A reward is being offered for ripping yarns from the high seas!

Hunstanton SEA LIFE Sanctuary wants to hear from salty sea dogs with a tale to tell…and is offering a £150 prize for the best story.

Fanciful tales of kraken and mermaids are unlikely to be in contention, however, for the Sanctuary wants ´true´ stories…and may require witness testimony or some other form of proof before making an award.

″The best tale we receive will then be judged against the winning stories submitted to nine other UK SEA LIFE attractions for a special national award of £500,″ said Nigel Croasdale.

″A similar contest was organised more than a decade ago, and some of the stories it generated were amazing. We think it´s high time to collect some more.″

The winner back then was a fisherman´s account of an exhausted migrant peregrine falcon lost in a fog-bound North Sea.

″It spotted our fisherman´s white vest and in desperation, used his chest as a perch, knocking him to the deck in the process,″ said Nigel.

Other accounts included one of an encounter with a large stag swimming far out at sea, and one grisly tale of an angry wolf-fish biting right through a thick Wellington boot and almost removing a big toe.

″We´re hoping to hear about any out of the ordinary events that may have befallen fishermen out at sea,″ said Nigel.

The closing date for entries is Monday 31st March 2008 and there are free Sanctuary tickets for the best dozen runner-up entries.

″It´s open to deep sea anglers as well as professional fishermen,″ said Nigel, ″and if we collect enough interesting stories nationally there may even be a book produced.″

Story-tellers should send their entries, as long or as brief as they like, to Fishermen´s Tales, Hunstanton SEA LIFE Sanctuary, Southern Promenade, Hunstanton, Norfolk PE36 5BH, England, or by e-mail to Mark Oakley.

For more details, please contact Nigel Croasdale on 01485 533576

Press Release date: 20th November 2007