Coddy Posted May 18, 2008 Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 Bill and I took Lady C out for a spin today. After waiting for the guy to turn up to fill up with fuel, we got away at about 10.30am and headed to Swanage Bay. To say the sea state was interesting would be an understatement. Having reached our mark, we decided that it was not worth being tossed around so headed into the bay and calmer water. Unfortunately the fish had other ideas and did not want to come out to play so after an hour or so we headed out of the bay and saw a number of boats anchored off Ballards Down, we decided to join them. Once the anchor was down and we settled into the tide, it soon became obvious that laying beam on to the waves was going to be uncomfortable. I am sure the wave heights were in excess of 8ft as when in the trough I could not see the horizon! Fishing however, started as soon as the baits went down. I was soon into double hits of Black Bream then Bill was into them as well. In the end we both must have had 15 - 20 each, most went back apart from 3 which were kept for the pot. I was just saying to Bill that we needed a doggie to add to the species list for the boat and that I was surprised we had not had one this year yet, then by magic one jumped onto my line and in came Lady C's first doggie! We sat out the lumpyness and when the tide turned the wind decreased and the smoothed out but by the time we had turned fully the wind started to get up again and so did the swells. So we decided to head back in, had a drift in the Swash and then in Poole harbour for some flatties or anything but nothing showed so went back to the mooring and came home. Still suffering from land motion as I write this. Coddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan F (bathclaret) Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 (edited) Paul and I didn Edited May 19, 2008 by bathclaret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 Nice reports Guys sounds a bit lumpy, and good to know that you all got back safe Nice one with the divers Duncan, I am sure they were very pleased to see Claret and Blue heading their way Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinbad Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 (edited) Alun and I had a fairly quiet but hectic day on Imagine! though not the same drama as Duncan..Some unexpected species... but not a single target Bream! Our Plan was to go west and tuck into the cliffs off Ballard or Durlston as the run out of Poole was fair and not too much swell, in fact the worst bit was just off Old Harry, with some flood tide against the ENE breeze. Once past this stopped for a few drifts along peverill for some fresh mackerel.... and we soon had enough for our first mark. We started as the third of three boats, one charter (steve porter) and another Orkney, but were soon joined by more charters incl Tiger Lilly and Sea Spray(?). After a fishless and biteless hour or so, a few mugs of tea, we upped sticks and headed further down round StAlbans to try a few new spots off Kimmeridge. This would be a first for me, and also first time arround the corner. Bites were slow on the first mark we tried in deeper water, only tiny rattles, and one lovely looking Cookoo wrasse aboard and a small spotted ray to me. In closer we seemed to be in a back eddy, with the boat lying west in the wind and a strong push south east with the tide. We found a channel to try first, and had action from the 'off', with Pollack and then Alun gets something altogether more 'heavy', and we net a nice Undulate of 8lb 10oz. What's nice about fishing with Alun, is the marine biology lesson you get with each new catch, and after explaining how strong the teeth are and where the jaw muscles are on the ray, I tested this out whilst unhooking it, and had it attached to my thumb for a few moments punctuated by expletives! So Biology lesson No1 - keep your fingers well clear of a Ray! Then it was Wrasse, Tea, Mackerel, Bacon Rolls, more Pollack, until we suddenly start to move off - thinking the anchor had tripped, only to go through the alderney ring manouever and see the lifting bouy bobbing away downwind and us left holding just the warp and chain with no Anchor!!! - yep its tripped alright - self releasing anchor. Lesson No2 - monel siezing wire on the crown shackle. After recovering the bouy, and rigging up the spare anchor, we seemed not to be able to get the pick to dig in (maybe we were over clay/ stones??) and after another few cartwheels in the tide/wind, steamed back towards Peverill to finish with a few more mackerel. The Wind by now was easing slightly, maybe not more than a F3, but the now flooding tide made Durslton Head and the overfalls pretty hairy and uncomfortable - with some very steep waves, making progress at much more than 6kts difficult. Only those with strong stomachs would have survived - Eventually going right close into the cliffs was much flatter and allowed better progress. We ended with a few mackerel, but not in huge numbers, plus a few Garfish, and steamed back into Poole. We thought we recognised Dave(Coddy) and his new boat by the hook sands, if we had been earlier returning we might have caught up with you at Ballard and had some of those elusive Bream! It was certainly an odd day, with not much action (we saw) on any of the charters. Paul Edited May 19, 2008 by Sinbad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 Nice report Paul We were among a fleet of big cats on Sat around at the ledges I think that they were getting a few bream but we were not so we only stayed for the middle of the tide. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan F (bathclaret) Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 (edited) Paul, left holding just the warp and chain with no Anchor!!! - yep its tripped alright - self releasing anchor. Lesson No2 - monel siezing wire on the crown shackle. I'm interested in why this happened. I was advised (by Piplers) to wrap a cable tie through the shackle hole to prevent it from coming undone - rather than wire. Did you have any type of fastening on there? Earlier in the day we got the anchor snagged at the ledges but fortunately I had it rigged to trip and the plastic ties used for that gave way as they should & it came out nicely backwards. Best wishes, Duncan Edited May 20, 2008 by bathclaret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alun j. Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 Duncan, We had the anchor rigged for tripping [ like yours].......and it did!! The problem was that the shackle attaching the chain to [the back of] the anchor 'failed'; either it broke or came undone and so anchor and chain parted company!! Resourceful Paul opened a forward locker and out comes 'spare', so we were quickly back in business. Alun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinbad Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 (edited) Hmm... I've often thought that the spare Anchor would be the last resort, when all else had failed... but I'm thinking now that it isnt 'man' enough, as it was perfectly OK for my old boat (16ft strikeliner), but maybe not this one. I'm thinking of going to a 7.5kg so that if I need it in an emergency, it will hold me fast. We had difficulty anchoring in this spot, using my spare, maybe because the chain wasnt heavy enough, or maybe the bottom was too hard and stony. (or both) I'm not sure reading your post if you mean the tiny hole in the end of the shackle pin, which is normally used for running siezing wire through to prevent the normal sawing of the anchor un-doing the shackle. The shackle was attached to the crown of the anchor so it would pull out backwards in the conventional fishermans style, and the chain lead up the head Alun was referring to the cable tie method of joining the chain to the head of the anchor, which most of us do. If you have a way of locking the shackle onto the anchor , maybe you could share it with me - I'd certainly be interested. So, it turns out an expensive day, but at least the Pollack fish fingers and spaghetti carbonara was excellent tonight!! Paul Edited May 20, 2008 by Sinbad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan F (bathclaret) Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 Sorry Paul, I confused matters by even mentioning tripping. I use cable ties for both jobs on my Bruce anchor. First a couple of ties to fasten the head of the anchor up the chain to allow tripping as you described. But then also another tie through the small hole in the shackle pin, around the shackle, just to stop the pin unscrewing. The guy at Piplers said this was easier than using wire and you can also see if it's wearing. He suggested a galvanised anchor shackle in preference to a stainless one, to stop any electrolytic effect from the 2 different metals, but that might be taking things a bit far ? Hope this clears things up - on the bright side an anchor's cheaper than losing the rope and chain! Best wishes, Duncan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieannear Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 He suggested a galvanised anchor shackle in preference to a stainless one, to stop any electrolytic effect from the 2 different metals, but that might be taking things a bit far ? I have galvanised shackles on galvanised anchor and the shackles have really rusted out. Not sure if they were just cheap sh1te? I was actually thinking of swapping them for SS. Is the consensus on this Yay or Nay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coddy Posted May 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 We ended with a few mackerel, but not in huge numbers, plus a few Garfish, and steamed back into Poole. We thought we recognised Dave(Coddy) and his new boat by the hook sands, if we had been earlier returning we might have caught up with you at Ballard and had some of those elusive Bream! Paul Hi Paul I saw an Orkney steaming in and said to Bill, if I had enough money I would have liked a boat similar to yours. The Bream where we were was very patchy and in fact when we were swinging about we came in and out of their holding area. A couple of the charter boys moved a couple of times to keep in the fish. Glad we missed the race around Perveral Sorry to hear about the anchor, if you need a 5kg bruce-a-like give me a shout. Coddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Fox Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 Siezing (or "mousing") an anchor shackle is one item I frequently recommend when performing a SEA Safety Check. I use monel wire to stop the shackle pin undoing, but cable ties can be equally good. Keeping a backup anchor of sufficient size to keep the boat secure is essential, and space constraints should not be allowed to be an issue for essential safety gear. If you need to hold position to avoid the boat being damaged in the event of engine failure, an anchor is pretty well your only choice, and it has to hold. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 He suggested a galvanised anchor shackle in preference to a stainless one, to stop any electrolytic effect from the 2 different metals, but that might be taking things a bit far ? I have galvanised shackles on galvanised anchor and the shackles have really rusted out. Not sure if they were just cheap sh1te? I was actually thinking of swapping them for SS. Is the consensus on this Yay or Nay? Charlie, No expert here, but I have a corroding "galvanised" shackle on mine and at least I know it isn't going to easily come undone ! ( It is cable tied thorugh the hols in the shackle as described earlier )/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaffa Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 I'm trying my new anchor out without tie wraps or set up for tripping Don't worry its not as stupid as it sounds, the anchor a 7.5kg Manson Supreme has got a slotted shaft that should allow the shackle to slide to the back of the anchor allowing it to pull out from the rear. (if you pardon the expression) Well I've got to give the design a chance haven't I The first signs of a difficult recovery and I'll be back to the tripping regieme So far this beast has held as soon as it hits bottom without the need for a 3 to 1 rode and I've managed to retrieve it via my Anka Yanka system although I have noticed it puts up much more of a fight than my 4kg folding grapnel which is now a spare. Peteg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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