Graham Nash

that may have saved me Nigel .... im not sure it will save you tho!

I dont know for sure but I would have thought that the strain of an Alderney retrieval on the windlass would cause mechanical failure pretty quickly, also the weight of a 100 met continuous length of chain is gonna need some size buoy to lift it!

oops ..... its been a long week Martin!

Far away in the tropical waters of the Coral Sea , two prawns were swimming around. One called Kevin and the other called Christian. The prawns were constantly being harassed and threatened by sharks that inhabited the area. Finally one day Kevin said to Christian, 'I'm fed up with being a prawn; I wish I was a shark, and then I wouldn't have any worries about being eaten.' A large mysterious cod appeared and said, 'Your wish is granted' Lo and behold, Kevin turned into a shark. Horrified, Christian immediately swam away, afraid of being eaten by his old mate. Time passed (as it does) and Kevin found life as a shark boring and lonely. All his old mates simply swam away whenever he came close to them. Kevin began to realise that his new menacing appearance was the cause of his sad plight. While swimming alone one day he saw the mysterious cod again and he thought perhaps the mysterious fish could change him back into a prawn. He approached the cod and begged to be changed back, and, lo and behold, he found himself turned back into a prawn. With tears of joy in his tiny little eyes Kevin swam back to his friends and bought them all a cocktail. (The punch line does not involve a prawn cocktail - it's much worse). Looking around the gathering at the reef he realised he couldn't see his old pal. 'Where's Christian?' he asked. 'He's at home, still distraught that his best friend changed sides to the enemy & became a shark', came the reply. Eager to put things right again and end the mutual pain and torture, he set off to Christian's abode. As he opened the coral gate, memories came flooding back. He banged on the door and shouted, 'It's me, Kevin, your old friend, come out and see me again.' Christian replied, 'No way man, you'll eat me. You're now a shark, the enemy, and I'll not be tricked into being your dinner.' Kevin cried back 'No, I'm not. That was the old me. I've changed.'......... (You're going to love this................................) . . . . . . . . 'I've found Cod. I'm a Prawn again Christian'

when being taught about the alderney system by our chairman he showed me exactly what you describe Andrew. He informed me that he uses the windlass when anchoring in a bay with the champers and prawn sandwiches but uses the rope and alderney for anything else

Good to have you over here with us Nick .... Im pretty sure ive seen you out there but have certainly spoken on other forums. Graham.

That is some very impressive figures Martin .... I assume most are the forum pages?

good .... but

my sentiments have been given by others above too Nigel ..... I hope thats it for you this year and things start to get better for you. I also hope someone very handy catches the scroats that do this type of stuff and when they do catch them its in a dark alley with no witnesses .

During the week there was a thread about the Angling Trust limiting it's self to donations from anglers and anglers alone. I suggested that they were unlikely to encourage donations from the public at large with the name that they use. I personally think your link strengthens that argument as it makes them look like they are just a big angling "club"

An old man walks into the barbershop for a shave and a haircut, but he tells the barber he can't get all his whiskers off because his cheeks are wrinkled from age. The barber gets a little wooden ball from a cup on the shelf and tells him to put it inside his cheek to spread out the skin. When he's finished, the old man tells the barber that was the cleanest shave he's had in years. But he wanted to know what would have happened if he had swallowed that little ball. The barber replied: "You just bring it back tomorrow like everyone else does". .........

BBBbbbbrrrrrrrr

I climbed to the top of the Poole TV transmitter many years ago to replace a receiving aerial. It is only about 300ft but it sways about a foot at the top (felt more like 100ft sway). At the time we had we had to climb up the outside of the transmitter fitting bolts into holes in the outside support leg to make our own ladder. I have climbed many structures in the course of my job but that was the scariest (maybe because it was one of the early ones). I also went up in a 60 meter cherry picker once .... an experience NOT TO BE REPEATED!!!

Thank you Duncan ... after reading the above article I have looked into getting a bilge alarm (didnt even know they existed) and I will also sort out softwood bungs. I must confess I was struggling with what to do with this "water pipe" sticking through my hull so i now have a plan

Interesting .... The boat I have in my yard at the moment has a couple of "through the hull" fittings. One looks like a normal 40mm plumbers water pipe, capped off outside (under water) and capped off inside the hull (still below the water line). I have checked both sides and it "seems" to be water tight and looks in good condition. I have not unscrewed the caps on either end (as I dont want to break any seal that may be there). I have no idea what it was for. Would it be better to remove it and fibreglass over the hole ( I would prefer a competent person do that bit if required), leave it as it is or connect a hose on the inside to take it well above the water line just in case the outside cap gives way? (I suppose I could remove the outside cap and connect a pump to this and use it as an input for filling livebait tank or a deck wash system?? or is that as silly an idea as it sounds?) I do not have watertight compartments in the hull, however I have 2 very large automatic bilge pumps and am still to fit a manual pump and my batteries are well above the water line.

Fame at last :-) http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/9500...less_fishermen/ I doubt the morons that drop the rubbish will be able to read but here's hoping someone explains it to them!

I have taken mine out on the raider Mike but i find it a little cramped with 3 dogs and a couple of people. I am making a dog friendly area on the new boat so they can come with me and have FRESH fish for lunch :-) (I'll make sure I remove any hooks tho')

have you got a link

No insurance Neal, and have just come back from the vets after taking her back there today as she was very very unwell this morning. More injections, more bills but at least she is sleeping now. Incidentally, I contacted the Echo this morning and they have come back to me. They are interested in coming to see me on Friday and doing a story about it. If it stops one idiot from leaving his rubbish then it will possibly be worth it. I will write to the Sea Angler too Neal. I dont want anyone elses pet or any swan or any wildlife to go through this.

I post a picture of my poor baby's tummy. Please remember this the next time you drop a trace on the beach or the car park. I cannot believe that anyone from this club would be so inconsiderate as to do it on purpose but it just takes a moments lack of thought for this to happen.

Holes Bay Road Rob. Today I kept the dogs on their leads and was very near the bushes at least 30 yards away from where they fish. I can only imagine someone had thrown their trace into the bushes.

Thanks for the concern lads. The one from Sunday seems to have made a full recovery but the hook was sticking in his cheek so it was a relatively simple case of sedating him and removing the hook then giving him a course of antibiotics. The one today was not so lucky, she actually swallowed the whole trace complete with hooks, swivels and beads.

UNBELIEVABLY I was walking my dogs again today in a different area, well away from where they fish and my other dog swallowed another hook .... the place is littered with them!!! I have just picked her up from the vets along with a

If I even look at it dont forget to kick me!