Adam F Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 2nd proper trip of the year after Mr Cod had my brother and I launching alongside Bob and Jas at 8am this morning full of expectation after Paul's fish the night before. It looked pretty foggy from Mudeford, and alas it got worse as the exited the Run - vis was down to about 15/20' max and I soon lost bob, although I could hear them talking! Eiree indeed! We stuck very close and slow scanning the horizon for other boats and buoys as we headed SE to the IOW - after 5 miles vis was as bad as I have ever seen it and we could hear the lymingotn charter fleet chating on Ch6 remarking how bad the vis was at the island and how radar was helpful, so we decided to stop short on the ledge for a few hours as the safe move and see if it improved. Feeding squid to the dogs for the next 2 hours, only 1 solitary whiting made an appearance Anyway at 10.30 the vis improved dramitcally to a good 30' so off to mark 1...for a cod! It was just as bad here and the fishing was v.slow - not much to report really so a long cold steam home in zero vis at 12 knots had us hitting the run 1.5hrs before LW - plenty of water surely??? Wrong!! The sandbanks were a good 3' out of the water - this was going to be tricky!! BW made it through with a mixture of luck and experiance of this dozens of times this year....and we were soon back on the trailer, but Splash Out was'nt so lucky and I lost her in the sh$t vis. Bob later recalled a tale of almost 45 mins of getting stuck, and bashed in the hard ebbing tide in less than a foot of water. When he finally made it back in his prop had been well and truley shot blasted and was a good 1" smaller!! All in all a pretty naff day - still good to fish with my bro for a change and (just about) better than xmas shopping!! Merry Bl@@dy Christmas!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alun j. Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 What a difference a day makes! Yesterday was clear and sunny, once you got past the Needles, but a bit bumpy in a N Easterly chop. Today I was inland, fishing a river for grayling and it stayed foggy all day [ and below zero!]. At times, it was hard to see the float trotting downstream as wafts of frozen mist billowed over the stream. Hands coped well with the cold, with all the action, but rod rings needed continuous de-iceing [ a companion, alongside, lost a decent fish when his line parted on the ice build-up!]. The sudden drop of temp. slowed fishing this morning but improved by afternoon, even had a few rising to the surface. Great to be out [ on holiday!] and much better than Christmas shopping; I'll have to hope to be able to finish that tomorrow !! Happy Hols. to One & All !! Merry Christmas, Alun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob F Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 It appears that BW's draft is slightly shallower that SO's, hence we got stuck in 0.8ft but BW cruised through. In the end, the way we made it in was to move as much weight forward as possible so that the prop was higher in the water, and then gun it through the shallows after we had rece'd where the true channel was. This included asking Jas to lean out of the front hatch so that he could direct me into the deepest channel, which was still only 0.8ft deep and 10ft wide!!!! The shower of peebles thown up behind us was impressive, but the prop is ruined. I suppose I have got away with no prop damage for 3 yrs, so my time was up. At one stage I got out of the boat and tried to pull it over the shallows into deeper water, but the shallows were too shallow!! It's amazing how the channel has moved in the last couple of months. The last time I was out, I carefully marked all the positions of all the channel markers on my plotter. That orginal channel is now a dry island at low water. If I'd religiously followed my plotter through the fog, we would have been well an truely on dry land. The problem started as we went out at high water. The fog was so thick, we only saw one bouy, and so we were unable to mark the new bouy positions. Some would say we shouldn't have gone out with the fog so thick... ... but that's another story. Never a dull moment. BF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 I guess the lession learned is that the weather throws up suprises when you least expect it. After the day before you would have expected that Fog to have burnt off, it's unusual to hand around all day! BOB, been there before but not in the Fog ! What a bummer- new prop for Christmas? or are you going to hitch a ride for the Cod Comp? All the best PJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegleg Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 It certainly helps carrying a few extra pounds, and it was certainly an experience to remember. Bob you forgot to mention the applause and the beeping of car horns from the onlookers once we finally made it through. Well i can only say : he who dares WINS ! ! Top job Bob. Ps sorry about your prop mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 I think the other big reason for the lack of water was the high pressure this week. This will cause the water level to be somewhat lower than normal as well. This was the main reason I chose to go from Lymington. Sorry to hear about the prop Bob, also been there myself ( 3 times ), still keeps Propellor Revolutions in business Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 Bob You could have used the approach the Royal Marines use in shalow water engine off everyone overboard and push the boat through the shallows untill it gets deep. without the body weight the boat rides higher. Then again. they were likely to carry the boat if it got really shallow. and I dont think they feel pain. Well thats what they were supposed to do, the number of props I changed after every night excercise indicated that they did not do it when out of sight. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britboard Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 Bob i'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume the boat was much heavier due to the load of fish, otherwise you would have gone straight through If you need a prop, let me know what you might need as i have a few lying about the garage that might do the trick. Simon L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob F Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 (edited) I had a better look at the prop this morning. It's no where near as bad as I first thought when compared to spare one I put on. It does have a few stone chips and most of the black paint has gone, but it's nothing that a file won't put right. It will do as my "Mudeford Prop" in the future, and I'll save the good prop for other venues. Charlie, try pulling a 16ft boat on your own through a small channel against a 5 knot (+) current. The words "knackered" and "flogging dead horses" spring to mind. Jas was having fun though, sat on his throne giving kind words of encouragement... One good thing about the trip...it was the first test of the Neoprene boots. I wore thermal socks with neoprene socks on top and then the neoprene boat boots. Feet were toasty all day, and they gave good grip on the deck. Thanks for the offer, Simon. Edited December 23, 2006 by Bob F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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