Hosted annually by the Dorado Ski Boat Club in Sodwana Bay on KwaZulu-Natal’s North coast, the Billfish 15000 is the biggest deep sea fishing competition of its kind in the world. Probe will again sponsor the legendary deep sea fishing competition from November 14-18 this year, with the spotlight falling on Probenergy, a division of the Probe Corporation focused on alternative energy solutions.
Probe will sponsor fantastic prizes as the official sponsor of the weigh bridge and the biggest by-catch of the day each day, as well as an overall tournament prize for third place. Probe will reward the overall bycatch winner each day with the Eishbox 420W, a portable power solution. The tournament prize is a full solar energy set-up worth R140,000, including a 5kW single phase inverter, two MaxLi Li Ion Generation 2 batteries, ten 450Wp solar panels and a DC disconnect battery cable.
Probe has been a proud sponsor for the last six years and the Probe Billfish 15000 teams were excited to be among the winning teams at the 35th edition of the popular event in 2021. The team on Snowy Owl, skippered by Springbok angler Riaan Odendaal, won the overall competition with a total of 1470 points. This year, the Probe team is competing on three boats, Snowy Owl again skippered by Riaan Odendaal, Captain Fine skippered by Billfish legend and prior winner Michael Fourie and Magnum II skippered by John Mathambo.
“The Billfish 15000 is definitely one of the highlights of the year and we’re excited to be back this year to defend our title,” says Probe CEO, Rick Rovelli. “Probe is proud to be part of a very important event for the community. The Billfish 15000 has a powerful positive impact on the environment, job creation and tourism.”
The Billfish 15000 not only provides a high-octane fishing experience for anglers, but actively contributes towards research by assisting O.R.I in collecting all statistics of catches of game fish and the T&R of every billfish that is released. The tournament further provides a generous financial contribution towards Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife for conservation and development.
As part of the activities this year, Probe will be organising beach clean-ups, aligned with the company’s social responsibility initiative that supports Izame Zabantu Nature Helpers, a Cape-based coastal clean-up initiative that is creating employment and removing thousands of bags of plastic from the ocean. “Along with skills development and job creation, environmental sustainability is always a priority for us. Our sponsorship and corporate social responsibility initiatives align with this,” says Rovelli.
Probe supplies a variety of batteries that are ideally suited to marine applications, include starting batteries, multipurpose and deep cycle batteries. Beyond boats, the energy leaders are keen to showcase the growing portfolio of best-of-breed alternative energy solutions the company provides. Probenergy redefines energy storage with affordable, high quality power solutions and battery technologies for a wide range of applications, from domestic and commercial use, right through to the utility market and Independent Power Producers.
The company further offers rent-to-own options, with tailored finance through Marchant West. Customers can pay off solar systems over time and take on full ownership at the end of the solar lease agreement, making solar solutions very accessible.
“With the depth of knowledge and range of products we now offer, Probe should be the first port of call for both individuals and companies needing to optimise their energy efficiency,” says Rovelli. “We’re looking forward to being part of the event this year and to sharing all the new developments with the Billfish 15000 community.”
