Enthusiastic club anglers came out in large number to participate in a three-day fishing competition at the weekend that had them all hooked – a fund-raising drive for Port Alfred’s volunteer emergency first responder initiative, LifeFirst.
Championed by Port Alfred Rock & Surf Club, the marathon three-day angling competition with the theme – “Fishing for LifeFirst” – saw a packed outdoor arena at the Port Alfred River and Ski Boat Club applaud all the winners at the prize-giving ceremony on Sunday.
The fishing competition had 64 anglers competing in river, rock & surf and deep sea categories in a packed schedule over the three days.
LifeFirst is the brainchild of experienced and certified paramedic, Wouna du Plessis, who saw the need to provide a volunteer first responder service to the Port Alfred community who cannot access an ambulance in time.
The ambulance shortage in town is well-documented and du Plessis’ service has evidently made an impact in the short time since its inception in November. A golf day to raise funds for her initiative has had a positive impact already in the community. “We have already had 45 call outs since our service launched late last year, and the equipment sourced thanks to the golf day has had positive results, ” said du Plessis.
“We are busy registering as a volunteer emergency response service … which is not an ambulance service at all – we will have a rapid response service vehicle on the road with qualified people on board, and if there’s an emergency or lack of services, then we will attend (to affected parties) until an ambulance arrives.”
Businesses are rallying to the LifeFirst cause to assist with raising funds for the initiative. Various equipment such as a ventilator, defibrillator and monitor, thanks to companies such as Royal St Andrews Hotel, Pick n Pay and Build it could be acquired as a result of the golf day.
As far as the “Fishing for LifeFirst” competition is concerned, the Port Alfred Ski Boat Club hooked up with du Plessis to organise the fishing marathon judged over the three days.
Some of the winners were as follows: River: Shane Vaughan (top angler); (Hudson Venter – top junior – R500 cash prize); Rock & Surf: Luke Erasmus (top angler – 18,76kg most species winner); Elsje Smith (top woman angler;) Bobby Lee ( top junior); Lawrence Kemsley (biggest fish – 8kg mussel cracker); Deep Sea: Finn & Tonic (top boat – R2,000 fuel voucher, sweat shirts nd R3,000 cash); Darren de Bruin (biggest fish – 12.5kg cob); Nico von Zeeman (top angler); Gerrit Cloete (top junior).
Ant de Bruin of Sotheby’s International Port Alfred, auctioned off various items such as limited edition beverages, fishing equipment and holiday getaways after the prize-giving.
Du Plessis said LifeFirst is involved with providing accredited and certified first aid courses for Level I II and III; fire marshall training and health and safety training.
“From the volunteer side we have a community outreach once every third week for Sunshine Life Centre. People come for basic CPR training; then we have the mum and me classes where we teach mums or parents how to do first aid on their children, if needed.”
Du Plessis said the response from the Port Alfred community has been very positive so far. “Our LifeFirst slogan is “for the community by the community” and we are here for them. The community has been absolutely amazing. People know they can’t afford to wait up to an hour for an ambulance especially If it’s a life-threatening emergency.”
Main sponsor Guido’s, Supreme Leisure and Suzuki Marine, Royal St Andrews Hotel, Kowie Toyota, Aqua Addict and Trellidor were among the long list of sponsors thanked for their contributions.
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This article was first published in Talk of the Town, June 19, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
