Ian.Jones

Having sold Joint Venture quickly, Adam and I settled on a 7.9m Cheetah Cat with twin 150hp outboards to continue our boat fishing partnership. We checked out four on the market at the time, and settled on one in Belgium that was being used by a commercial fisherman there. (Apparently a 7 tonne bass quota is not enough to be worth the effort!) Three years old, very basic spec but engines and electronics were in good order. Within a few weeks the boat was brought over to Ramsgate, transported to my drive, VAT paid and settled in for the winter to be prepared for the 2024 season. It soon became apparent that there was a gulf between a Belgian fisherman’s “that’ll” do self installation and Adam’s near OCD desire for everything to be spot on. So I did my bit by keeping out of the way in New Zealand while Adam and Rob got stuck in, mainly rewiring everything, adding an oven and galley, fitting side rails and a custom cool box/bait board/rod holder as well as a good clean, cut and polish + anti-foul and with a few tweaks she was good to go. BEFORE - Belgian wiring AFTER - Rob’s wiring New Galley - oven, stove and sink in Adam’s hand made unit finished in Cheetah Grey to match interior. Custom frame for IceyTek cool box and bait board Adam and I both joined North Haven Yacht Club, taking one of their swinging moorings. While we were sad to lose the convenience of a fork lift launch and recovery and a pontoon walk to the boat - we resented the 45% price increase in two years and the take it or leave it attitude that prevailed. NHYC is proving to be a vibrant friendly club of c 600 members who all muck in to keep costs down and make it a success. Unfortunately we lost a few weeks as Poole Boat Transport no longer seemed to be trading, but Malcolm Elvy came to the rescue, lifted Kodiak last Saturday and after squeezing down a lane between two Sunseeker factories, quietly dropped us in opposite Poole Quay. Engines started first time, we dropped our new tender off on our mooring and we set off for our first proper sea trial and a quick fish. Our focus was on checking all systems, and establishing speed v fuel consumption. First impressions were the flat ride, low noise and ease of manoeuvring. Flat out she gave 30knots but 20 knots was the sweet spot in terms of fuel per nautical mile. The only items requiring attention was to calibrate the auto pilot and adjust the throttle controls. VIDEO-2024-05-21-10-26-24.mp4 In the short fishing time available we managed a few bream, some mackerel, some small bass, a smoothound and an LSD for good measure. And we managed to test the oven for the signature spicy pasta bake. No it’s not a bathtub! It looks bigger in my garage………. We then got back to our mooring as we were quickly running out of water to get back to NHYC, and three men in an 8’ tender plus gear showed us that more than one run ashore may be required in future! The yacht club run a water taxi to the moorings from 8.00am until 5.00pm which is great, but too often we need 5.00am until 8.00pm so the dinghy will get regular use. KODIAK on her new berth Adam and Rob managed a couple of hours on Tuesday with a Bass each for their trouble - and we look forward to many safe and successful trips in years to come.

Thanks to all for the birthday good wishes. Sun is shining here, seas are calm……..and I have Covid so no trips for a while.

HI Paul. Did you get the message I sent a couple of days ago?

Hi Stuie. I’d like to try to put this to good use if still available. It may even end up back in New Zealand. Regards, Ian

Thanks guys. I am in New Zealand so managed a fishing trip on the morning of my birthday and plenty of snapper for the table, got back to watch the Wales Ireland match (ouch) and then a bbq to follow. As you will have seen on the news, we have had biblical floods - 160% of the highest rainfall ever recorded, followed by a string of tropical storms and with more forecast. But at least its warm and sunny in between the rainstorms and the fish don’t seem to mind…we’re fishing in 30-60m depth so no effect, and the boat gets a free wash down. Good luck with the Spring fishing. Best wishes, Ian

My new 7 month old crew man getting his sea legs

I can’t remember as it was 10 years ago. I might have the invoice somewhere but I am in NZ at the moment so can’t search it out. ian

I made a similar extra large bait board 10 years ago and fitted it to my 23’ Grady White - made from 18mm white food grade cutting board and incorporating a drain with a 50mm hose to take the blood away. I added an American 4 rod rack with knife slots at the back and various clips to hold fishing pliers etc, together with a 1m stainless ruler to check against size limits. It is super strong and I can stand on it without it moving. It has stood up to regular use and I recently transferred it to my Rodman that I shipped to New Zealand - using a couple of custom made stainless supports that fit into two existing rod holders to give a comfortable filleting height. The board needed a bit of a rub down after 10 years of UV and weather, but it now looks as good as new. The red arrows on the ruler are 30cm for Snapper and 75cm for KIngfish - my two target species for the table - and size and bag limits are strictly enforced (and widely supported by most anglers) Charlie was asking where to get the Board. I found a manufacturer near Luton via Google and they were very helpful, offering to do all the cutting as they said it was difficult with household DIY tools. This was a godsend, as the plastic welds itself as you cut………it took me two hours just to cut the hole for the drain plug, so much so that I abandoned the idea of fitting a drain in each rear corner. I am now back in NZ enjoying the start of summer and the best of the fishing, so hopefully the bait/filleting board will be good for another ten years. Ian

No photo or video required and it all seems to work fine ian

My experience was a bit more positive. I downloaded the NHS app to my smartphone, entered my email, DOB and NHS number, received and entered a confirmation code and was good to go, with Covid history all available and accurate. 5 minutes from start to finish. also registered with the Guernsey State travel app and now ready for Alderney……….. Ian

It would appear that Alderney will now allow visitors from the UK who have been double vaccinated plus a two week time lapse. That would be ok for me, but would exclude Adam and maybe others, so not sure yet what JV’s plans will be. Below is the message I received from the guest house we have booked. Ian The borders are still opening on 1st July, but are now using a different system. Which Guernsey government changed on Friday. Here is an update issued since on local radio. https://www.facebook.com/299676165997/posts/10158270134695998/?app=fbl. Or you can look for most recent updates on www.gov.gg/coronavirus This is the post from Guernsey government as of 2 days ago. https://www.facebook.com/1400541486941964/posts/2971955673133863/?app=fbl

Joint Venture with Adam and I on board also plan to join the Alderney trip - and accommodation is booked courtesy of Terry’s perseverance. ian

Just like Tigerfish, the Joint Venture crew gave the Bass a go before trying for some Bream - albeit a much later start due to Poole tide restrictions. The delay proved fortuitous, as we fished alongside Tigerfish in a stronger tide, which produced plenty of bass to around 7lb 8oz., all on lures. Then inshore to find lots and lots of Bream, but not many big ones. The best of the day came to my rod at 2lb 7oz. The power boat threat did not effect us as they hugged the shore - no doubt to give the holidaymakers on the beach a bit of a spectacle - but the noise was deafening even though we were upwind and two miles away. good luck to all over the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend. Ian

Happy to wait until the meetings restart. Ian

Hi Martin. I’ll take the 70mm hull anodes thanks. Regards, Ian