Afishionado Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Got out fairly early and went round to Whithouse grounds off Swanage. Plenty of makies on a drift when we were nearly there, but no fish coming to the mackerel baits drifted over the bottom. So we went to an area that has always produced for me when the tide is running fast and anchored. Sure enough bites from LSD's and Thornbacks came quite quickly and we were catching a steady flow of them for about an hour (Thornies up to 12lb). We had noticed a steadily darkening sky to the SW and could hear the distant boom of thunder. We discussed our options and decided that we would stick it out for a bit longer, however I took a compass bearing on Swanage Pier just incase. And thank goodness I did! Within five minutes the darkness was on us together with a strongly gusting SW wind force 5 gusting 6 together with horizontal lashing rain. We had just enough ime to get the anchor up before the worst hit us. Picking up on the compass bearing we headed gently in sliding down the rapidly formed waves and burying the bow from time to time. A complete white out of driven rain and mist prevented our seeing anything much beyond 30ft but eventualy we made it into the calm of Swanage bay and picked up a bouy to wait the storm out. We were both soaked to the skin and the deck had about 2" of rain and sea water swilling over it . It was at this point that I realised the bilge pump had packed up. We sorted ourselves out a bit and decided to call it a day so when the little tantrum of a storm had passed us by we set off home. As we approached Old Harry we saw the Life Boat attending to a large (35ft) yacht that had been driven hard up on to the reef and listening in to Ch16 we could hear many emergancy calls from both the Solent area and Portland CG's all too far away from us for us to be able to respond to. But it did make us think that all the belt and braces safety equipment we have aboard certainly gave us a comfortable feeling when in the worst of it, and that learning how to handle the boat in poor contitions together with knowing how to take and use compass bearings made what for some people were disasters into a bit of an adrenalin rush for us having the confidence that we knew what we were doing. I think the club helped enourmously in insisting on high safety standard for all club boats and also in the flow of knowledge that adds to the experiance of all of us. Mad (and very wet through) Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Glad you got through the storm safely Mike and if the worst that happens is that you get a soaking then it aint to bad. I know how you must have felt having been caught out a few times myself. It will happen to all of us at some point so others should take heed and ensure your kit is 1 on the boat and 2 is in working order Stay safe Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Glad you made it back safely Mike!!! I went out on a flat calm sea with her indoors and the two boys (6 and 3) about 2 miles off old harry. same as you we saw the storm coming but by the time we got moving the storm had caught up with us. Anyway we made it back to the safety off North of old harry dropped the anchor and wringed my underpants out (wet from rain before you lot start tacking the p..s). we too saw the boat running aground there were already boats trying to help so carried on especially with the cargo i had on. Not that 165 would pull it off the rocks but maybe pull some one out of the water!!!!. anyone else get caught out? Oh, by the way catch report...... mackeral, bream,and horse mackeral no tope. i was out that way trying to catch the boys a small pack tope, to them ther great whites!!!! never mind try again another day Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coddy Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Hi all Went out on a friends boat from Christchurch, as this was his first trip from Wick and out the harbour he was interested in the "danger" points. Once out f the harbour we went to find som macky but they were hard to find so off we went the the Ledge. I was surrprised that there was only 3 boats there. Dropped the pick but after an hour no fish so we decided to try another mark near the shore, it was then that I commented "was that thunder?" and then looked at the sky! As said already visability was very low and we ran out of fuel, just as it started to pour down! Guess who had to change over tanks!! I suggested that we drop anchor and ride out the weather as I knew it would not last too long. This we did and tried to keep as dry as we could. When the rain eased and vis improved dramaticly we headed back towards Christchurch entrance but by the time we got there the weather had improved greatly and it was getting very close to low water so we dropped anchor again and started to fish. We were soon into mackys and bream so not a complete waisted journey, but it was a good shakedown for my mate boat. We found the "new" radio kept blowing fuses as soon as it was turned on so thats got to be sorted as well as a few other little jobs. Nice to be out and glad to have dried out before driving home! Coddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L. Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Yes caught out by the thunderstorm on the way to the island after fishing the morning on the ledge. Turned tail back to wick but the worst of it caught us couple miles from the run,visibility was very poor. Prior to that had one nice bass on the ledge, 7 lb ish. Les Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Didn't go out today ( thank god ), but was thinking of those out there as I watched the trees waving around and the wind was actually howling at one stage. Hopefully there will be no repeat performance tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMac Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 We just managed to out run the worst of the weather back to the run. What I did find interesting was that in the hour prior to the rain, thunder, lightning and wind arriving, the surface of the sea, just off the back of the ledge was absolutely alive with mackerel busting the surface, some of the patches were at least an acre in size and you could see 3 or 4 patches at the same time. When we stopped to replenish the livebait well, we just had to lower the rod tip to the surface (without letting out any line) to have a full string of mackerel. The atmosheric pressure must of plummeted in that hour and triggered the feeding frenzy that we witnessed. If only they were that easy to catch all the time Hope that everyone that was out made it in safely, got very nasty out there for a while, Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swainiac Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Surface mackeral indicate surface fry........indicative of low air pressure, but how long they are able to charge about hunting would be dominated by upper level O2 levels. Interesting that they were feeding for while!! Glad everyone got home safely. Its amazing how a relatively empty intercoastal channel soon fills up with "Skinny" boats over in Florida, with the onset of the afternoon storms at this time of year. They do leave it late to get home! Despite it being law over there for a boat skipper to ensure all POB have adequate life preservers, none of them seem to don jackets in inclement weather. I appreciate that their system of predicting the weather is far more accurate than ours, with weather tools that give almost exact arrival times of storms in specific towns. If any of you have time, have a quick look at www.baynews9.com, and click on the weather update, its very impressive how they have these tools and we seem to languish in the dark ages!!!! Anyway, glad you all got home safely, and I'm glad that the club puts such an emphasis on safety at sea. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl/overdraft Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Yes, got caught on the ledge with storm on a very rapid approach. Headed back across towards Bournemouth with the storm comming from SW it got a bit bumpy, but had no problem with that. The thing that caused most concerne was the lightening cracking on the water, a bit scary. What are the safety credentials of a fibre glass boat and all its fittings under these circumstances? Any info on this would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey B Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 We also got caught in the thunderstorm. Took the father in law (in his 70's) - his 1st time in a small boat for 40yrs. My wife and our dog for a jolly around the harbour. The plan was to show them the harbour up as far as Wareham and the venture out round to Swange for a spot of fishing. We knew the storm was on its way and could see the ever darkening sky in the distance. The trip to and from Wareham was fine and in sunshine,however during our run up the main channel on route to Swanage all hell broke loose! F5/6, torrential rain and spectacular lightening! Added to the zero visabilty and all the large cruisers running for cover it did get a little bumpy to say the least. With a good 2" of water now in the boat and the bilge pump runnig we decided to return to Baiter Park to dry out. Still with near zero visability using the GPS tracking we made our way back to Baiter Park dodgeing the large cruisers some of which were going far to fast for the conditions. Despite the baptism of fire for the father in law (who said it was the most exitement he had had in 40yrs!) Our Orkney 520 handled to rough stuff without a hitch. Will be out again on Sunday fishing (Weather permitting). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam F Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Surface mackeral indicate surface fry........indicative of low air pressure They were like this on Thurs and Fri eve as well - we had them under the boat a few times and they wernt chasing fry - they may however have been chased from underneath by predators - the bass we took on livebaits proved our point. Their were also far too many fish to be chasing fry, they looked more like they were being balled up.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plaicemat Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 (edited) Rich, I would just like to stick up for us in a small way. The U.K. is well known for it's unpredictable weather; anyone who has spent time in the mountains here knows how quickly the weather can change. Other places, like Florida and the landlocked mountains of Europe, have more predictable climates. As you say, the Florida coast has it's afternoon storms so the prediction is only of time of arrival and severity. In the Tyrol on Achensee, the wind actually turns 90 degrees around midday, hardly ever fails as I found during sailing trips there. Oh, for the luxury of predictable weather, but isn't that which makes the U.K. so much fun? Everyone complains that Britain comes to a standstill when it snows, whereas places like Austria still keep moving. Nobody realises, though, that the law there says you have to fit winter tyres after October and if we did the same, there wouldn't be the chaos. However, we don't get enough or frequent snow to make this worthwhile. Similarly, the benefits from setting up an early warning system around our coast with our unpredictable weather systems would be outweighed by the cost. I had three trips out of Weymouth earlier in the year with ideal met forecasts and got thrown about and soaked in each case. Similarly, I have cancelled trips because of weather systems building to the west, only to find that there were ideal conditions on the day. Just remember, in Florida, nobody says "Good morning, beautiful day". because their weather is so predictably fine, apart from a few glitches like hurricanes. Just be grateful for at least one topic of conversation. Terry. Edited July 23, 2006 by plaicemat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob F Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Carl Interesting question about the lighning. I don't know what the standard practice is in this situation on a boat. Lighning will always try to take the path of least resistance to earth. GRP is not a good conductor and so it will not offer a good discharge path. However, your aerial will be very attractive. During the approach of the storm little tendrils of electrity will actuall start extending upwards from your aerial (or any other tall conductive point) as if reaching out to touch the approaching lightning. If the lighning obliges, it will make the connect and a lightning strike will occur. Not sure if this will be the same for the white, plastic covered aerials?????? If lighning is approaching I would lower the aerial and disconnect it from the back of the radio. And I'd turn off and disconnect the GPS too if I did not need it for navigation. Interesting question...what do other suggest? BF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIMBOB Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Bob, I think I raised this question before. I think the advise was just steer clear !! I recall "diving for the shore at 30knots" beaching the boat and running for cover under the cliffs in a very electrical storm last year! If the situation was to arise, fingers crossed! I think unless your actually holding a rod that's get struck you will be fine but your electrics wont be so lucky James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam F Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Jimbo - do you remember the storm we fished through in Tara 3 years ago, in the Solent? The rods in the holders and the ariels were buzzing with live charge! Very scary as the thunder clapped right over head! Your advice is correct I think, lower all rods and ariels and turn off electrics that are not needed and if possible shelter under a headland or cliff. I do remember being told that yachts at sea regulary get struck without any damage, do they have lighting conductors and a safe place to earth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Sound advice I think regarding lowering the aerial. However, I have to disagree with you Bob wrt. GRP not being a good conductor. It is still a better conductor than air and the lightning will have no hesitation tracking across the GRP. ( Same sort of "wives tale" with regard to standing on rubber/ wearing rubber boots during a storm ). I think yachts have lightning conductors down the mast ? That said and done, I think you should be safe as the odds are in your favour with regard to where the lightning strikes. PS: Actually got electrocuted by lightning whilst fishing on Stanpit marsh. One hand on the fishing rod and leaning against the big 4 knots sign ( not there any more ) - lightning hit the water and tracked through the water and down the rod ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Actually got electrocuted by lightning whilst fishing Now that explains a lot PJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afishionado Posted July 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Actually got electrocuted by lightning whilst fishing Now that explains a lot PJ QUICK get the Kryptonite Mad Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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