In a spectacular end to the 2024 Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show, Garry Hart from Taranaki was announced as the lucky winner of the $300,000 Surtees/Yamaha Grand Prize, a moment witnessed by showgoers, Maritime Police and thousands of live Facebook followers.

Garry says the moment was surreal, “We got home from the Boat Show, and I went out on the farm to do some chores. I thought I had until 7:00pm, but I came in from the farm a little earlier, and that’s when the phone rang.

“It was a private number, so I answered it, and that’s when I heard I was the winner. I thought it was my mates ringing and trying to trick me.

‘It wasn’t until we re-watched the online video of the call, and I heard my voice that I started to believe it. We have since watched the video about fifty times!” says Garry.

Garry got his ticket as part of the fishing club he belongs to; they purchased 11 tickets in total for the group and they travelled up from Taranaki for the weekend. His partner was the one who allocated the tickets on the day.

Garry recently sold his last boat after 15 years – he had bought it from the Boat Show all those years ago, but realised he wasn’t getting out as often as he wanted and decided to sell it – much to his partner’s disappointment as she loved going out on the boat. She is now delighted they have a new boat to use and a boat with a toilet!

Other features of the Surtees 750 Game Fisher Enclosed Hull, include the all-new Yamaha F300 XSB2 V6 4.2L engine with the groundbreaking Yamaha Helm Master® EX boat control system and a bunch of top-notch features from Futura, Garmin, SeaDek, Shimano, BLA, Fusion, and more.

Garry is looking forward to getting his whole family, including the grandkids, out on his new boat to catch blue cod and snapper. His partner, Sue, and his son, Jeremy, both share his love for fishing, with Jeremy also a Coastguard Volunteer and Sue heavily involved with the South Taranaki Fishing Club.

He also mentioned he has a lot of new friends now…