June 1970 Newsletter Highlights

Hamish Rogerson was still the secretary and was operating out of “The Quay” office headquarters.

British Records – The committee had long believed that the British Records for sharks should be constructed in the same manner as those of the International Game Fish Association (IGFA).  The British Record system only provided for All Tackle records, ie heaviest shark irrespective of the tackle on which it was caught.  The IGFA system recognised the skill level involved in catching a large shark on lighter tackle and had Line Class records.

The club made a proposal to the British Record Fish Committee (BRFC) to add line class records for sharks and Hamish was invited along to one of their meetings which he was pleased to accept.

His account of the meeting was that, “the BRFC very courteously turned done the SACGB proposal”. Their position was that the additional work involved in adding line class awards to their system would be excessive. They also pointed to the IGFA claim requirements regarding samples of tackle etc which would make the whole exercise more onerous.

The committee response to the BRFC decision was, and I quote verbatim:

Consequently, as the body whom we thought might undertake this responsibility finds itself unable to do so, your Committee has decided that in future the club will assess claims and, where justified, award British Records for sharks caught, witnesses and weighed in accordance with the combined rules of IGFA and the SACGB, a copy of which may be obtained by application to me (Hamish Rogerson)

He correctly pointed out that this would create a lot of work for him, and predicted this would create a lot of fun for members.  When you look at the gaps in the tables and compare the volumes of sharks being caught a that time, my own view (Johnmac 2018) is that it didn’t take off as much as the Committee expected.

Shark Angling in British Waters – Hamish was being inundated with requests for information on sharking and his response was to revamp an earlier essay he had written for a magazine which could be used as a universal response to all such enquires.  (details of this can be found in the “Bits n Pieces” section of the website).

Members received a free copy but others or additional copies were priced at 2 shillings and 10 pence.

Honour for Vice President – Mr S G Miller was the Vice President and he had been invited by the IGFA to become a Member of its International Committee which he accepted.

The IGFA headquarters is in Florida and was and remains recognised throughout the world as the supreme authority on big game fishing.

The SACGB had been a member of the IGFA since 1956 and Brigadier Caunter was also a member of the IGFA international Committee.

Hamish observes that it “is probably unique for a club to have two of its officers appointed members of the International Committee”

New Shark Bar – its reported that a “really splendid” bar had been built for the SACGB members at the Hannfore Point Hotel, West Looe. It overlooked the sea through large picture windows with a door opening onto a private garden.  Members were invited to meet in the bar at 9pm every Tuesday.