Page 73 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2018

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 71 Coarse Fishing
It has been a quiet year on the fishing front due to Operation TOSCA. But upon return to the UK, a pair from The Royal Lancers carp team competed in a Qualifying Event at Barston Lake, a 25-acre lake set on a golf course in Solihull. After an early start, Warrant Officer Class II Antony Dyer and Sergeant Anthony (Bobby) Charlton travelled down to the West Midlands in search of monster carp and serious points for the Army carp championships. On arriving at the location in the dark hours, a brew and recce around the venue was needed. It was a cold morning with a fresh wind, with very few shows of fish.
On to the draw for pegs, we came out mid draw. We began the 48- hour competition slowly with only a few fish between us that first day. That night Warrant Officer Class II Dyer had a good hit be- tween midnight and 4:00am, which keep us around the middle of the table. The following day was slow but around 4:00pm Bobby had a big hit of about seven fish in the space of a few hours. Going into the last 12 hours we were looking good for a top five finish.
The night passed with very light action but early the last morn- ing we had a few more fish. One of these catches turn out to be our biggest of the competition. Sergeant Charlton caught a lovely mirror carp – a new personal best weight for him at 17lb 14oz. Following the final horn, we packed up and went for the debrief to find out the final scores and prize giving. We finished 6th out of 15 pairs and received valuable points to which will count towards our season total.
Looking forward to 2019, the Regimental team will be taking part in the Army Carp Championships and conducting a train-
ing camp and competition in early March.
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Water Polo is a sport of balls, water, endurance and strength. If you take away the balls (and hats) you’re left with Swim- ming. Both are sports in which The Royal Lancers has once again excelled despite the elements of the Regiment being split across the globe. Both sports enjoyed a slow start on Operation TOSCA despite Sector 2 having its own pool. Sergeant Hill’s
labour of love to undo the neglect of our predecessors and the sometimes-counterproductive assistance of the Cypriot contac- tors is much to his credit. Come crystal clean waters, or more regularly something reminiscent of bath water, the water polo team seized the opportunity of pool availability to train. Such was the quality of the training, under the watchful eye of Lance
Swimming and Water Polo
Lancers on the attack at Hodson’s Horse
UNFICYP Sector 2 Swimming Team