Bob F

Deep sigh...

Hi Jim, Yeah, I'm still floating in the background. Starting a new job soon, so you never know I might even have time to go fishing again. BTW, a new home has been found for the mags (within 10 mins of posting it!!!).

Boat Fishing Monthly magazines from issue 3 to 63, free to a good home. If interested give me a call on 01258 453759 (Blandford). Cheers Bob F

Ah, shucks! It brings a tear to my eye. I love the boat, and you lot ain't bad, either, so it's hard to call it a day. But you'll not get rid of me that easily, I've got the Open to win, yet.

Sorry guys, but I will have to drop out. I have to be at work on Tuesday. So, JV will not be going to Alderney. Alun, I see you have already made other arrangements to crew for someone else. Rob, you will need to do the same. For me, this is probably the end of my attempt to get to Alderney this year.

Hi Terry Ribeye for me, please. Bob F

1. Alfresco..............Charlie , Dan , Nigel, Ben 2. Mrs. Sea .........Greg, Terry, Alfie. 3. JV....................Bob, Alun, Rob But I can only do Fri-Mon. I have customer appointments on Tues.

I think Rob might be sleeping on board. I'll be in a proper bed, and not with the bunnies!!

Jim, Weather permitting, weather permitting. But, yes, I'm quite excited at the prospect!

It guess the dates in the club calendar were just a place holder that Coddy entered back in 2011. So, the calendar needs to be changed to 11-14th. I think we are all onboard with the 11-14th dates, agreed?

Can someone confirm the dates for the Alderney trip? The posts here seem to suggest 11-14 May but the club calendar is saying 18-21 May. I plan to be taking JV with Alun and Rob as crew. cheers BF

50 and counting...Man, it was tough getting here. All down hill now though. Thanks All!!

Inshore forecast at 12:00 today (Saturday) is: 24 hour forecast: West or northwest 4 or 5. Mainly slight. Showers, becoming fair later. Good. Outlook: Northwest backing west, 4 or 5. Slight, occasionally smooth in the solent. Fair. Moderate or good. As most of the Bream grounds are close to shore and there are sheltered areas with this wind direction, the comp is ON. But, skippers must make their own decisions on the day. The Poole Sea Angling Centre comp is also still going ahead.

Adam and I have an Aquafish 23 which we build a couple of years ago. Standard length cabin. Purchased the bare hull with the deck in place. Got plenty of photos or you can come and have a look. She's moored in Poole. cheers Bob

Colin Yes, if you are having problems with your radar give me a shout. cheers BF

1.) Adam F - JV 2.) Alun J. 3.) Paul F. .......we will either be on Gastro or Imagine 4.) Martin AWOL 5.) Dean AWOL .) Crew AWOL Anyone want a ride out? 7) Dave Evans WIGHT MAGIC 8) Steve Morris WIGHT MAGIC 9) Graham (Little Sal) 2 non members as crew. 10) Kev and 1non member on YELO 11) Bob F - JV 12) Little Rob - JV

Interesting post. It's essential that all our boats have a standard compass on board. For one reason, as you will all remember from the GPS tutorials on club nights , a GPS cannot give a compass reading when the vessel is stationary. The vessel needs to be moving before an accurate compass reading can be calculated by the GPS. So, if you are in fog and moving along at very slow speeds, the GPS may not be giving you an accurate indication of where you are going, or will be slow in updating. Check that the GPS and the manual compass are giving the same reading.

Does he fit in the cabin? Not at 6' 8"!!!! I think we need to raise the gunwales, too. He's great for netting, though. One hell of a reach.

Thanks all. Yes, I hope to get out again during the holidays. It's got my juices going. Merry Xmas Bob

Forgot to tell you, I managed to get out on Weds with Little Rob on JV. First time in months and months and months. I'm pleased to report that there is life in this old dog. He hasn't lost the knack. Had a steady run of Whiting up to ~4lb (my families favorite). Very nice. Then things went quiet for about 20 mins, and I told Rob that maybe the Cod had come in and scared the Whiting away. He didn't believe a word of it, of course, and nor did I. But then I saw my old broomstick rod (matched with an equally old reel) show a couple of small nods, definitely not the rapid Whiting bites, but very subtle. A short gap and another couple of small nods. Looking promising...another small gap and a third set of small nods...interesting. And then...wham! my old broomstick bent over further than it has done in years. I could feel its glass fibre strands snapping at the unexpected strain. I jumped up from my seat quicker than my bones and muscles had expected and they groaned in complaint, but obliged me in getting to rod in time to feel a hefty weight at the end of the line. Boy, was this one fighting. In fact the head nods were so viscous that I called "conger damn it!" But after a longish tustle a big white ball appear below the surface. It was a cod and a good 'en. Rob did a fine job with the net (plenty of practice bringing in big carp) and we soon had a PB cod on the decks. I wanted to do my usual Cod Kiss celebration, but Rob wasn't having any of it. My first Cod over 20, actually weighing 21lbs. Dead chuffed. Merry Christmas, all.

Sorry to hear that, Dave. I know how you feel. Bob

Thanks Charlie.

Just a quick reminder that the focus topic at Thursday's club meeting will be Radar Basics, presented by Alan Hocking with me as his groupie. Alan has obtained a radar simulator, and will be taking us through a basic radar introduction, set up, and use. If time permits we'll have a Q&A session at the end. Charlie - can you remember to bring the projector and screen, please? cheers BF

Hi Ben Best advise I can give is to ask to go out on some of the members boats. There's all sorts within the club, and each has there own merrits. It comes down to personal choise. Non of the boats listed below have bad faults. I'd look at the follwoing, all of which are within the club: Aquafish 23 Arvor range Quicksilver range Orkney Dayangler 21 Jeanneau Karnic Osprey 26 Merry Fisher range Pirate 21 Fisheagal 20 Phaeton Boston Whaler 6.7m Hardy Fisher 20 Souter MI 21ft If you need a hand getting in touch with any of the owners, let me know. cheers Bob

Late notice, but if anyone missed the first side scan demo, Mat will be taking me out tomorrow (Weds 9th June) at 15:30 from Salterns. You are welcome to join. Just let me know if you are coming. cheers Bob Fuller 07802 879073