competitions and
tournaments, because if you, ifwe don't have that, then it
really only becomes a socialkind of drinking place.
Um.
So yeah, we've got to bring thefishers here we've talked about
the ladies taking on the guys.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
it's an even playing field.
We've got disabled fishers whoare in a wheelchair, who have
modified boats and that to getout on their wheelchair and fish
off their boats.
We have anglers of all shapesand sizes all competing against
each other.
You don't have to be big andstrong, you don't have to be a
certain type of person to beable to have a go and
participate.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 5 (02:26):
Just try not to throw up Top of the list.
Take your sea legs if you getseasick.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Getting sick on a boat is a horrible experience.
We've all been through it and Inoticed the other day a lot of
people having stickers.
This was at the Girls in theBay comp Stickers behind their
ears.
Do you guys know about those?

Speaker 3 (02:41):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, actually one of ourdaughters get really seasick and
she swears by them.
She actually loves them.
She went on a team day cruiseusing those and she never even
got sick once.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
Let's hear from our next guest, Izzy and Chanel from
Wild Chicks.

Speaker 6 (03:00):
Izzy shares her story as a German immigrant to New
Zealand and how she learntboating.
When you come in, like me, as aforeigner into the country,
there is no dad or no uncle orno brother to teach you like.
That is really the thing.
Yes, definitely, I would say.
People from overseas possiblyare more likely to do a Coast
Guards skipper's course, becausein Germany you need a license
to play golf.
So seriously, coming into NewZealand, thinking that you can

(03:22):
drive a boat when you're 15years old without a license
blows your mind.
So I think all this like notjust half the population rules
out half the population as beingfemale.
It also rules out thepopulation which moves freshly
to New Zealand and sees theopportunity of being able to use
a boat and go fishing.
That's, for so many peopleoutside of New Zealand, a new

(03:43):
and unique experience, but thenbuilding their confidence and
dealing with their boats andcreating family memories on the
water is also quite importantbut there's also the whole, like
parents need the desire andpartners, and you know it's they
need they need to have thatdesire to want to share that
information.

Speaker 7 (04:02):
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 oldand I wanted to snorkel with the
dolphins, but still I wasn'tgiven those opportunities more
than like over him, like he wasalways taken before I was ever
asked, and so it's, you know,that information was there.

(04:23):
We've been a big boating family, you know.
Know, I, my brother, was alwaysoffered that opportunity and I
just never, like I never had it.
My.
So it's that desire of wantingto share that intergenerational
information as well as beingreceptive to it.
So, you know, I went and got amarine science degree and I have

(04:48):
spent my life on the waterdedicated 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 lifepassion what would you say to
the guys listening that are likemy, my wife?

Speaker 1 (05:05):
she sits in the passenger seat.
I bait the hook, I let it outlike that works for us.
She doesn't want to get bait onher hands.
She doesn't, you know, need todo this because I'm in charge.
What have you learned overthese workshops and that why?
That's probably not the bestidea?

Speaker 6 (05:19):
I mean, first of all, it's obviously a safety thing,
right, like when you are outthere and you're doing
everything for her and shedoesn't understand how to drive
the boat, how to get you safelyback on shore, and something
happens.
And it might be the bestfisherman out there who never
falls over the board and alwayswears his life jacket, haha, but
he could even really have astroke or a heart attack or

(05:41):
something might go wrong.
And I mean this guy probablywould be super grateful if his
wife would be able to go.
Honey, I got this.
I know how to ring Cosguard, Iknow what channel to use, I know
how to drive us back, I knowhow to reach out for help.
We have all the safety gear onboard.
I can save your life ratherthan being like, oh honey, can
you, can you not bite my hook?
What are you doing on theground?

(06:03):
Right, pour me my wine.
So it's all fun and games untilthis happens.
And it's the same with spendingmoney for an e-perp it's all a
lot of money, but the moment youneed it and you don't have it,
that's where you kick yourselfand go.
I wish I would have spent $500for my life.

Speaker 7 (06:27):
There's also that vein of I mean, if she doesn't
want to bait a hook and she justwants her mind pulled, I'm
guilty of that.
I can be a boat princess justas much as I can step up and be
the boat captain.
Everyone loves to be a boatprincess at some point and if
it's not for them like theydon't want to get involved in
the fishing aspect of it or theydon't want to drive the boat
it's still super relevant andimportant for her to be able to

(06:50):
have the confidence to pick upthe VHF.
It's no joke, Talking on theVHF is terrifying and it took me
a really, really, really longtime to be able to pick it up
and actually relay a messageback to Coast Guard, because
it's intimidating.
But if you have a little bit ofknowledge, like, push the red

(07:11):
button, take you to channel 16,that's only going to go to the
Coast Guard or to whoever islistening to the.

Speaker 6 (07:18):
it's the international distress channel,
right, like so if they know thatand it's not being broadcast
everywhere far and wide, it justgives them that little bit more
confidence to be able to usethe tools that are there also I
think sometimes it's maybe whyshe doesn't want to do all those
things is the the scarcity ofbeing criticized because we are

(07:40):
very guilty and I say this thetime it's not just always the
guy's fault who tell us how todo it better and how to do it
their way, like guys just alwayswant to offer a solution and
want to help, and we feelcriticized very, very quickly.
And it's even with me like I'mvery confident in backing our
trailer into the driveway, forexample, but the moment my

(08:01):
partner steps onto the scene, Iget really tense and then I'm
pretty much waiting for him totell me how to do it.
And the moment he goes left,hand down, my head goes where
the hell is left, and theneverything is out the window and
then I'm yelling and he'syelling and I can't do it, and
then I'm like I'm not doing itagain.
And that's in the story.

(08:22):
And it's the same with drivingthe boat.
I'm driving the boat and Ialmost feel his breath on my
neck and I'm waiting, waitingfor him just to say something.
And it doesn't matter even ifhe would just say like you're
doing well, I go like what doyou mean?
Like we are like this and theyare like this and it's.
It's just very tricky to learnfrom each other or with each

(08:42):
other and building that safecommunity for girls where they
can ask a dumb question there'sno such thing as a dumb question
.
There is not such a thing as adumb question but that is really
where we can laugh about this,where we can really take a joke,
really make a joke out of ourhusbands and just people laugh
about the forgotten pee bucketsand the forgotten bungs and we
just talk about those things andit's just a nice, friendly, fun

(09:08):
environment where we just chatabout all those things without
feeling judged from anyone.
It's even quite interestingwhat I learned, because the more
we teach and the more we talkto ladies, obviously, the more
we learn as well.
And I thought what was quiteinteresting is, even if I know
where our life jackets are onthe boat, I know that there are
probably for a long time there.
I know we have enough of them,but I never realized how

(09:31):
relevant it was that youactually have to have almost
your own, which fits youstraight from the get-go and you
should wear it right, becausethe moment your boat sinks or
something happens and you needto 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'realready in the water.
And it is really this pointwhere you will grab a life

(09:53):
jacket and those big guys willnot fit their wives and then
they end up in the water andthat life jacket does do nothing
to them.
So just really talking themthrough it and go, hey, wear
your life jacket.
Probably best to keep it on allday, apart from when you're
anchored up.
But even then, if you have iton, you'll hardly feel those
those days.
So why not?
Same thing with flares, e-perps, pobs, little little things

(10:15):
really, just the whole Chanelset before.
We talk a lot about safety andit's mind-blowing often how
little they know.
It's even to the point when shegoes home from a seminar and
goes, hey, honey, where's oure-perp?
And he goes, nah, we don't needone of those.
Then she goes, cool, okay, I'vegot a new Father's Day present,
a new Christmas present,because he will not go out there
and spend the 500 bucks, butshe will.

(10:35):
Yeah, we had ladies there whoreally want to go fishing and
want to buy their first boat.
They don't have one and theyjust want to build their
knowledge before they go out andget one.
Then a lot of girls who aredivorced or widowed and they
just really want to keep boating.
And I think then the other 50at least are the ones who have
been fishing for 20 years withtheir husbands and realize that

(10:59):
they know less than they thinkhave any come and joined your
course because they've had asafety issue or something like
that happened?

Speaker 1 (11:05):
do you guys talk about past experiences or
anything like that with the team?

Speaker 7 (11:10):
we do, I think most of the women come and they have
some kind of story um, it'squite, it's, everyone's got a
story about bungs being left out.
But no, I mean, I think it'sjust they are oblivious.

Speaker 6 (11:22):
I think for me the biggest thing was that lady who
told me that her and her husbandgo out to Kaha a lot to go
fishing and she said my husbandhas never done a VHF trip report
.
And that was where I thoughtwell, 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 (11:42):
Like, what are the flares?
Like, what are the flares for?
And they're like, do we need tohave these?
Like, what are these?
And they've never heard of them, seen them, I guess, and from
their perspective, if it's noton their boat and they've never
looked into it, they wouldn'teven know.
Like a flare would be somethingthat you would see in a movie.
Right, like, looking at it froma perspective of someone who's

(12:02):
not a boatie, like you see flat,what was that movie top gun,
when his flare goes off, when hefalls in the water, you know,
like that's probably whatthey're thinking.
And so they're like when webring out the box of dummy
flares and we're like, passthese around, have a look at
them, and they're just liketheir minds are blown.
They're just like what do youmean?
So it's just that educationaround what it is.

(12:24):
I've done a lot of game fishingand it's even something as
simple and it's exciting.
You know when you, when thatreel goes off and all of a
sudden you have four dudesscreaming at you.
If you are on on the rod andit's your fish and you're meant
to be winding it in, and thenall of a sudden you're winding,

(12:44):
winding, winding and then thefish 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 itcan be enough to stop someone
from wanting to go back on thatboat again.

(13:06):
It never deterred me because wewould always debrief with the
crew.
I had a really good crew whotaught me how to game fish,
which was amazing.
So it's just about that.
Communication Like communicationon a boat is critical for
anything and the way I thinksomething happens in a female's

(13:26):
brain when she's being yelled atby a man.
It's very intimidating and it'svery scary.
So you can instantly shut downfrom that.
There was a story that was toldby one of the guys there and he
said that he'd taken his nieceout and it was exactly that
situation.
She used to go fishing all thetime and then he yelled at her

(13:48):
and she didn't step back on theboat again for like 12 months
after that because it's just,it's not.
You're not yelling at us likewe get that, I get that, I'm not
being yelled at, but it's thatexcitement it's hard for lots of
women to disassociate that it'snot just about fishing, right,
it can be anything.
It's like when you're tying thelines up, if you're backing the

(14:10):
boat in at the marina, and allof a sudden you drop the boat
hook or, like you know, anythingcould happen, anything as
little as that.
Or you could be cookingsausages on the barbecue out the
back and all of a sudden thebarbecue catches on fire.
Because all of a sudden thebarbecue catches on fire because
the catcher wasn't emptied andit's got oil in it and all of a
sudden you're to blame.

(14:31):
You take that on board and yousit with that and then you end
up thinking, well, if I'm justgoing to get yelled at because I
did it wrong, I'm not going totry again.
It's trying to get past thatand it's a whole psychology
thing really.

Speaker 6 (14:48):
I think also it is just this, because we really
have so much more littleconfidence in ourselves and we
are not backing ourselves up asmuch as the guys do.
And even it was quite funny.
I was talking at a woman'sconference yesterday in Auckland
and there was a lady talkingabout an imposter syndrome.
I was talking at a woman'sconference yesterday in Auckland
and there was a lady talkingabout an imposter syndrome and
she said it's evident that thereare 97% of females feel that

(15:13):
they're an imposter.
And then she asked into theroom 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 Ithink we always we try, like
with Wild Tricks, we try tobuild confidence to the level
that when the husband goes, youneed to do it this way that she

(15:34):
goes.
No, just because I'm not doingit your way, it doesn't mean
that I'm doing it wrong.
I know what I'm doing and Ihave been practicing this and I
have been learning this and Iknow what I'm doing and I stand
by it.
And they know that they're inthe right and they can, they're
able to reel that fish in, thatthey're able to back that
trailer and that they're able todrive that boat.
And I think that's what we'retrying to overcome in all those

(15:56):
seminars and building thatcommunity.
It's just the most empoweringfeeling.
When you rock up as a woman atthe boat ramp and you have the
feeling, the moment you line theboat or the trailer up to back
it, in, the world around youseems to stand still and all the
guys start watching you and youalmost feel like they go, like
watch this and just doing itperfectly fine, and not even if

(16:18):
it's not even perfectly fine Imean seriously, the guys don't
do most of the time a great jobeither but as long as you get it
down there and you help yourhusband and you help the family
and you help the crew when youwere part of the crew, when you
were helpful to everyone and youjust don't, are not in anyone's
way, just jumping out of thatcar, looking at those faces
going.
I've done that, so you do.

(16:39):
You do your thing and it's anormal thing.
It's like just having thatfeeling of being judged right
from the get go and then justnailing it and turning around
and go.
You didn't expect that and it'sso nice, it's so empowering and
on the other hand, you are abig help.
There are a lot of boat ramsthose days where it is so much
easier If you get dropped, youcan run, get the trailer.

(17:00):
The person in the boat drivesit on.
If you can shear that, thatload, you don't need to stand in
the waves and hold a six, seven, eight meter boat which gets
pushed by the waves closer toyou.
You're struggling, it's painful, you're panicking because,
especially like Waihau Bay on agood day, right, how long would
you need to stand there and holda boat?
That's just.
That is worse than learning howto back a trailer.

(17:21):
Really, and, funnily enough, thelast boat backing session we
had here in Tauranga, we had atleast five guys standing around
us telling us how to do itbetter.
And the next minute one guy waspulling out his buccaneer out
of the water and dragged hisskig all across the boat ramp.
It was gold, it was perfecttiming, and I actually went to

(17:41):
him and I said I'm really sorrythis happened, but thank you so
much because we just wanted toshow the girls that you guys are
also not perfect and we alwaysthink you guys are and that's
the problem, because we think wecan't live up to it and it is
just not right.
And I've seen so many guys andeveryone has jackknifing down
trailers about RIMP, but we arethe ones encouraging them.

(18:04):
And go honey, it's fine, no oneis judging you here, take your
time, it'll be fine.
But as soon as we do that, wethink, 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 doit?
And that moment it snaps andthe whole day bolting is already
ruined for everyone.

(18:24):
It and that moment it snaps andthe whole day bolting is
already ruined for everyone.
I know for sure how many guysstruggle 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 buysomething unusable or a bunch of
flowers, and that happens everytime on the day and it's really

(18:45):
easy just to go hey, I want herto be more engaged, I want her
to learn something, and justmaybe try that and just send
them along.
Or even ask a girlfriend,because often it's intimidating
for a woman to come to someseminar, some workshop by
herself with a room full ofstrangers.
So maybe just like buy twotickets, go here, take your

(19:06):
bestie along, go to this andjust have a great time and then
quiz me afterwards It'll befunny, what I know and just
really make it a little bit morefun and engaging for her and
just send her along to somethinglike that.

Speaker 7 (19:17):
It's about sharing that mental load, right?
I'm hearing you say, mike, thatyou might like to be a boat
princess once in a while.
I'm hearing you say, mike, thatyou might like to be a boat
princess once in a while.
Let her take the helm.
But it takes a really specialperson to be able to.
Well, it doesn't take a specialperson, I guess, it just takes

(19:37):
someone who wants to recognizethe fact that when you go
boating it doesn't just have toall be on the dad or the husband
or the brother or the boyfriendor the male that's there.
You could share it with yourfamily, your daughters, your
wife.
If you teach them and you justgive them some really basic

(20:00):
information and if there's adesire and a willingness to
learn there.
It really important to likegrow that like.
If it starts out as this littlebaby flame, it could turn into
something beautiful, you know,and being able to foster that
and encourage it.

Speaker 1 (20:16):
As a coast guard skipper, sarah Silas recalls the
time when dads at the helm havescared the whole family off
boating by going out in toodangerous conditions or not
having the whole crewcomfortable on the boat.
Have scared the whole familyoff boating by going out in too
dangerous conditions or nothaving the whole crew
comfortable on the boat.

Speaker 5 (20:28):
And the wife's annoyed because she doesn't want
to go back.
Yeah, no, I've met people likethat.
We've rescued people like that.
You can see the wife is reallynot happy and it's their first
and it's been their maidenvoyage as well, which sometimes
can be even worse.
My advice to them is, beforeyou go out on a boat is, just do
as much training as you can.
Do courses, learn, learn aboutthe water.

(20:50):
And if you're in a local areawhere you've got a bar, a
sandbar or something like liketo go out fishing and we're
going out this day, wouldanybody like to come with me, go
out and experience it withpeople who are doing it a lot,
and get that and start buildingup your confidence with other

(21:12):
people.
Make some friends.
You might find that you quitelike going out fishing and maybe
your wife doesn't want to goout, or maybe the husband
doesn't want to go out and thewife does, you know, because
that's happening more and more.
But just gain more experiencebefore you go out and it's even
down to ramp etiquette Make surethat you understand if you're
going to go onto a ramp.
Be ready be ramp ready I thinkthey call it and make sure your

(21:33):
boat's ready to go, that youdon't start loading your boat
and everything when you're onthe ramp.
It's just little things likethat.
Just don't think you can justgo out on a boat and it will be
okay, because it might be but itmight not be.
And if you're prepared, ifyou're prepared well, and it
goes wrong, you can come home.
But if you're not prepared atall, then that's when we have
problems.
So obviously, life jackets is abig thing for me.

(21:54):
I'm massive If I see people notwearing jet life jackets.
I rarely not say anythingbecause they're needed so badly.
Coast Guard do pull bodies outof the water because they're not
wearing life jackets.
But communication is another keything.
Communication Make sure beforeyou go out you're telling
somebody where you're going andwhat time you think you're going
to be back, definitely whatyou're going to be back by the
latest.
But communication, so I know.
So Maritime and Coast Guard,when you get to the summer

(22:16):
months they start saying liketwo forms of communication
Talking, communication, if youcan.
So your telephone, your cellphone and your radio.
Radios are really, reallyimportant.
My preference would always be aradio.
You do need to have a radiolicense to operate one.
You don't need a license foryour boat, but you do need to
operate the radio.
Which is what we teach thechildren is that your radio,

(22:48):
hopefully, will be morewaterproof.
It will last longer.
The battery life will be longer.
A cell phone if you haven't gotsignal when you're out on the
water, if you haven't got signal, your battery will be chewed up
really quickly and the batterygoes down and down and down
until you're almost flat and thebattery goes down and down and
down until you're almost flat.
The phones will sync veryeasily, unless you've got them
in a waterproof case and thenthey float.
Radios most of them arewaterproof, not all of them.

(23:10):
The cheaper ones are not.
But if you use the InternationalDistress Channel 16, that is
listened to by a lot of peopleit's 24-7, monitored anyway,
from maritime Coast Guard alsomonitor it and people when
they're out there they'll have16 on their radios, because
whenever I go out I have oneradio on 16 all the time and so
I'll be listening out.

(23:31):
So if you call for help on 16,you've got a whole network of
people that could be right nextto 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'lltalk to the operator.
The operator will then get theactivations going on in the
background, but the people whocould be quite near to you will
not hear you and if they couldhelp you in any way, it would be

(23:51):
better for them to get to youquickly, before Coast Guard or
police or Westpac or whoever hasto get to you so communication
is massive.

Speaker 1 (23:58):
Different types of communication.
Right, Because cell phonesone-to-one, but a broadcast on a
V8 shift boat radio isone-to-many.
Anyone can hear that.

Speaker 5 (24:07):
That's right, absolutely.
And that would be my firstthing would be go up for a radio
.
If you haven't got a radio, atleast have a cell phone, but
have it in a pouch and tellpeople where you're going.
And then you've got things likeyour EPIRB and your PLBs, your
personal locator beacons, andthey are very good, but it
depends on how far you're goingout.
I actually travel with a PLB inmy car now because of the
amount of traveling I do, andmany times I've been stuck.

(24:29):
I've been in the car andthere's been no signal
whatsoever.
So I'm like I'd rather justhave that extra backup and I
take it with me whenever I go.
That's how they're the things Iwould have.
But then you've got littlethings like you've got secondary
propulsion.
So you really need to have someoars or paddles in your boat,
especially if you've got atrailer boat.
Because I've heard calls toCoast Guard just recently and
somebody was 150 metres off aboat ramp and they were calling

(24:53):
for help and I was like, well,if you just had a some set of
oars or paddles that you couldjust paddle in, you're calling
out.
What people don't realize isCoast Guard are made up of
volunteers, but because they'vegot a membership.
Sometimes people just thinkyou'll come straight out, which
we do.
But we are all volunteers andwe have to leave jobs and we
have to leave children, we haveto leave lives behind and then

(25:13):
come and help people.
But what we want them to tryand do first is to try and help
themselves first and then wewill come and get you.
I mean, obviously, if anyone'sever in trouble, we're always
there, but try and takeresponsibility.
Like, don't run out of fuel fora start.
That's one of the mosttriggering points that we have.
So, yeah, help yourself.
Oars are good Communicationlife jackets.
Make sure you've got enoughfuel.

(25:34):
Just the basics.

Speaker 1 (25:35):
Do you ever come across like a certain person or
a certain boat or family thatkeep making the same mistake,
like get three flat batteries ina year or something like that?

Speaker 5 (25:47):
We have serial offenders, yes, people who just
keep coming back.
I remember one gentleman.
I think he'd only just boughthis 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 youthink can you just take your
boat back, go do some trainingand then maybe come out again.
But yeah, he was three forthree in a very short space of
time.
So we do help people and people, you know, they just don't

(26:11):
really take responsibility forthemselves and they just say, oh
, don't worry, don't worry,coast Guard are coming at us.
Yeah, we will, but pleaseremember, we're all volunteers,
we're not getting paid for this.

Speaker 1 (26:18):
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 outwhen you're at your daughter's
first birthday or somethingthese things happen, right, yeah
absolutely.

Speaker 5 (26:28):
You know we've all run off and missed family events
and stuff like that because thepager has gone off.

Speaker 1 (26:32):
So, on that note, what would you like to see
change in boating culture in NewZealand?
What things do you think needto?

Speaker 5 (26:41):
have a bit of attention or spotlight on them
or change.
I would like to see lifejackets a must.
I really would, especially forchildren.
But I do see some familieswhere dad's not wearing a life
jacket but the children arewearing great life jackets.
That's great, fantastic.
Who's going to save your kidsif you can't save yourself first
?
You know, when you get on aplane, they teach you to put the
oxygen on your furs before youput them on your children.
It's the same thing for a lifejacket Make sure you're wearing

(27:03):
one too.
So if I could change that tomake sure that they're more
compulsory, rather than youdon't have to wear them if it's
over six meters, I always wear alife jacket and they don't have
to be big and bulky.
You know there are adult onesthat are very, very light and
easy to wear very light and easyto wear.
For children it's a bit harder,but it will be to wear life
jackets.

(27:27):
Would I love to see the boatslicensed?
Yes, I know Kiwis are.
It's the last right of themgoing 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 donothing.
You've got to have donesomething, even if it's just an
online course, that youunderstand that these are the
rules and you can hurt people.
You can't take a car onto theroad without doing some license,
some rules and regulations.
You're not allowed to do it Onthe water.

(27:49):
It's harder because you have nolanes.
It's all open water.
You can go anywhere you want.
At the end of the day, thereare rules, but if you don't know
them, you're going to ignorethem, and that's where people
have accidents.
So that would be something thatI would very much like to see.

Speaker 1 (28:02):
Yeah, I think it's a bit of a fine line, because New
Zealand prides itself on havingthis 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 goright.
So where is that line betweencompliance and licensing and
actually just being decent Kiwiswho look out for the members on

(28:23):
their craft and are the boatieson the water as well?
I think that's the dance we'recurrently doing to find it, and
I'd hate to see it on the fullcompliance side, but I'd hate to
see things being on the otherside.
So I think the best way forwardis for all of us Kiwis together
going all right.
We are united on this.
We're going to wear lifejackets, we're going to be clued

(28:44):
up and if we see someone whoisn't, we're going to put them
towards the day skipper coursesand these other educational
courses that are here to getpeople clued up, and that would
include anyone selling a boat aswell.

Speaker 5 (28:56):
Yeah, absolutely, I agree, if we could.
Every time I've got my boatsupply because I have boats for
the program that I have littleinflatables that are made I get
those for my boat supply.
And he for many times wastrying 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.

(29:16):
I mean it was smaller boatswith the bigger boats and people
were like, oh no, I don't needthat, oh, I've been boating all
my life, don't need that.
And that's when the problemscan happen, because sure,
they've been boating all theirlives, sure, they've been lucky
and yeah, maybe they still willbe and maybe they've learned a
lot.
But there are certain thingsthat some people just you don't
know what you don't know at theend of the day.
So you have to just keeplearning.

(29:38):
Even as a skipper for GhostGuard, I learn every time I go
out on duty.
There's not one duty that I'vedone that I have not learned
something of that on that day,and it could be from my crew
member, it could be from thepublic, it could be anything.
And that's my attitude, thatI'll just always keep learning
and I don't know.
I certainly don't knoweverything.

Speaker 1 (29:55):
I think that's how we keep mentally fit as well as
physically fit is by constantlychallenging ourselves and doing
things like this.
And so, for any women listening, how would they be able to step
into these leadership roles onthe water, like you have?
How do you keep pushing forwardto go to the next level, the
next level, to get to where youare now?

Speaker 5 (30:16):
I'm lucky because I've got a very supportive
husband and family and I've gotsome 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 timeago.
But if you push me too hard Iback off.
So they've had to do it very,very slowly.
So I'm lucky to have thatsupport network.

(30:37):
But if you do want to getinvolved, then go to the clubs,
go come and join Coast Guard, dosome courses, go to the yacht
clubs and start sailing orwhatever.
If you want to be on the boats,just start getting in that
environment and be around peoplewho are in that environment.
There are lots of female crewsout there, you know, when you go
racing or sailing or anythinglike that, we've got an

(30:58):
all-female crew.
I think we've got two.
There's more than a few in someof the units around the country
and I mean I take both male andfemale.
It doesn't bother me, but Iencourage them.
What I say is get in there andown the space, own it, just do
it and don't be put off with it.
And even if someone puts youoff, just come to give me a call
.

(31:18):
I had a lady that I spoke to inJanuary bless her who lives in
Taranaki and she was in theindustry 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 ayear, to get some courses done
so she could go on to the nextlevel.
And they kept sidelining her.
And another younger guy came inand literally within two,

(31:41):
within a month, what courseswould you like to do?
And she was like I've been herea year and you've not let me do
this.
So she was.
She was quite despondent aboutit, but I just encouraged her.
Encouraged her.
She said right, I'm not goingto 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 towork twice as hard as the men.
But if you really want it, youwill get it.

(32:01):
But get in there and own thespace and don't be put off by
anybody.
Is there anything else?
I don't really know.
I did make a load of notes, for,obviously, when you were
sending all those questionsthrough, one thing that helped
me was that Coast Guard did anall-female skipper leadership
course.
This is before I became askipper and I was sitting on the
fence I was like I really wantto do it, but I don't think I do

(32:23):
.
But I like it, but I'm alwaystoo 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, butanyway I did it.

(32:44):
Uh, we did the course, emma andI.
Oh my god, how much fun did wehave.
It was, honestly.
We came away on the sundayexhausted, but so blown away and
excited and empowered by.
There was rachel, who's one ofthe trainers, and there was
graham, who's one of thetrainers, and there was Graham,
who was one of the trainers PoorGraham.
We had eight women there, ornine women, because Rachel was

(33:05):
there.
He was just laughing all theway through because we changed
all the dynamics of the coursesthat he'd had so far.
So we had an exercise to do onthe Saturday night.
Because we are all women.
We did it differently to whatthey've done in the past, and I
won't say what it is because Idon't want to give it away if
anyone listens to the podcastand they end up coming to the
Skip Leadership course becauseword has not got out what the

(33:26):
exercise was.
We did it differently and wedid it really quickly and we got
back for dessert.
That's all we wereconcentrating on was we had to
get back for dessert.
So we did the exercise, we cameback back and then Graham was
doing the speech and he'stalking to us and he said that
was really good and everyone wasreally happy because we'd done
it within the hour and no one'sbroken that record yet.

(33:47):
And then I'll put my hand upand wait.
Graham, I kind of got aconfession, because I seem to be
the spoker for it all.
They go why what have we got?
I said well, I want to confesswhat we did and how we did it,
because we did it slightlydifferent.
And he went why did I not seethat coming?
He says I knew, I knew, I knewyou ladies would would, would
change what we thought wouldhappen.

(34:07):
We just didn't know which wayit would happen.
We just knew things were goingto be different on this course
and it was really the way we allthought was different.
So we came away from that andit was fantastic and I went I
can do this.
This has made me decide now Iam going to do this and
everyone's going well.
We told you.
We told you.
So I set a goal.
I set six months.
I wanted to be a skipper beforethe summer, so, and then I had

(34:28):
to get exams done.
So I was away in September.
I was going on holiday to seemy family in Canada, and so I
had to get my exams done.
And it got to about August.
I thought I've not done myexams and that's why I just did
them, got them done reallyquickly, managed to pass them
all came back and then I waslike sitting on the fence a
little bit, thinking I've got toget this assessment done, I've
got to get it done, I've got toget it done.
And anyway I did the assessmentin the November.

(34:50):
It was a long one because therewere other people doing it as
well and the guy just combinedit all day.
I was exhausted, but I was veryhappy to do it.
And then, after I became askipper, then I saw the
application for theInternational Maritime Rescue
Federation at Women in SARtraining in Finland and I was
like, well, I'm a skipper now, Ican probably apply for this.

(35:10):
So I thought, oh, just apply,it'll just be good fun, I'll see
what happens.
And then two days later Iliterally got an email to say,
hey, sarah, we'd like to inviteyou to join 16 ladies, because
there's only 16 spaces inFinland next year.
And I was like, okay.
And then I just kept workingtowards that.
I was really lucky and it was.

(35:30):
That was again.
The next empowering bit.
For me to become a skipper wasactually made me realize what we
do in New Zealand is actuallyreally good.
We are a little country on abig stage and we do it really
really well.
So that was really exciting tosee and be involved.
There were 10 countries stillkeeping contact with all the
ladies.
There was two ladies the two ofus that came from New Zealand,
australia, estonia, germany,Netherlands, sweden, ireland,

(35:52):
senschin Islands and, I think,uk.
It was amazing.
It was a whole weekend with allthese ladies doing training and
talking about our experiences,of how our journey has come
through and what have been ourholdups, what stopped us and how
we've overcome them and what'shelped us, and there was only
probably one lady that said thatshe had none of what we'd all

(36:13):
had none of it.
She'd been actively encouragedand pushed and, pushed, and
pushed and it was the Irish lady.
So, yeah, that was a real pointfor me to write.
Okay, how can I help moreladies?
That's what I came away fromthere, going right.
I want to do more of thisbecause it's just, it's so
inspiring to help other people,see them come through.
I was at the boat show justrecently, the on water boat show
.
So Auckland Coast Guard wasthere and I was there for my

(36:35):
safe boating for Coast Guard NewZealand.
And on the Friday morning I wasinvited to be on a panel of
ladies for another it was allabout maritime and engineering
because I was a skipper andcould I answer some questions.
So I said, yeah, I'll come tothe yacht squadron and I'll do
that.
Isabel was there.
It was a really good morning.
And then we get to the boat showand I carried on doing it.
I was on the stand and I walked.
I was walking through somewhereand I was behind two guys and I

(36:59):
overheard them and I was sogobsmacked I couldn't say
anything because normally Ishould have said something, but
I'm also in uniform so I have tobe a bit more polite.
And he said for an exhibitionfor men, there's not many
toilets around.
I looked and I went anexhibition for men.
Is that what you think the boatshow is all about, men?

(37:19):
I was so gobsmacked I couldn'tsay anything.
I was yeah, I can see, mike,you're a bit gobsmacked.

Speaker 1 (37:27):
Like all the women on this podcast, Lisa Noble has
also dealt with some dumbcomments from guys.

Speaker 4 (37:33):
I remember this one time, actually one of my
girlfriends, helen, you probablyknow her we caught a fish I
think it was the Wongara ladiesor maybe the Bay ladies no, it
was the Bay of Islands ladiesand she was our skipper.
She's bloody awesome, she'sanother girl you should talk to
and we pull up to the weighstation to weigh our fish and I
remember this guy turns aroundand said, well, who's your

(37:53):
skipper?
And my friend Helen was sooffended and we just all cracked
up laughing.
We're like who needs a man?
You know, but yeah, so I don'tknow it is changing, but it's.
There's always going to be afew people set in concrete, you
know, in their ways.
But I think the likes of, likethe wild chicks bloody awesome
and Nikki Sinden really cool,showcasing that chicks can do it

(38:15):
, you know like, yeah well, alot of the world records are
actually titled by women fishlike they have heavier than fish
, than men.

Speaker 1 (38:24):
If you look at Donna's bluefin tuna, for
instance, kelly Chambers won umangler of the year last year
most notorious catches as well.
So like the girls are out theredoing it.
And what I love about fishingis it's a sport that you know.
It's not like rugby or netball.
We have to be tall or strongLike anyone can actually be on
the reel and have a chance at itand have a go.

Speaker 4 (38:46):
And you know, the biggest thing I love about Kelly
is she's a new mum.
I'm like go you girl, you getthat baby out there and you
smash those records.
I think that's really, reallycool.

Speaker 1 (39:06):
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 advicebe to families who are out there
?
You know mom, dad, the kidsespecially when it comes to
record chasing, because you'vegot 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 haveopened up, so all the line class
um.
There's a lot of female recordsthat are achievable in new
zealand waters.
What would be your advice to,you know mums and families

(39:26):
listening to who want to maybetake that next step from just a
day out on the water to chasingrecords?

Speaker 4 (39:32):
definitely think like , educate yourself, like from a
safety point of view.
You know, if you're going outas a family, depending on the
age of the kids, but get theminvolved, teach them how to
drive, like straight away, getthem straight into it.
You know, making sure they'rewearing life jackets which I
know sounds stupid, and all kidsyou know, oh, I don't want to
wear that.
That's dumb, well, tough, titty.

(39:52):
If you want to come on the boatyou've got to wear it.
You know, and we all know, ittakes two seconds.
If you're chasing records, like, obviously more often than not
you're on lighter lines, so it'sless drag.
But if it, you know, if you'reon the heavier tackle and
something goes wrong and youkind of slip or pull and you can
go over the side so quickly.
So, yeah, putting those safetymeasures in place, teach those
kids how to drive young, teachyour wife, your partner or

(40:16):
anyone on the boat who doesn'tknow how to even use the
navigation gear or the VHF radio.
It's so much fun.
There's nothing like going outon the water with a group of
girls, like you know, you thinkfrom a male's perspective, you
guys love being on the waterwith your bros, your boys.
You know it's the coolest timeand we're exactly the same.
Like you know where you guysmight want to listen to your

(40:36):
rock or this or whatever music.
We can listen to our chickmusic, you know, like it's the
same vibe but it's so much funlike dress up, catch fish, put
our tunes on.
You know we just love it.
Like so cool.
Yeah, definitely, definitelyget into it.
And the best thing is you meetlike-minded other fishers too.
Like when we do do girls trips.

(40:57):
Like we put in a girls team atthe best of the west this year.
My partner was very lovely andhe went fishing on his dad's
boat and gave us girls his boatand honestly, we just had the
best time.
Like everyone wants to help outyou know, whether it's
launching, finding fish,anything like that.
Like everyone is reallysupportive, which is cool.

(41:18):
Yeah, so it's a bit differentoff ahi para because we actually
don't have coast guard on thewest coast so we use far north
radio.
I'm sure a lot of peoplelistening know annette and how
blimmin amazing she is.
So, yeah, she is like our firstpoint of contact and depends
who's coming on the boat too.
Like I guess the charterfishing and me.
I actually always do a bit of asafety brief.

(41:39):
You know, like life jackets arehere, um, vhf, like I guess the
charter fishing and me, Iactually always do a bit of a
safety brief.
You know, like life jackets arehere, um, vhf, like this is the
call sign, blah, blah.
But yeah, it really.
And we do like a buddy upsystem so say, if we're going
out to um, get some blue nose orgo sword fishing, we usually
actually go with another boatand you buddy up and you stay in
contact all day.
So that's quite important.
But, yeah, making sure you'vegot a few points of contact on

(42:02):
your boat, whether it's cellphone I mean we get bugger all
coverage out here but you know,still handy to have your VHF
like an EPIRB.
And I think the PLBs areactually very important in
fishing, especially if you'redoing offshore passages and that
kind of thing.
Like when we took a boat up toVanuatu on our night watch, we
had to wear our PLB, you know.

(42:24):
And if you're going toilet, ifyou're a male, you are not
allowed to like pass on the deck.
You'd actually have to use thetoilet in the middle of the
night, like you know, justthings like that.
Usually, if I'm at the helm.
That means my girls are onboard.
If my partner's on board, he'son the helm.
I got no shit show grabbing thehelm then.
But to be honest, I prefer itthat way because I'm captain

(42:44):
catch one.
He's caught heaps.
So, yeah.
But I mean, like, you're alwaysgoing to get a few people that
probably are going to roll theireyes or whatever, but safety
never takes a day off, and Iknow that sounds stupid too, but
honestly, it's all common sense.
Like, if you're going out andit's variable winds, your life
jackets are probably sweet underthe bunk.
You know, like, let's be honest, if you've got common sense and

(43:04):
a capable crew, if you're goingout and the weather looks like
it might be a bit dicky oryou're doing a beach launch and
the swell's a bit bigger, whydon't you get your life jackets
out and throw them on the bunk?
Like, because, at the end ofthe day, like if you think, if
something does go wrong and thatboat flips and you're on as an
eight or nine meter boat whereyou're not required to wear one

(43:25):
I can't remember the all therules now but um, if they're
under the bank, how on earth areyou going to get them?
You know like yeah, so it'sjust, it's common sense really.
Yeah, I think as an angler, oneof my standout moments and this
is really actually what got mehooked on marlin fishing and I'm
surprised it didn't put me offum, we're on one of rick's

(43:46):
charters and we're doing thenationals, and it was the first
time I got to do the nationalswith dad and his mates and I was
fizzing like I'd wanted to dothis 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 gotto go and so they fish like a
rod per person type thing,instead of doing time slots.
Anyway, dad's rod and reel wentoff and he said to me earlier

(44:10):
Lisa, if it's a stripy, you knowI'll give you my strike, you,
you know you wind it in, but ifit'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'slower and off it went.
And so everyone thought it wasa stripy, just from the way it
bit Me.
None the wiser, I'd never seena marlin before in my life.
Dad said righto, girl, get yourgimbal on.
Well then it jumped, didn't it,and it was a bloody blue and it

(44:32):
was a decent one, and we're on15.
Anyway, seven hours, seven hourslater, we bloody cracked it off
and I seen Dad's favorite lure.
It was close, like probablyfive winds and we would have had
it to the boat, like the leaderwas right there, but it was
quite light leader, and it wastail wrapped and I don't know
whether it was rubbing on thatlike anal fin or the tail for
that long the leader just worethrough.

(44:54):
But yeah, anyway, lost thisfish after seven hours and seen
Dad's favorite lure just intothe drink.
Dad was gutted.
He missed his blue and hebloody lost his favorite lure.
But that's what got me hookedwas that excitement, you know,
and I think, oh, that I'll neverforget that.
I'll never, ever forget seeingthat fish swim off and healthy

(45:14):
shit yarn.
I was gutted, that was gonna bemy first marlin.
But also so cool to see a fishof that size have that strength
and swim off so strongly.
You know it was cool.
I honestly feel like it's anaddiction, like yeah, I can't
even describe it just when yousee that bloody dorsal pop up,
when you see a big bait ball.
I don't know, it's kind of likeI can't find the words for it

(45:37):
but it's the unknown.
You know, like, what's going tohappen, and we're quite lucky
here in New Zealand too, becausewe do have quite a few
different pelagic species.
You know whether it's going tobe a blue marlin, a striped
marlin, or if you're going toget really lucky and it's going
to be a black marlin or a tuna.
You know, like it's kind ofthat unknown which is really
exciting and I think too, likegoing through the motions, you,

(45:58):
you start out sort of as anangler and that's really cool.
You catch your first fish andyou're fizzing and that's such a
buzz.
And then as you do more and themore you move through, like
when you leader your first fishfor a client, for a friend, like
seeing the angler grin from earto ear is the coolest thing.
Like I remember we were in Konatwo years ago and my dream is to

(46:20):
like for ages is for my mum tocatch a marlin and she doesn't
want to borrow it.
She's like I'm not bloody doingthat lovey.
Anyway, we get her in the gamechair on this boat in Kona and
it's a bloody big one.
She's on it for quite a whileand this particular boat only
ran one crewman, so he was onthe leader and the skipper was
going, oh shit, like who are wegoing to get to gaff?

(46:40):
And I was like I mean I canlike, but a bit scared.
And he's like, have you everused a flying gaff?
And I'm like only on a stripy,like bloody hell.
Anyway, we were all in thecockpit, whatever, and I just
remember seeing this fish jumpright at the back of the boat
like perfect jump, and Ihonestly I just went like jelly.
I was like holy heck, like thisis a serious fish.

(47:02):
You know, unfortunately, wepulled hooks on the leader they
fish long leaders and heliterally took like two wraps so
it was out of gaffing range.
But yeah, and we pulled hook.
But holy heck, like I don'tknow.
It kind of numbs your body whenyou're that excited, like yeah,
you got to really love it.
You know there's alwayssomething to learn in whatever
you do and the moment you thinkyou know it all, you should

(47:22):
probably stop.
You know like, yeah, fishing'salways evolving, there's always
new techniques and I think it'simportant to educate yourself
and you'll have way more fun.
Like, and I think too, like alot of stuff these days is
online and sponsorship and thisand that, which is really cool.
But I feel like that kind oflimits yourself too, like you
know, like, open your mind, likewhen you're fun fishing.

(47:43):
Obviously, when you've got yourbrand and that's your business,
you have to do that stuff.
But, yeah, I think, open yourmind to it.
Don't just use one particularbrand for this.
Or you know, like I think, getout of your comfort zone, push
yourself, because it can opendoors and you can literally live
your dream life.
Yeah, obviously, now beingsettled down with my beautiful
family, my partner, I probablyprobably wouldn't enjoy it as

(48:05):
much because you're away fromhome for, you know, quite a
while.
But now we kind of get the bestof both worlds.
We do family trips, you know.
We do fun trips, like mypartner will go out with his
boys and I'll stay home, andvice versa.
Then sometimes we got togetherand like our parents will have
our daughter or we'll take her,depending on the weather.
But yeah, and then again, Ican't really sit still myself

(48:27):
and you know that itch alwaysneeds to be itched for fishing.
So, yeah, I've actually createdmy own fishing brand now.
So I kind of live through likecustomers through Ocean Obsessed
.
And yeah, when I worked on thewater I don't know I spied a gap
in the market for like acomfortable and safety aspect
gumboot.
So that's what I've created,custom designed and, yeah, lived
through all of our customersnow, which is really cool.

(48:49):
So I've named them sortie bootsbuilt tough and they're durable
.
Um, how did I get into it?
Oh well, I always wanted to doa clothing line since I was a
little girl, but, yeah, so Inever thought I'd end up doing
the gumboot thing.
But, like I say, when I workedon the water, it was either like
sailing boots, which are supercomfortable but don't really
have any safety aspects, or itwas, um, like how do I just

(49:12):
describe it without knockingbrands, or other ones were quite
heavy and clunky and stiff andnot very comfortable.
So I kind of can join this allinto one boot.
And so ours have like reflectorstrips for low light safety.
Whether you're fishing off therocks, you want to keep an eye
on your mate walking down theroad, anything like that.
Their neoprene lines, they'rereally warm, they are steel cap

(49:33):
but they're super lightweight.
So, whether you're dealing withcray pots, big fish swords,
anything, or even rock fishingand 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'reprofessional looking, because,
of course, I'm a girl and I dolike my fashion, so they've got
to look good too.
And even the clothing, like youknow, I'd always wear my

(49:54):
partner's t-shirts, or when I'dorder, you know, fishing
clothing, it would always bemen'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 somethingthat it was a better cut for
women, cooler styles and not soin your face, you know.
So, yeah, some subtle designsand some hardcore fishing
designs too, I think, dependingwhat route you want to go down,

(50:15):
like if you want to do it as acareer, definitely just keep
going, like you know, just keepgoing, have that drive and don't
give up.
And now the beauty with socialmedia message people on Facebook
, email them, harass them untilthey reply.
Who cares if you look like adick, if you show that passion,
you know, like they'llunderstand.
And then, yeah, like from amore casual point of view, like

(50:38):
I don't know, pack a bottle ofwine and a cheese board, take
your wife out and then teach herhow to drive.
You know, like, put her on thehelm, say, okay, babe, you drive
to this next spot, and shemight look at you like, oh my
god, stun mullet, but the moreshe does, the more comfortable
she'll become.
So, yeah, just get in the deepend.
As if I can say that and do it.
Yeah, I think the clubs aregreat because it connects you

(50:59):
with like-minded people.
The rads comp really cool.
Like I love the concept of thatcomp.
You know, like club versus club, boat versus boat, angler
versus angler that's really cool.
So it just brings everyonetogether.
You learn off people too.
Like you know, you get back tothe clubhouse after a day's
fishing and the yarns that comeout, like you learn stuff from
that.
It's yeah, it's really cool.

Speaker 1 (51:21):
And, of course, wild chicks are the ones educating
women in this space.

Speaker 6 (51:24):
What I'm going to say now probably the guys don't
want to hear, but I think wereally want to get the girls to
a level of confidence that whenhe's at work on a Saturday and
it's a five knot variable daythat the mother can look out the
window and go.
You know what I want?
To take my kids for a littleharbour fish.
Or I'll ring up girlfriendSally and we'll just go for a
fish and it is absolutely finefor her to take the boat, take

(51:46):
her to the boat ramp, launch itand has a great day, spends a
few hours in the harbour on thewater, catches a few snapper and
has dinner ready when he comeshome.
How awesome would that be.
We are in a time at the momentwhere 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, theanswer is busy and not good or

(52:11):
anything.
It's like everybody is stressedbusy, works hard, then everyone
is glued onto their devices.
Ai is taking over.
Everyone has always something tocomplain, and I really think it
is more and more important forthe women as well as it is for
the men, to detach themselvesand have a place where they can
go, where they can fully relax.

(52:31):
And for me, I think and Chanelsays exactly the same the ocean
is a place where my whole heartjust opens up, my whole body
just sulks in, something whichgives me energy and which gives
me peace and my brain can relaxand it doesn't think about the
busyness and the laundry andwork and the next appointments

(52:54):
on the next day.
I'm just present and we alwaysget expected to have take 25
minutes out on a yoga mat in acorner and be present and while
we are trying to plan thecooking and pick up the kids and
organizing whatever.
But the moment you are out onthe boat, you are out on the
boat and you are on the oceanand you are breathing that salty

(53:16):
air and it's just so liberatingand recharging and beautiful
that I think, even when womenmight think that they don't like
fishing as such, but just beingout on the ocean is just so
incredibly healing andbeneficial for everyone's health
.
I think that's a big, big point.

Speaker 7 (53:34):
I think 100% of the people listening to this will
absolutely agree with thatstatement, and I think the
difference is that thestereotype of women not enjoying
it because it's typically beingthe Kiwi way for men to do this
but we do, like it is our safespace too, it is our home, like

(53:59):
it is not something that shouldjust be put in those
stereotypical boxes there's alot like safety is big for me.
We do want all of our fishermenand ladies to come home.

Speaker 6 (54:12):
Also, on another note there as well is what I
realized doing those courses aswell is that we started talking
to Coast Guard a lot because ofthe safety aspect, because they
are saying you are talking tothe people who are more
receptive to the message.
And it's the same with MPI.
They rung up recently, forexample, because they want us to
talk more about biosecurity,because the girls care a lot

(54:35):
more about our paradise stillbeing available for their kids
in 30, 40, 50, 100 years, right,and not just me right now today
.
And the same thing with thelegacy guys in sustainability,
when we start talking to thegirls about putting your
submissions in and really makingsure that we can still fish and
that we can still get ourcrayfish in the water and that

(54:55):
we can do all of those thingsand educate them on catch limits
and actually on fish species.
That is actually also quite abig thing which a lot of them
don't know, and because theyjust get put on the boat and
reel the fish in but don't knowproper fish care and all those
things.
So we're definitely teachingthose things as well and
bringing the message across forpeople who want to bring

(55:17):
messages across which protectour oceans and ourselves and
then be able to teach othersthat.

Speaker 7 (55:24):
To hear that there was a junior, a girl, that took
out the junior category in theyouth nationals is amazing, and
we've got a few amazing younggirls 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 enoughtime on the water for her, but

(55:46):
she's really, really keen littlefisher girl, her own self.

Speaker 6 (55:50):
So there was a lady in the first course ever, which
was held in Tauranga in Januarylast year, and she was 63 and
she came to the course and shesaid, isabel, I lost my husband
to cancer not that long ago andthen a year later my son died in
a car accident.
And she said, and I fully lostmy availability to go on the

(56:13):
water.
And I was like why?
And she was like I'm just notconfident to drive our boat.
So now I'm in a kayak and I'mokay with it, but I wish I could
be out there again in the boats.
And I thought that was that wasreally sad to see that with
obviously losing two of herfamily members in such a short
time, but then also that herpassion and her love for the

(56:35):
ocean was taken off her becauseof that.
So I thought that was reallythat stood out for me a lot.
And she came back now severaltimes also to several courses.
But funnily enough she took itso good, because we do a little
quiz at the beginning where thegirls need to find out like how,
like it's a boat terminologysheet and they fill in the words

(56:57):
and where they are on a boatand we usually give them like
two, three minutes to fill it in.
And she started laughing and Iwas like what are you laughing
about?
And she said we owned twotrailer boats and one launch.
And she said I have no idea howall those parts are called.
I was like, wow, this is reallycrazy.
Yeah, no, she's definitely alegend.
So, yeah, just check out thewebsite.

(57:18):
We are constantly adding newcourses.
We are always traveling aroundthe country, going in different
location.
Napier gizmon again coming up.
I really do have to say um, westarted this with the new
zealand sport fishing, with theclubs, and the first ever white
chicks event was at the taurangasport fishing club, who has
been amazing so far.
We had over six or seven eventsheld at that venue.

(57:42):
So they have been amazing andsuper accommodating.
We've been in Auckland,whakatane, whitianga, gisborne,
tulekaka, like we've reallytraveled around, and most of
them are very supportive.
They help through their socialmedia channels.
They give us access to theirbar.
They make it really comfortablefor the girls so we have our

(58:03):
own space and don't sit in aroom full of blocks who have
beers and yell in their opinionmost of the time.
So they can help us with themarketing a bit as well, and
spread the word.

Speaker 7 (58:12):
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 andlots of the managers have been
really really accommodating andhelpful.
So thank you for doing that forus.

Speaker 1 (58:31):
Finally, we'll finish with the women of Mercury Bay
Game Fishing Club, who areseeing the women outfish the men
in competitions.

Speaker 3 (58:37):
We've got a few really great lady anglers in our
club that really push theenvelope hard and we're very
competitive, um, which is great,um.
So yeah, the likes of kylie andum x yeah, and of course you
too they're being humble, but ofcourse tanya and annie.

Speaker 2 (59:01):
I mean, I I guess you watch all kind of celebrity
fishermen and women and you'reall keen to get you know, see
what they're doing.
But really the internalcompetition is really what's
driving me.
To be fair, you know I follow alot of pages from abroad and

(59:21):
you know some fishing clubs it'sladies fishing clubs and you
know some fishing clubs it'sladies' fishing clubs and you
know we try and learn a bit fromthem as well and in the end
it's competition.
But it's just striving to kindof accomplish that as well.
It's not oh, I've got to dobetter, I want to do the same.
That's kind of what it is forme.

Speaker 3 (59:41):
I think, ladies, it's also a little bit different to
how men are competitive.
I think we encourage each otherin terms of being competitive
and doing better, where I thinkmen are just really too much
competitive.

Speaker 1 (01:00:00):
You're onto something there, because I feel like all
the female fishing competitionsI'm involved in, the ladies are
trying to build each other upand they're celebrating the
successes together, Whereas theguys are kind of.
Let's just say I've been inmore disputes in men's
competitions over first prizethan in ladies' competitions for

(01:00:24):
instance.

Speaker 3 (01:00:25):
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 thinksomething like our ladies' blue
is quite good for me.
Yeah, we love it because it'sgame-fishing and it's over a
long time.

(01:00:45):
So you, you're not that timepressured to, actually
restricted to one day yeah umsort out the house, sort out the
kids, sort out the family andyeah yeah, deal to it.

Speaker 2 (01:00:54):
Yeah, for me that's a really cool comp now, lana she
she's leading the fishing boardat the moment, I think, with Tag
Marlin, and she has beenfishing all summer, lucky girl,
she's been going hard.
But also Kobe, he's a youngfella, I wouldn't be surprised
if he has his first marlin inthe next year.

(01:01:16):
But on the Kubota weekend aswell, she's running a ladies'
breast cancer event.
You know another thing, for theladies as well.
So you know, for those girlswho are not going fishing, but
they, they now have a reason tocome to town because there's
this massive event that she'sputting on on the back of all of
it, you know.

Speaker 1 (01:01:35):
So we've got to, we've got to give her credit on
that as well I think that's agreat um one to end on and I
want to thank you, tanya, andcarol and Lisa, for being part
of this podcast.
Any final statements, for maybea female listener that's tuned
in for the first time isn't amember of a club and has come
across this podcast, what wouldyou tell them to do to get

(01:01:57):
involved?

Speaker 4 (01:01:57):
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 (01:02:07):
So get out there and do it Just join a club, come and
say hello.
Yeah, come and see us.

Speaker 2 (01:02:14):
Tighten your bra straps and then tight lines.
Let's go.

Speaker 1 (01:02:29):
The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council Pod and Reel
podcast.
The new zealand sport fishingcouncil pod and real podcast is
brought to you by the newzealand sport fishing council,
maritime new zealand and thesafer boating forum.
We aim to share powerfulstories from the coastlines,
clubs and characters that definenew zealand's fishing community
, with over 50 affiliated clubsand 37,000 members.
Each episode spotlights on realpeople and the true events that
shaped their journey on thewater.

(01:02:50):
To find out more, visit ourwebsite nzsportfishingorgnz.
Thank you.