Sara - Reel Girls

Boredom is a word that seems to be missing from the vocabulary of Sara Hennessey, one of the Reel Girls angling team, out of Broome. Don’t worry, Sara’s vocabulary can be very colourful and expressive, and lacks nothing in intensity. It’s just that for the amount of activities that Sara crams into her life, there are never enough hours in any day.

Sara works full time at the Broome Mercure Inn, best known in local vernacular as ‘The Conti.’ Her responsibilities encompass all the demands of the position of assistant manager, duties that extend beyond the hours for which her salary is calculated. She is well known there for her cooperative attitude, congenial company and reliable work. Special days, such as Melbourne Cup Day, demand inspiration, intricate planning, and complicated decoration for the enjoyment of locals and tourists alike, and these details are mostly Sara’s responsibility,

After work, Sara finds other time-consuming things to do. She is a committee member of the Broome Fishing Club and regularly helps organise functions and events at the club. She is also the licensee there, and this is yet another time consuming commitment.

Five times a week she conducts aerobics classes for young and old of the Broome community. Sara is an active member of the dance club that regularly performs around Broome. Where she finds the hours to sew many of the young children’s costumes for the dance school, I just don’t know.

From time to time she works as deckhand aboard the fishing charter boat “Marlinfisher” owned and operated by her boyfriend, Geoff. The term ‘day off’ needs redefining in relation to Sara’s daily life.

Sara is always willing to help community groups, and to become involved in local affairs such as the festival of Shinju Matsuri, the Mango Festival, Wearable Art, and Fringe Arts Festival. If these details so far sound incredibly like a model citizen, too good to be true, tempting you to grumble ‘yeah, yeah, get real,’ then read on, please.

Once on board a gamefishing boat a transformation takes place. Ever heard of Jeckle and Hyde? How do you think Sara gained the nickname ‘rod grabber’? Once on the water, and taking part in a tournament, Sara’s killer instinct takes over. It’s win or die for this competitor, and all’s fair in love, war and competitions. Sara’s intense focussing on the hunt never allows her attention to wane, and never allows an opportunity for glory to be missed. Sara is no idle spectator content to watch the fellas win, she always gives them the best run for their money. Her physical fitness and concentration span allows that run to be formidable, and she is a great asset to the team in every tournament.

Sara’s home is a dazzling display of everything fishy. From countless trophies of all shapes and sizes, to fishing caps, to taxidermy fish and fish light shades. Her CD rack is even made to look like a fish. It’s not hard to choose her a present for Christmas or birthdays, just find anything fishy and she’ll love it!

Competition-fishing began for Sara when she was a child, living south of Broome, with parents who are equally wrapped up in the sport. Her father was once the president of the Perth Game Fishing Club and is a qualified marine mechanic. Her mother is also a keen angler. Sara simply can’t remember how young she was, when she received her first prize in a fishing competition. Trophies abound, mixed in with just about every conceivable magazine on the topic of fishing, and fishing tournaments world-wide. Then add to that the internet, and you may have some idea of the saturation point of Sara’s enthusiasm for her chosen sport. This enthusiasm is so strong that she has a permanent fixture of a Marlin with her twenty-four hours of every day in the form of a tattoo. It is the logo of her original Game Fishing Club, Perth, which is where some of you may have seen her before.

Sara tirelessly lives life to the full in Broome, the place she now calls home, and is eager to fish as many of the competitions as possible, within her busy schedule, over the next twelve months. Watch out for the Reel Girls, they’ll be competing Australia wide and internationally in a variety of tournaments.