duncan

As Adam suggests there are a number of factors to take into account when considering which rig to fish for bream....... 1. anchor or drifting 2. speed of tide 3. bottom! 4. scratching or catching At anchor over typically rough bream ground with a nice flow of tide I usually start with a 1 up 1 down rig possibly alternating baits between the two hooks or fishing 2 rods with different baits. From this I establish the bait and the preferred hook as well as gernerally how much activity is going on. This can lead to me switching to a single hook, paternoster or running ledger (depending on the above) with the bait of the day. I don't like twin paternoster rigs for bream as hooking up to 2 fish will inevitably result in them getting badly ripped mouths from darting against each other. As Adam I prefer to keep it simple and fish springy hooks - my favorite is small light wire crab patterns or semi circles for best hook ups, but small gap long shank to unhook easily if lots of small fish around.

sorry Trev - note to self to stop mentioning fishing or fish on here...........

well - as the top one has many design features in common with boat's life boats it makes sense to me! the debate as to whether manufacturers are wrong (misleading) in taking an easy option and going for a lower category than they might be able to achieve for their craft is an ongoing one - personally little comfort in a number and believe C & B have little practical differential (both can easily find themselves struggling in conditions that could happen in waters within their designation - I have fallen into holes off Peveril that have given huge cause for concern!). both of the craft you picture will survive conditions that you would not knowingly, or willingly, set out to be in - by a factor! that said I think I would go for the lower one given a choice............

June Mike, that way when you finish fishing the banks at last light you have a nice night sail back to a port for breakfast I like between 0.8 and 1.3 knots of tide over the bank for the flats - with tha acceleration due to shallowing this can be created with significantly less running off the banks ie neaps It does help to be able to run from A to B quickly, although the Schole has a lot of opportunities in quite a tight area eg you can base yourself at the south and just move your drift a little each time covering the area of the bank like a clock.

sounds like progress Adam so I wish you well as you take the next step One small thought - at first glance TBA! doesn't look like a great boat name but I suppose it grows on you As regards Alderney - one of the certainties of 2008 is that the club tub record will be broken; who by is however amazingly open! Martin has proved he can find them and hok them - but also has a stunning drop rate for big flats from AWOL Charlie - is Charlie, and I can't see him returning without one; whatever it takes Tom only needs to spend more time on the banks and less on the wrecks Alun and PJ are both waving their hitchhiking thumbs like crazy and are committed and proven respectively...... and then there's Mike Fox - but on a big tide he will only get one drift per 6 hours........ Someone will get a 16 is my prediction

Just to remind people - brother in law's 6.5m rib / suzy 125 got nabbed from a locked barn in the oxford area last week. looks like everyone is getting their stock together for the new season. take care

Alan, my 2p as electronic charts are out of date before they hit the shelves I wouldn't rely on them for things that move (buoys and sand bars) but, recognising this have no issue with using old ones (I have 3 onboard with charts ranging from 1997 through 2006 but they seem to corellate even on their idea of the banks and channels!) I am with Dave on maintaining an up to date paper chart but with small boats in crowded waters I am also happy to consider small boats perched on rocks as a good indication of a new hazard.......... A good fishfinder can give hours of fun and frustration - but is invaluable offshore. It is amazing what you get for the money nowadays. I don't think you can consider flares etc in the same area - start there and look at the budget left after they are adequate. all the best

which one the heating oil or Tescos? fortunately Phaeton has a diesel heater (in case I need to take on the occasional litre or two in Poole) and a main tank large enough to plan on filling up in Cherbourg, Braye or St PP most of the time. I also have the option of swapping the fresh water tank for another 140 litre fuel tank plus auxillary 80 litre temporary storage capacity in the same area. overall this would mean adding another 220 kg which is well within the boats operating tolerance - but will reduce the capacity for guests........... consideration is currently underway regarding coding and a small business that might just make a profit - or not. I'm not happy about the railings but the main safety equipement is a no brainer and the liferaft can be installed on the roof acording to the manufacturer. could be booking in for the first aid and sea survival courses sooner than anticipated!

even the lucky ba@tards being referred to aren't as lucky as most non company car drivers seem to think! I voluantarily gave up company paid private milage becasue the income tax to the revenue in respect of the benefit in kind was more than the value. equally I currently pay Gordon (still think of it as him not Alaistair) close on 400 a month just to have my company car sitting on my drive and available to use. I am not bleating - it's my choice after all so I must think it worth it overall - but it's nothing like the benefit it was 12 years ago when I paid about

Never been to the Isle of White in your boat? Yarmouth is a great overnight for a fishing weekend, as is Weymouth - although I am expecting you to join us in Alderney this year which is even better Jack! Next year Alderney will pay for itself easily, and Cherbourg is starting to look like a great overnight stop that will pay for dinner too.....

nice photo

just pick up on the comment - recovery load generally I try to keep this as a nice light even pressure - recovery in deep water on the windlass is a 2 man job in a big tide using the engine to stem the tide. alderney ring is much much better!

sounds a well balanced rode overall

Awe shucks............thanks guys. Got the family coming round for Sunday lunch later (our version having gradually shifted to 1800h nowadays but we still call this one lunch) so I am poping out now for the food... and will have a couple of glasses as I cook! Ans yes i am still 'dreaming' of some lovely weather and CI trips in the spring ........ as I believe are others. tight lines D

OK I will make the following points then 1. I never never use the windlass to lower the anchor other than in shallow crowded anchorages. In any depth it takes too long. 2. Most installations have the switches at the windlass for good reason - you need to attend to the damm thing on recovery! Especially valid for smaller craft 3. Most small craft don't have the anchor locker (chain locker) necessay for the volume of chain needed to be able to anchor in most of the areas we operate in (200ft minimum assuming 60ft depth) and realistically you will easliy find yourself in 90ft so 300ft best. 4. If you don't want to have to take care you need all chain and this would be 6mm on your boat. Even 200ft 6mm chain is going to be the same as carrying a reasonanably sized adult sitting on the bow all the time............ 5. The windlass and cabling weighs a fair bit as well They are fantastic for easily anchoring and recovering in and around the harbour in shallow water like Studland, Swanage and you would be fine with 50ft 6mm chain and a remote switch at the helm - we only have small tidal movements etc Don't forget to rig a snubber for safety and comfort. Having a proper anchor attached to 100m mixed rode in a locker would be the safety item.

well we were due an anchoring thread as the last long one was over 2 years ago............. worth revisiting as there was a lot of info on it. some great points made here already which are worth dragging out specifically 1. sharpening the leading edge of the claw design and the point of the cqr (and other plough types) is usefull and can provide the edge (sry) in weed over sand/mud for the former and hard sand/sand over clay for the latter. 2. sods law says that any anchor rigged to trip will eventually do so when you don't want it to. personally I will never overnight on a hook rigged to trip in any way at all - if (and when) I loose the lot I will use one of the spares onboard - setting myself up I know! 3. there are some incrediabley efficient new(ish) designs out there, and some relatively poor performing old ones. they all have strengths and weaknesses (when you take into account cost - which you shouldn't but we all do) and some have quirks - I have a 10kg Sword (Spade/Oceane) which the designer gave me to test (against the 10kg Claw and 10kg delta I used). Fantastic holding but had to be set hard where the claw and delta would self set as any load went on - learning curve! 4. there is an alternative to weight - but I wouldn't recomend it as a general anchor. 1.5kg aluminium spade on minimum 6:1 all rope rode will hold like you will not believe in Poole Harbour. 5. few of us should ever get anywhere near the operating limits of our anchoring gear - but we should have the gear that will handle those needs should they arise. 6. Craig (Rocna) is not a fan of Manson.........but they do agree on one thing - the CQR isn't as good as the number sold, installed, in use, suggest....... 7. when recovering from a session on a wreck either (a) wait for the tide to be taking you away from the structure or ( get it up a fair distance very quickly! If anyone want's to borrow either claw's in 7.5 or 10kg, or the 10kg sword, please let me know - the delta is back as my current preference but it does work it's way through gravel banks a bit Personally, like Charlie, I use a relatively heavy section of chain as an important part of my rode (17m of 8mm) which adds 25kg to my 10kg hook. 10m 10mm would do the same (but wouldn't fit my gypsy!). however the elasticity of the nylon is equally important in the overall scheme of anchoring and in shallow water I will always fit a snubber.

Peter I think the powers that be did extensive research (taking your, mine and Jack's catch reports and giving them to a 30 person analysis team) and concluded that if we were truly representative of the RSA as a whole there would be little impact on the poor old cod! I have had 9 on board since launch in April 2001 with 2 of those coming from mid channel. On the bright side 2 of them netted

in a bizzarre twist of fate presumably the 12m ones are fine to land cod from anywhere over 6 miles out, but those under 10m aren't able to land any caught East of 2 degrees!

hmm, you're brave!! With regard to weather, invariably it's a force higher in Alderney than anywhere else in the channel, and big tides only ever make it worse. Tackleshop Mark does have a dinghy, but it's a nightmare to row, and the paint will come off it and get all over your hull if your fendering's not brilliant, believe me, I know, LOL! He'd let you use though I reckon. one of those settled periods that seem to happen all to infrequently - note sun cream!

I don't know Jack, but it's always a risk (or a certainty like death and taxes I guess). however it was noticable that when responded to a suggestion of attending a dinner party 'in May' with "not May - I am keeping all of that clear for fishing" ; I got no funny looks or quips at all! on the other hand I do still have a complete renovation of the lounge to complete before then including fireplace etc and flooring so I am not absolutely in the clear yet. If we don;t get good weather in the spring I am not quite sure how I will handle things either................

anyhow back to more important things - my landing floor is almost finished and the oak is looking super (if I say so myself). Going to leave it a month before finishing off the doorways to allow for any movement. why would anyone want ot go out in a boat at this time of year when they can have so much fun in the house?

Martin What was the weather we had on that crossing when I joined you guys with Quest II and Duncan came on Phaeton? I wouldn't want to cross in any more than that. It is no longer fun. I seem to remember that was about a 5 on the nose????? It dies off nicely by the afternoon (after we had made an early run for it to miss the forecast of it arriving at midday) Tom 'twas a 6 on the nose at times - I remember the trip well despite it being uneventful! the only reasons we went were - 1. the forecast for the next 5 days were sun and F0-F1 2. we initially thought we were travelling in company 3. I only flew in from abroad a few hours earlier and hadn't really been thinking about it 4. we knew it wasn't going to get much worse as we crossed - the worst conditions were expected about 5 miles S of Anvil point. So we batterned everything down, made up flasks and sarnies and headed off . In actual fact the sea did get worse approaching Alderney as the wavelength got shorter - but by then we had slotted in behind Quest (it was a mile ahead) and took comfort from their antics (it looked worse on there than it felt on Phaeton! 5. we weren't sleeping onboard so knew we could get a good nights sleep whatever on arrival. on the other hand we didn't still head off 'because we had arranged to do so' with regard to the other brave bunnies on here I personally wouldn't head over in more than a 3-4SW - this gives the option of finding a more comfortable course to the S if I find the conditions off Anvil make the going to heavy on 210M and I can make for Cherbourg on the first night and run across to the Schole early the next morning. Having done this twice I have found on both occassions I have been able to come back on course for Alderney later in the trip without having taken too big a detour and maintaining 16 knots. Any more and I will postpone - three times in 2006 I set off for Alderney and ended up in Weymouth......... coming back is usually easier as if the weather does come up quickly it's usually from the SW and we can still maintain a decent speed. This was heading over in 2006 on the Friday evening in June for the 48hour comp or it may have been coming back on the Sunday.............

when there's motion like that Mike I am tucked up in St PP or Beaucette! The latter is well placed for the fishing grounds but the sill is 1' too high to make it really practicable for our boats on neap tides and you get locked in too long on others (as well as cost). overall about 2/3rds of the buoys have mooring strops that, apart from being a bit dirty to handle, are best. We tend to pick up on of these and simply run a short length of 14mm through it. the problem with chain is that you end up with either a complex series of chain/warp connections and a lot of length or you end up kissing the buoy all night with the bow. it's a good tip not to just tie up with a loop of thin warp though

I totally agree Martin. Good reasons for a few boats - but equally good ones to avoid complex detailed arrangements!