Duncan F (bathclaret)

Good call Rob. With a CG66 registration they should have been able to ID the vessel in minutes. I suspect we'll eventually hear this was something to do with bags of white powder or resin. Duncan

Lymington lifeboat volunteers were at sea for five hours last night after a fishing vessel hauled in an unusual catch in its nets: a submerged yacht on the sea bed. The yacht appeared to have sunk recently, but no one had been reported missing. The lifeboat, fishing vessel & a coastguard helicopter continued to search the scene into the night. HM Coastguard are now trying to establish which of about 20 vessels with the same name has been discovered: BBC story

I've used the same seller - decent quality stuff and quick delivery. Duncan

OK so we all just want to go fishing etc.... But I admit to being really hopeful about many of the things EC Commissioner Maria Damanaki has been saying lately. Her speech today was very measured and clear... Maria Damanaki speech We all love to kick both politicians and Europe whenever we can, so European politicians are in double jeopardy. Yet in recent months Mrs Damanaki seems to have got to grips with many of the issues, listened to the public outcry over discards and set an agenda for how things could be better. I just hope she can see this through in some tough bargaining this winter. Duncan

Excellent

OK chaps, here

Regarding the >12 metre / >6 miles rule in the Southern district, I remember this causing a big stink in Weymouth a couple of years back, because most of the new generation "monster Cats" were over 12m. The official line then seemed to be "nobody asked the skippers to buy big boats and the (bye)law is the law". Then it all went quiet and this is the first time I've seen reference to it since. I know some of the big craft are fishing well inside 6 miles (I've seen them!) so either there is a blind eye being turned on enforcement or the byelaw has been changed. But this new poster would seem to suggest not... Anyway, as if I should worry! Duncan

Blimey - just shows. Jeff Clarke (Duchess 2) is one of the most experienced skippers in the area. I've fished with him a number of times. I'm almost certain there must be more to this story than the obvious....

Bad weather weekend and a busy time for the RNLI - another one bites the dust... http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/8443...cht_at_Swanage/ Duncan

An update to confirm the Green Flag service works! Yesterday we got away for an early start for an early bass. That was until a trailer tyre blew on the A303. No problem I thought - I have a spare, a jack and a socket for the outsize 27mm nuts on the trailer. So far, so good. ... then I tried to get the spare off its carrier. Same size studs, but 24 mm nuts! I have to confess the air turned blue. Anyway - Green Flag were there within the hour and didn't quibble at all. The man had the right size socket and an 15 mins later we were on the way to West Bay. No bass, but STACKS of mackerel so the BBQ tonight should be tasty. But why the hell were those nuts different? It's a Rapide trailer - worth checking if yours are what you expect. Duncan

No problem Rob, glad you got sorted out. Without dwelling on this, I think they're even wrong about the 21' length issue. THat USED to be the case, which is what pushed me over to MayDay originally (where there was no length restriction) but I think you'll find on checking the policy that the only stipulation now is <3.5 tonnes. Anyway - let's just hope you never need to test it out

I'm sure that's not right Rob. I've checked my policy documents and the Green Flag web site and, so long as the trailer is being towed (by the insured car) at the time of the incident, then the trailer is definitely covered for faults on the trailer. "Your Green Flag Rapid Breakdown Cover includes cover for any caravan and trailer you are towing up to a weight limit of 3.5 tonnes, so you can be sure that with Green Flag you are fully covered." Their definition of "insured vehicle" in the small print includes a trailer/caravan within the specified weight/size limits, so a problem with the trailer counts as a problem with the insured vehicle, so long as it's being towed at the time. The Mayday option covers a breakdown fault with the trailer "whether you are towing or not". In recent years my Dad has had 3 incidents losing wheels off on his caravan (wheel studs sheared, wheel bearing collapsed), on each occasion no fault with the towcar, and every time Greeg Flag recovered the unit no problem. Good news - he's now given up caravanning! Duncan

Rob - I believe a standard (non-Caravan Club) Green Flag policy will cover a trailer up to 3.5 tonnes. That should be big enough! The Mayday option is the only one I've seen that will cover a trailer of any size. They used to segment these two products by length of trailer, which always seemed a bit crackers since it was the same vehicles attending, but now it's done by weight there is less to choose between them. I've used Mayday/Green Flag for years and always found them very good. My experience of the AA with a trailer was very different. Hope this helps Duncan

... which goes to show that like most things it comes down to personal choice. I'm less keen on my Suunto, Adam prefers his. But I really don't think you need worry about any differences in the alogrithm - both are "safe" (well widely proven anyway) and you will always be diving to the constraints of the most conservative computer in your buddy pair / group. The one thing I don't really agree with is that the interface is just a gimmick. Very experienced divers might share Adam's view - most probably will. But many years ago at the same stage you're at now I found that reviewing a dive profile on screen made me think more about how I dived. Sometimes you'll end a dive and feel everything went fine, but your computer may have "done you" with a SLOW alert and you won't know when/why/how seriously you screwed-up. The PC view will answer those questions straight away. It's also far easier on screen to check you've done the deepest part of the dive first. Soon these things become instinctive and you may pay less attention to them, but it's good to learn properly at the outset. Anyway - enjoy your new toys and have a great trip! Duncan

No probs, glad to help. There's an aweful lot of "must have" trinkets out there, just like fishing tackle!! Wireless air integration, heart-rate monitors, digital compasses etc are all nice to have if you're diving in Scapa Flow every week, but they can be a distraction for an inexperienced diver trying desperately to avoid smashing the coral. The Suunto Vyper is a decent choice, but the PC kit adds another

Hi Graham, 2 different questions - camera and computer, although I think you should be able to get both well within your budget. **DIVE COMPUTER** Basically all dive computers do the same job. They're just advanced calculators that work on a theoretical model of nitrogen absorption to prevent you from getting DCS. I've seen no evidence that one manufacturer's maths model is better/safer than any other. But diving with any dive computer is LOADS safer than diving without. There are probably just 3 things to think about 1. Do you want it integrated in your instrument console (linked to your tank) to automatically monitor your air consumption? That's more expensive than a hand-held computer and not as portable if you hire some gear for a dive on holiday. Personally I prefer a wrist unit as I constantly refer to my computer underwater and can't be looking down at the console all the time. 2. Do you want to use Nitrox or other enriched gases? Some of the cheaper computers are air-only and can't be upgraded. That's really just your call. I only dive on air. 3. Do you want a PC interface for dive logging and review? Pretty much all models will offer this, but the interfaces may vary in price. Take a look around the web at the software demos. It may seem a bit techy, but I personally reckon that being able to graph my dive profiles made a big difference to my diving technique. Recommendations? I mostly use an ancient Aladin Pro because it's easy to read, but I also have a Suunto Mosquito. Simply Scuba have the Aladin Tec for

Hi guys - still here, honest! As far as I'm aware the 175 hull has been unchanged since it was first designed, a shortened version of the now obsolete 195. Please don't be confused by the quote from the earlier thread - that was a discussion (prior to its release) about the new Warrior 170, which uses a different hull design from both the 165 and 175, as has been well reviewed by now. The official paperwork with says my 175 mass (without engine) is 750kg. I bought it new in 2008. There is a "Max. load = 600kg" rating on there too, so I assume Adam's estimate all-up of 1200-1300kg sounds about right. My Honda BF90 on the back has a dry weight of 172 kg. The 5hp auxiliary is 28kg, so 200kg of motor, leaving the rest for my belly I tow with a Volvo XC90, which hardly notices the boat's there, as you'd expect. It sits on a Dixon-Bate Rapide single-axle roller trailer, which has never once snaked. As people have said, a superb boat, but since it's my first I haven't a lot to compare. Easy to launch and recover, but I did add a Powerlaunch motor mover to the trailer to help getting it in and out of the drive at home. As we live up near Wells, Somerset most of my fishing is in Lyme Bay with launching at either Lyme Regis or West Bay, so my reports aren't of much interest on here, but I still read Any other Warrior questions I'll be happy to help if I can. Duncan

Barney, I collected "Claret & Blue" 6 months ago and we've had some fantastic days, even though most of them have been over in Lyme bay / Weymouth bay this summer. I was a total novice too back in April, but it's amazing how soon things come together. My top tips... 1. PBSAC membership is a great source of support and usful info. Read the "Angling Boats" book and Coddy's web site too. 2. Book yourself on an RYA Level 2 course as soon as you can. The Honda engine on my 175 came with a free course , and Peter White (Seafever Int'l) was just brilliant as an instructor. My 2 mates came along for a couple of really enjoyable days and we learned loads. The training course gives you just the right amount of confidence and I now know that if I fall in the water, other people on the boat have all the skills to get me back safe. Other than that, just get some hours under your belt and make lots of mistakes - just not expensive ones Duncan

The freebie Lowrance utility is GDM 6. You can download it from http://www.lowrance.com/en/Downloads/GPS-Data-Manager-GDM/ ... but you can't use it with MapCreate. It works fine for me - allows me to hold all marks on my PC and read/write an SD card from the plotter in the boat as well as copying to my H2O handheld too. Hope this helps, Duncan

Unless Paul & Phil's plans changed after I was up at the factory in April, the new boat has a completely new hull design - with a softer ride intended more for "family" use. They had also taken quite a lot of weight out of it compared to the 165/Pro Angler. It's hard to tell on the photos, but the new design also had no moulded clinkering. I also saw the "Warrior Arvor" in Leyland - maybe they'll eventually get this finished in a year or three, just in time for me thinking about upgrading the 175 Duncan

Glad to hear you had a good day Jim. Did Warrior have either of their new boat designs on show, or was it still (just) the 150 / 165 / 175 ?? Many months ago I saw the wood mould prototypes and Phil said they were hoping to have them ready for the show, but I've heard nothing about them since. Duncan

Recovering from a family day afloat last weekend I was peering into the gaping void inside my tackle box where there used to be rigs and weights. "Daddy it's got itself stuck again..." still rang in my ears.... Hastily I looked on ebay and found sets of 10 Fladen flapper/paternoster rigs - very cheap, including a rig wallet. A good spread of assorted sizes 4 - 2/0... perfect. They arrived quick enough - no probs with the seller - but what a heap of junk was in the packets! Knots looked like they were tied by my 3yr old and with less turns than she would have managed. Seemingly random selection of swivel sizes. Hooks that pulled off at the slightest tug. I ended up re-tying pretty much everything, which wasn't in my laziness plan. Anyway, the family are on feathers and single-hook zip sliders tomorrow! Duncan

I know. Very frustrating. Is it me, or is Metcheck just hopelessly optimistic? Having tracked things for a while now, the wind speeds they forecast can be at least doubled in reality and compared with the BBC/Met Office predictions. Take tomorrow for instance - 10 mph SW they reckon, which we might think OK - the BBC says force 5-7 and up to 8 at first! ... if only Metcheck was ever right

So does anybody have a recommendation for a decent radar reflector for my Warrior? Until last week I had a Plastimo tube-type mounted on the gantry opposite my VHF aerial. That was neat and cheap, but ultimately nasty as the plastic tube fell in bits and disappeared while towing the boat home. I'm loathe to replace it with the same again - not because that would probably fall to pieces too, but mainly because I read the test report done by QinetiQ as part of the Ouzo investigation. That report said the Plastimo tube was so poor at angles of even 1 degree as to be almost useless. And they tested the 4" tube- I had the narrower 2", which would be even worse. Suggestions please... Duncan

Hi Paul, I've been out 3 times with Jeff Clark on Dutchess. Not the prettiest or fastest boat afloat that's for sure, but (like Colin) Jeff concentrates on getting the best from an intimate knowledge of the inshore marks. He's certainly a "character" and there have been some (pretty unfair) remarks on other forums about his style, but my view is listen to his advice and the fish will generally follow. He's an expert on the Weymouth/Portland tides gained from a very long apprenticeship. Oh and the tea flows pretty freely too. So I'd expect you'll have a decent day whether you choose Flamer or Dutchess. Hope this helps Duncan