Although RNRMAA was the host service for 2006, I felt that our experience at this level was pretty low and Ian Gibbs has been the only Navy angler to represent us at the CS Shore for a couple of years. It was decided that the Army was probably best choice to take charge of the combined service team for this event, with Dai Kemp as Captain and Jim Cargill as team administrator. The team consisted of 8 ARMY, 5 RN and 2 RAF anglers.

A lot of running around by Jim ensured that when we met up for our team brief, there were 16 anglers sat down awaiting instructions. You have to applaud the amount of work that was done by Jim to get team, accom, food, bait and all the rest of the leg work that is unappreciated by all.

The admin instruction which I got on my PC before arriving was pretty awesome and although appeared frightening to those that declined the invitation, was in fact spot on considering the standard of anglers that were our opposition. The captain's brief by Dai was tame compared to the paperwork, but absolutely necessary to bond the team and give confidence to those that had never fished at this level. As expected the captain lead from the front and we were under no illusion to what was required of us. This was apparent at the brief on day two when we were informed that we had it all to play for and the results were really close, if fact we were fourth out of a four team comp and only he knew the results from day one.

Day one of the match saw us on Yarmouth Beach fishing from 1600 until 2030. The weather was glorious to start off, clear skies and a light wind and a small sea in front of us, perfect for fishing said the local copper next to me. It was in fact just like a day out on Slapton, very few bites and the odd couple of fish. The most caught by a single angler that night was seven, not exactly Dover. To top it all off, half way through the match the skies opened up and the wind paid a blowy visit. This beach was made up mostly of sand and a few small stones.

Day two fared a lot better off Weybourne beach (an hours drive north from Gt Yarmouth) where an angler managed 24 fish during the day, these were mostly Whiting and Rockling. We all had bait packs containing lugworm, small squid, and Ragworm and mackerel fillets. This beach was made up of stones of different sizes which were a bonus for the beach buddy in the windy conditions.

The fish caught during the match were the smallest codling I have ever seen, whiting, dabs, Rockling and a couple of flounder.

The presentation evening was coordinated by the organising committee of police, and the meal was excellent. Of course SAMF ran out as winners again 6 out of 6, although the final scores were pretty close:

• SAMF 259 points
• Fire Service 331
• Police 333
• CS 344

I would like to thank Dai and Jim for all their hard work from the Navy boys, as this is their final year in the armed forces we wish you both all the best for the future. Also to Phil Clarke of the RAF who will be out landscaping someone's back garden in the next few months.

Yours in Sport

Tom Worthy