Kenya

BRAY may not have many obvious ties with Kenya but that has all changed since a member of the Bray Sea Anglers Club rewrote the Kenyan history books by catching the biggest-ever Black Marlin while there on holidays. Local angler Paul O'Grady smashed the African record after he endured an epic six hour battle with the 840 lb fish off the coast of East Africa, while in the region on his holidays. Together with two fishing companions Joe and Angelo Marcella they struggled for the best part of a day with the 14 foot black marlin, before safely bringing it to shore. This was their third visit to Kenya, and the most successful by far. But the 'lifetime's achievement' as Paul put it, could so easily have been a non-starter as the three Irish fisherman, would normally fish out of the village of Watamu but on this occasion decided to head north to Ngomeni as the fishing was adjudged to be better there. In scenes reminiscent of 'Jaws', the men battled the huge fish from the boat's 'fighting chair', with Paul taking the lion's share of the burden, battling the fish for an amazing six hours straight. But perhaps inevitably the fisherman emerged victorious after the fish suffered an apparent heart attack due to the intensity of the fight. With thoughts of 'Jaws' firmly diminished in the mind, it became a real-life enactment of Hemingway's 'Old Man and the Sea', as the fish was so big that it had to be towed by the side of the boat the whole way to shore. The fish was later sold at market for the tidy sum of €200, but not before the fish's head was removed and sent to a local taxidermist. In time, it will take pride of place in the Ocean Sports Hotel's Hall of Fame; where it will bear witness for all time to the titanic struggle that ensued between itself and Bray angler, Paul O'Grady.