seagypsy

Had a chance to try the 1m PA sail out today in gale force 6-7 winds. Harnessboy and myself met at evening hill in poole harbour about an hour before high tide to have a look at the conditions before rigging up to see what the sails were possible of . Firstly, even though the conditions were bad we had an onshore wind so eventually we would end up back on the beach. It was a hard paddle out that got us in a postion to pop the sails up and head around the pier in to whitley lake to join the countless windsurfers. . The conditions were not ideal for video's but i did my best, click on image Paul(harnessboy) did have a couple of capsizes which no doubt he will explain better but i didnt manage to film them ;D click on image It was very easy to get caught out every time the sail went back up almost tipping me in on more than one occasion but after a while we got the hang of it , click on image Lots of things learnt today , one being that i have a good knowledge now of the upper limits of my capabilites while using the sail , i have a few adjustments to make too It was a good days sport , , better than sitting at home anyway Ben

It was an interesting meeting lads,a few of us went last night. Petesnr ....we had to make a quick getaway due to the movement of my bowls,I thought schools would have loads of toilets.Found one just in time though Hence the no drinking tonight.Dont think the food is agreeing with me either. Glad you went before we got in the car Mark

Far less offending to the eye in the back waters of the harbour and easy to hide when wild camping

Happy birthday for tomorrow mate, feb 2nd is also shakira's birthday and groundhog day in the US Have a good one mark , see you thursday , , Ben

Only problem is Zzippy needs a witch doctor Lofty you are welcome to have a go on my T13 , should be out this weekend somewhere , it should suit you fine if you are doing longer trips too as it has plenty of storage space inside the hull . . . Ben

Well done lofty , yeah i bet that second high was hard work especially in a short yak and wind over tide , always a good time to hit the beach on arne and get some sausages cooking then catch the ebb later . . You need a prowler 13 for longer distances and fishing comfortably , the sea kayaks are great for speed but no good for fishing,

Hey lofty ,sounds like a good plan , I have paddled to wareham and back a few times , looking at the tides i wouldnt leave wareham till 12.30pm , depending on your paddle fitness you should make it to baiter in about 3 hrs but if it was me i would park at the bottom of evening hill next to east dorset sailing club (small free car park), it will only take 20 mins longer to get there , also i would consider taking a headtorch and trolley but leave the rods at home, that way you can take your time and enjoy your surroundings , , have a good trip . . Ben

Hi mikee , good to see you here , dont forget there is a meeting tomorrow night in parkstone at 8.00pm,hope to see you there . . . . Ben

What about this then crazy fred, is this fine with you as its a proper boat? http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/999/Warning-9...il/article.html

Your day will come fred when you run aground, then we can throw rocks at you . . And keep a lookout in the fog ,its your duty to fellow mariners. . . .

* Poole Lifeboat crew will be arriving at 10.00am until 12.00pm for a look at our kit and craft followed by some mock rescues and hopefully a flare demonstration. * At approximately 12.30pm there will be a paddle basics class for beginners with 3 star BCU coach Geoff Goulden, anyone is welcome to join in but please pm me so i can get an idea of numbers. . Donations will go to the RNLI. * From 1.00pm Tea,Coffee and BBQ food will be available from the Poole harbour canoe club hut situated in the northwest corner of the carpark . Car parking is free. . . * Low water 14.34: 0.8m High water 20.11: 1.9m http://easytide.ukho.gov.uk/EASYTIDE/EasyT...dictionLength=7 I think alot will be fishing the afternoon flood so fishing marks should be easy to spot ,especially if Zzippys flounder bash last year was anything to go by. Otherwise you can try out the Ocean Kayak demo fleet, some will be sailing or just go for a paddle , but the emphasis is being social and having fun. . Lets hope for good weather http://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/poole If anyone needs bait for the meet please call Tim at castaways on 01202 739202, if orders are taken he will open the shop in hamworthy on sunday morning from 8.00-8.45 for collection ,which is enroute to Lake pier. . . Otherwise the shop in parkstone will be open from 9.00-1.00. Ben

Done

Great report and pictures james , shame you didnt catch any cod , lovely sunrise photo Ben

This is a post we received on the AA forum from the helmsman of the poole ILB. . . RE the boat aground:- Unfortunately the boat aground was the perfect example of not asking for help early enough!! We were called out at 16.13 when the owner of the boat called portland coastguard to say things werent so good. They werent sure of their position (initially saying they were in Holes bay which is in totally the opposite direction!) We arrived at Lake pier and had to start a search as by now the fog had come in and visability was down to 30yds. we found them where the photo shows them but the tide had gone out even further and I had to do a mud walk over to them, everyone was obviously cold but my main concern was that the 2 kids had ice on their coats. In fact the entire boat was covered in ice. The Allweather boat was requested and turned up with our x-boat (a small inflatable dingy) we used this as a sledge to ferry the 2 children and 2 of the adults out to the ILB and then onto the ALB to rewarm and be assesed properly. If the x-boat hadnt worked the parafin budgie from Portland (coastguard helicopter) was in the air on another service but was ready to divert for medivac to an ambulance at baiter park. In the end it wasnt needed and we managed extract the four without the chopper and then had to wait for the tide to refloat the boat. We towed the vessel back to Poole Quay and went to the boathouse for cups of warm tea. The 2 young lads were within 1/2 hour of being fully hypothermic from exposure. I understand that they were asked if every thing was ok and due to embarrasement they said yes. If they had asked for help earlier, the ILB could have just popped out taken everyone ashore and gone out again when the tide returned, instead of using 2 lifeboats, 2 coastguard shore teams and possibly a helicopter. All I can really say is thank god for the microwave oven as my roast dinner got saved when I got home at 20.30! And it was noted by the casualties that someone passing in a kayak had asked if they were ok and in hindsight they wished they'd said no!!!!!! oh well the first thing they did today was book onto a dayskipper course with one of our crew who is an RYA instructor ..... hes getting business cards made up for future casualties .

After a stop for lunch we headed back looking back across the purbecks Then we came across this boat which was high and dry, he assured us he was ok , i contacted the harbour master when i got home about 5.00pm to see if they were safe , i was told that portland coastgaurd had dealt with it , the poole lifeboat had to rescue them with two lifeboats because they were almost hyperthermic, hopefully Gavin will reveal more about their situation here? End to another brilliant day About 13 miles there and back which at our steady pace took about 2 hours each way , , well worth the effort though. . . .

Moving further up the River Frome more pics on next post

Martin , where you quote "Our club is an affiliate member and provide us (the club) with our insurance plus a voice to the powers that think they be " does this mean as a club member we are insured too ? Ben

Should be there, but remind me to kick you in shins or worse Hi Chris, now the meeting is cancelled any chance you could post an update here , , Please, , ps , ,i dont really want a kick in the nuts Ben

brilliant report and pictures James, thanks for sharing ,

Due to the cancellation of the poole flounder kayak meet this year i have been in contact with Zzippy and we have come up with an idea to have a meet on Sunday 2nd January at Lake Pier which is for anyone to come along and have a laugh put faces to names,swap ideas and enjoy the banter. . This is not to replace the flounder meet , it will hopefully be similar but its something to look forward to over xmas and try out any new toys we may have. Be it paddling ,fishing or sailing the more that turn up is what makes the meet, there's still a chance of some flounders then too. I have put this post up to give you a chance to plan, It is a bank holiday the following day so we will continue into this if the weather suits, , Bournemouth canoes will be in attendance with some demo kayaks for anyone who wants to try it out? Hope to see as many members there as possible Ben

Congratulations on getting your new boat graham, you have made me very envious, hope i can crew for you some time , , Ben

Excellent report mark, well done on the Pb , i will definately join you next week mate , , Ben

Does the master plan involve making some outriggers with the pallet in picture 4 ? What about modifing an old windsurf sail too. . . Seriously Paul the moken is looking good but with a sail as well, , Proper Job !

Hi Dave , just want to say welcome to kayak fishing, let the fun begin ! Ben

Nice job paul, , How did the rod holders feel at the comp ? Ben