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Alderney trip in May


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To answer various questions:-

Dragging your anchor backwards instead of a weight is fine - but if you tie it on backwards with cable ties they will wear out and it will swing round and you'll find yourself anchored when you don't want to be!! Don't ask me how I know that... sad.gif

By the way, there is a snag on the eastern side of the schole, so don't drag around that way if you can help it. I might try to get the numbers for it off my plotter tomorrow.

Mackerel - as Mark said, you shouldn't have a problem finding enough - the shoals were quite patchy on the Schole on saturday, but once you found them you'd pick up 4 or more at a time. Plenty of Launce too, although on the tides this weekend you'll probably need slack to catch in quantity.

The tides really are too big to permit turbot dragging over peak flow, even dragging a weight, so you may as well switch to bassing over peak flow and back to flats as the tide slackens. Overfalls on the main lips of the banks can render them unfishable so you might have to find one of the 'banklets' to fish instead.

Those hoping for turbot could be disappointed - numbers of fish are down on the previous 3 or 4 years. My theory is that the small <5lb fish all got hammered by the beamers in deeper water in the unregulated 3-12 mile zone last winter, so all we're seeing is the bigger fish, which are in the same numbers as usual - not many! Guernsey boats have had fish of 17 & 26lb in the past couple of weeks though, so there are the odd busters out there. It's a bit early for brill really.

Water clarity had been improving, but the may bloom's started, and this week's building tides and today's stiff breeze will probably stir all the silt off the bottom again. mad.gif

You can get the latest CI shipping forecast by calling 0900 669 0022 which is premium rate,

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still hoping to run over Friday pm as it looks a little more reliable/comfortable.

 

will look out for you toeraq - although I suspect you will be back in the bar before we get over!

 

it's always an anxious time until we get a few mackerel on ice at the begining of a trip - last time we spent

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Well the pontoon went in this morning. So the water taxi should be running or you at least have somewhere easy to leave tenders etc.

 

Toerag is fishing the Schole Bank today and has given me the numbers for the snag.

 

49 34 891

2 12 861 Almost certain.

 

49 35 172

2 12 745 Another possible.

 

Have a safe trip over.

 

 

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I would just like to say thanks to both Mark of Alderney Angling and Toerag for their input to this thread and more.

 

Having some local knowledge is really helpfull an very much appreciated

 

Cheers guys

 

Martin

 

BTW todays dragged like hell, why does it do that some days? tongue.gif

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I know what you mean Martin and Adam

 

Not sure I will need the alarm in the morning

 

Been a great thread I hope the trip is as good wink.gif

 

Incidently I spoke to Duncan at 2035 he was 5 miles out of Braye and losing the light , by now he is probably in the bar.

 

Charlie biggrin.gif

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Can anyone who has been over before give me a rough estimate of the cost of fuel we need to budget for.

Neal,

 

I work on an average of 1.6 litres per NM for cruising and working on the marks. This increases to 2+ litres per NM running near WOT.

 

Should be similar for your boat, maybe slightly less.

Average for the trip worked out at 2.1 litres per Nm and 23 litres per hour. Punching the sea going over and four runs through the Swinge (not all at favourable times) didn't do any favours for the fuel consumption! About on target for the conditions/speeds though.

 

No big load of fish to weigh us down on the return trip though sad.gif

 

Fuel at the Braye price of 78p/l was a bit steep, made the 67p/l at CQ seem welcome on return. Probably a different picture come November though.

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Indeed come November I'll fill up over there instead rolleyes.gif

 

I can't be exact about my consumption figures until I fill up but best estimates are that for the 20.4 engine hours run we consumed 280 litres.

 

A lot of these are at tickover/drifts so lph isn't hugely relevant but we probably ran a similar mileage, and for the return trip we were definitely trimmed in and bashing through!

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If staying onboard, moor stern on with a pair of ropes from each quarter - the yachties look at you funny, but we dont have two pointy ends and you'll thank me if the wind gets up in the night - the slap, slap of the waves will be some 20' at least away.

Why moor stern to? so you don't hear the waves slapping under the V berth? I would have thought mooring 'stern to' with a sterndrive likemost small boats was asking for trouble.

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agree - it's fine for the large cats, and works OK in light conditions for shaft drive boats as long as the rudder is well protected under the hull. given that the boat occassionaly rides up on the buoy anyway I wouldn't want my sterndrive and the mooring chain getting intimate.

 

if you are really worried about the slip slop then just float a length of warp round the bow with 4 lengths of pipelagging on it - breaks up the wavelets nicely.

 

another trick is to have someone snore loudly onboard...........

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Good point - I was on Cyclone when we first tried it - shaft drive.

 

That said, Charlie moored stern on the 2nd night and slept great - sure the mooring was tight to the drive, but Alfresco has a huge pair of buffs onboard which we tied off the stern rails and hung over the drive so the mooring touched this not the drive unit.

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