Gummage

To be continued…

IMG_6269.mov Onto check the creels. As luck would have it apart from running inter island ferry services and salmon farm support vessels he is also a hotelier and chef . IMG_6252.mov IMG_6267.mov

Endeavour3 is smouldering in the in the insurance claim department so Gummage and the “Angling Saxon “ have decided to visit the vikings again. A sequel to last Novembers raid. Our hosts were twins Jamie and Callum. Both accomplished fabricators and marine engineers and we travelled with their father Andy who has had a lifetime of marine engineering diving explosives pier construction etc .They all did aprenticeships at the Malakoff in Lerwick. Andy’s old schoolfriend Gordon had come shooting with us in November and within a hour of disembarking in Lerwick we were aboard his waiting boat and out into the sound catching cod! Dazzling Mackey lures and 16 oz weight were used almost exclusively as we were fishing in 60 m of water. Haddock was the most prized score and mackerel were harder to avoid than catch. After a few hours we put into Lerwick. Gordon had bigger plans for us tomorrow . Gordon was raised on Yell and had a few creels there that needed checking . We left Lerwick heading north on a fabulous cruise. The company The crew The scene IMG_0393.mov The wildlife The thrilling coast of Yell IMG_0396.mov Relief Good banter IMG_0409.mov Mustn’t forget The catch report . We drifted tackle hungry rocky bottom for ling using feathers and jellies. A few Saithe (pollack ) came aboard . Ling eluded us.

My opinions are dangerous but my old garmin 178c was doing the same and i found the positive terminal pin and sleeve in the rear plug was black and corroded. I got busy with the soldering iron and swapped it for a clean unused pin. The wiring schedules are online. sometimes it works now.

that better?

thanks maverick but I havent go to the good bit….. Day 2 We seriously wanted to take some Mackerel home and avoid the weed. So resolved to go to Hengistbury jigging. Thought we would explore the blind side of Brownsea route by way of a Jolly. I got confused amongst the way marks and concerned about shallows so we switched off to check the chart. Now I bought this motor last year as a replacement for my aging 2 stroke 1982 mercury. I bought a 90 hp mariner 4 stroke 2004 vintage for economy and key start reliability. I got a bit more than I bargained for when I went to restart it . The starter motor failed to engage there was a popping sound and in the time it took us to say” that didn’t sound good” It exploded sending the cowelling 15 foot into the air. The rest of it was ablaze. Using an extinguisher in earnest was on my bucket list. We quickly had the fire out. And then saw the canopy about 20 yards away still floating but in trouble. We grabbed the paddles and pulled hard towards it as we got within 6 foot down it went. still using the paddles we did a bad boy thing and roped up to a metal shallows marker. Ian advised that our hearts and nerves needed to settle. It was a hell of a bang! So we sat down and had a cupotea. It was not long before we had the attention of the jolly boys on the harbour authority vessel. On realising our predicament they were friendly and helpful. They offered us a tow which we declined but they put a man aboard who helped us rig and start the auxiliary.They also politely toldustoget off their pole😕😕 They saw us off…Hooky meanwhile on hearing our problem turned Doombar into thunderbird 11 and launched from Cobbs to cover our backs. When he caught up with us we accepted his tow and he skilfully and Quietly took to the ridge wharf slip and assisted us in a low water retrieve. (We used a belay😃) It’s great to have good friends in the boat club. So it all ended in a blank and an early run home. The following photo sums up our mood

Having trouble editing the photos..2irrellevant ones theresorry

I booked a launch and retrieve at Ridge wharf and sat/sun on a finger pontoon with a view to returning to wilts on Monday. I’m trying to avoid the late night tow home. Endeavour 3 has a 6 foot cuddy. I cut some board to throw across the benches. Me and an old Ag college friend Ian,resolved to have another boys weekend staying on the boat. The steep slip launch nearly went badly. I shall use a belay rope next time. Spent the day scratching a variety of the usual marks and jigging for mackerel for a few hours. I blanked but my guest caught a small bream on the drift and managed to foul Hook one Mackey on the feathers. As advised we found less weed on the Patch and Ian upped a lively conger. Intersting couple of minutes when Ian’s light tackle was slammed and bitten off then immediately this denizen snatched his heavier ledger which was nearby. Eventually all we got was a well chewed snood. (There’s a song in that). Got back to Ridge late evening and slept p

Hooky and I run the 20 ft version. We aren’t dissapointed. The man on fish locker reviews the Wilson against Arbors, Warriors and elites. Worth a look if anyone is considering a purchase. Pros and cons fairly explained.

Thanks for that Martin. Interesting that the adjustment is counterintuitive.!

I have a 20 ft cathedral hulled dory like Hooky’s. It did have an old mercury 75 2 stroke. It planed at about 24knots no problem( when there was not a problem ) but fuel consumption was about 2.8 miles per gallon. Last year I upgraded to a15 yr old mariner 90 4 stroke. I’m not looking for speed and power. It’s economy and reliability I’m looking for. On my one sea trial so far I found that it is constantly trying to pull you one way(right i think) at harbour speeds. At 4000 rpm it planed beautifully at about 22 knots and steered in balance. The installing engineer had put my old merc 75 prop on it and said to take it to top revs . If they exceeded 5800 we would need a different prop.. I went throttle up….things went badly……it leapt up. It needed trimming…..I reached down to trim it….it was pulling to the right again….hard round we went… frankly I nearly S**t myself but got it all closed down. So to this day I can’t tell you the top speed or revs. I am looking to install hydraulic steering. Im really pleased with the merc 90 but it needs more respect than its predecessor. Further points of note: It fits on the transom but is slightly too big for the well …meaning Unmodified I can’t clip it up for transport. If I stick with cable steering , mods will need doing to the side of the well as there is not enough room for the mechanism. Lastly ,I used to have it insured with the NFU but on renewal they refused to insure a pleasure fishing boat over 85 hp! I didn’t see that one coming.! Other insurers will deliver. .

As you know Colin, farm succession can be a thorny issue. I have told my kids the only thing that is a certainty is that if they ever work for a parking “service” they will be disinherited..

Sandstone rock Poole. I felt like Robinson Crusoe but then along came Philip

Sorry about the movie, I filmed it on iPad and it plays on my iPad. Can anyone tell me how change the-format

No haddies😪

eventually we were rescued by the boy’s sister’s best friend’s husband. Nobodyseemed bothered…..such is island life

Now the good bit..fearing we might be low on fuel we set off back…… yep…..we were right……we had totieoff for awhile in a beautiful sandstone rock pool IMG_0212.MOV

We were finally well into a steady stream of Mackerel from 3m to the bottom say 50 m. I tried to drop beneath them and got a codling. 40 odd mackerel were caught…..not bad size…..water was surprisingly warm..

……Nevertheless. Before very long at all, it was pb time for the boat and Jamie ….. Then Gummage was in. Not quite such an event but hey….

Got to the lighthouse on Bressay and chucked in on the drift. sea state was very good but wind and tide combined to make it a bit swift. Also tide was Ebbing which was not deemed favourite….nevertheless……