Oli

Happy birthday mate (better late than never)

Thanks guys, much appreciated! Unfortunately it coincided with the wife having all 4 wisdom teeth out so was spent in hospital (as you do!), hence the late reply! It's the big 30 next year so no doubt we'll make up for it then - at the very least it's earned me a lot of fishing passes

Sorry for the late reply Charlie - just about recovered! Well we managed it - including pitching a tent on deck where 4 slept, and 3 of us in the cabin! There are some photos with one of the lads so I'll put them on when I get them. we headed off from Poole around 2.30pm aiming for the IOW banks but it was quite lumpy - too lumpy for 7 so I changed plan and we drifted around Bournemouth pier with worms and feathers which kept everyone entertained. Come dusk we anchored and managed a couple of sole - a first on Sweet Chariot so we were very pleased. With the sea calming down all afternoon/evening we took the opportunity to cook some soles, gurnard and mackerel and had them with bread for dinner - delicious! Then we headed off to Southbourne rough and managed some fish there too before setting the radar guard zone and a GPS alarm and getting some sleep at about 3am (well the others did!). Woke up at around 6.30am to thick fog, as thick as I've seen it so it was a very slow steam back towards shore where we finally got some visibility - thank God for radar! All in all a hugely successful trip - everyone had a great time and we managed 9 species: Black Bream Mackerel Red Gurnard Starry Smoothound Tope Conger Dover Sole Dogfish Scad Not bad at all!

One short (at the moment) but trying to track one down!

Good point and at least if I purchase mackerel I can guarantee we'll catch hundreds which will keep everyone entertained!

Jim absolutely safety first - they will all be getting a strict briefing before we leave the marina. Good idea on the sole Chris, definitely fancy a bit of that and at anchor close to shore lends itself well to a larger group! Haven't done it before but am I right in thinking about 100yds off the Southbourne zigzags with a running leger? Thanks guys. Oli

With the current forecast looking good I've managed to draw what's looking like an extremely short straw and agreed to take 6 old school mates out for a day and night's adventure on the boat this weekend! This will involve pitching a tent on deck and 7 of us sleeping on board with fishing in between! In return I of course want to put them through some arm-aching pain throughout the night so am planning on an all night congering session after bassing during the day (should be interesting on the drift with that many rods!). I haven't done a night congering session for a couple of years but used to get pretty good sport on Southbourne Rough - has anyone done anything similar recently or is there somewhere better to anchor up overnight and find the snakes? Are there still plenty of mackerel about? Any advice would be much appreciated! Oli

We changed the name of ours too but there's strict rules that must be adhered to if you ever want to catch a decent fish on it (before you say it Rob - not that they seem to have worked). Here's the full ceremony: http://boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/rename.htm Oli

Welcome to the club Nick, you'll find joining was the best fishing move you've ever made! Cheers Oli

Got my father in law coming down and I'm desperate to get him out on the wrecks now we've replenished the sidewinder stock (though the last fish he caught was a 700lb marlin so this may seem pale in comparison to that!). Looking to head out Sunday though the wind looks like it's getting up, anyone planning to be out mid channel?

Great, we'll be leaving Poole at 7ish I hope and on ch6

Now that's a PLAN!!

Haha one step at a time Tony, not sure I can take time away from the baby just to then babysit Tom Curtis at sea! Cheers Rob, Jess suggested it so funnily enough I think I'll grab the opportunity before she changes her mind!

Anyone heading mid channel this weekend? With all the recent bad luck with tangled props and engine failures it would be good to know others are out there!

Happy birthday Sam-hopefully by now you're suitably inebriated!

1) Court Jester - Neal, Stuie and Jon (JK) 2) Kingfisher - Chris, Dogfish Dave, Stu, Chris 3) Dream Drifter - Alfie Martin, (Berty non member) 4) MegaByte - Brian, Mark, Thomas, Tamzin 5) Awol- Martin, Dean, Rich Stevens 6) Wishin Too-Nigel,Martin Cherrett ,Mike Toms 7) Sweet Pea - Mal Thomas. Crew TBA 8) Kelly's Heroes - John Stevenson, Allan Green, Dave Samuels and Bill (Ferret). 9) Alfresco Charlie Dan Chrissie Will 10) Illusion - Tom Smith - plus crew 11) Imagine - Paul Frey and Alun J. 12) Wight Magic - Dave Evans, Ben, Charlie A, Sam A 14) Dog House - Andy Fail, Chris Large 15) Holy Mackeral- Yan Triska, Dave Loader (Non member) 16) Yelo - Kev - Mick Jacob jnr 17) Frisky Fox - Carol and Mike 18) Just Chillin - Rich and Emma 19) Sweet Chariot - Oli, Nick, Tim

Also out tomorrow (Sun) Mike. Hearing that the bream are back with a vengeance as of the end of this week so we'll head to the patch first then either the ledge or ballard if it's not great there. On ch6 all day Oli

Have a great time guys (shouldn't be hard), very jealous. Next year I'm planning no weddings and no newborns so we will be there! (Famous last words)

Haha not just the boats. It's so detailed we can see pontoons, the fuel pumps and the bar too! If we zoom out a good few miles we're even able to see you lot and what it's like to actually be out of the harbour! Brilliant!

And another for Northstar. Our broadband radar is brilliant and very detailed, less radiation hazard than a mobile phone too!

Well it was pretty lumpy south of the island but we did manage a couple and I finally managed one! Tim Coombes 4lb7oz Oli Maingay 3lb0oz

M3 it is then. See you out there!

What are everyone's thoughts on the weather/wind forecast? Trying to make the decision whether or not to jump in the car for the 100 mile drive...

1) Court Jester - Neal + crew TBA 2) Alfresco - Charlie, Sam, Graham, Craig [Jon if Sam can not get weekend off] 3) Gastronaught - Alun and Rob 4) Kingfisher . Chris + crew 5) Dawn Raider - to be confirmed! 6) Sweet Chariot - Nick, Oli, Tim

Thanks Martin Big help Rob!!!