Triplets win TAKF MAC draw

MAC Boat’s Garth Galloway hands over the MAC TAKF prize boat to Mount Maunganui triplets Mike, Tiffany and Brooke Foster.

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When the winners of this year’s MAC Boats Take A Kid Fishing pages had their photos entered by their grandmother, they enjoyed the recognition, but didn’t rate their chances of having their names drawn out for the big prize.

However for 11-year-old Mount Maunganui triplets, Tiffany, Mike and Brooke Foster, fairy tales do come true, and they could not believe their luck when NZ Fishing News rang to tell them of their new acquisition.

“We thought it was a trick,” Mike said when presented with his and his two sisters’ new MAC 360 by manufacturer Garth Galloway of Galloway International.

The rig is an excellent prize. The rotationally-moulded pontoon boats are ruggedly constructed and particularly stable, making them an ideal first boat. And this year Mercury Marine upped the horsepower of its outboard to an eight, which pushes the boat and crew of four along at a nice clip.

Two other sponsors, Kilwell Sports and RFD, also upped their prize contribution to ensure all three ‘crew’ received a lifejacket and a fishing rod each, as well as a Surecatch tackle box stuffed full of gear. The magazine added a set of oars and an anchor pack to complete the prize package.

Consequently, early in December, Garth Galloway and NZFN Editor Grant Dixon travelled to Mount Maunganui to present the prize and give them an on-the-water introduction to their craft.

Fortunately, the junior Fosters are no strangers to the water. They are regular ‘crew’ on their granddad Peter Foster’s boat and love nothing better than going fishing. Their mum Debbie is planning to attend a Coastguard education course so she is confident of taking the kids safely out in the harbour.

The family is heading to Te Kaha for a week and will be taking the prize boat with them, so you can be sure it will be well and truly christened by the time this magazine hits the streets. But before then, the kids took it to their school, Omanu Primary, to show their friends the day after they received it.

All children whose photographs appear in the MAC Take A Kid Fishing page are automatically in the draw for the prize, which will again be a MAC 360 boat on a DMW trailer, with a Mercury 8hp outboard, Kilwell tackle and RFD lifejackets. Check out the TAKF pages in this issue for further details.

- © Fairfax NZ News