Afishionado

Guys I may have said I am going to Cuba on holiday in Oct. The average Joe Cuban is desparately poor by our standards plus the fact that even if they get some cash together there is nothing apart from essentials for them to buy. Line fishing is one of the most popular past times for the Cuban working man but as an egalitairian country the orthopeadic surgeon is on the same wage as the road worker. So you get these two guys (litteraly) side by side sitting on the rocks fishing. Their biggest problem is tackle of ANY sort. Cuban law forbids them to shop in what is called $US/Canadian shops in the tourist areas, and it is these shops ONLY that sell up to date fishing gear. So to the point of this ......... I would like to ask the club members via the forum and next meeting to donate any bits of spare line, hooks, swivles, etc that they feel they would like to pass on to a Cuban fisherman. I will be doing the same and infact I am going to give away that rod I got at the Jumble before I leave Cuba. To my mind it is a Fisherman to Fisherman sorta thing, no politics or ideology involved. I will be at the September meeting and the October meeting and would be delighted to accept your gifts to take on to Cuba Mike Harvey PS as they are MAD about T shirts and caps I will take one of each over and get photo's to prove how far our membership stretches

Forgive my forgetfullness but one of you guys and I were talking at the Boat Jumble about squashed flat rubber keel rollers that no longet rotate. I have forgotten who it is to address this to personally, but here is where you want to go to get them........... http://www.craysidemarine.co.uk/ Click on 'specials' and follow the drop down menu........... Mad Mike

Or look at 2486063253 It could be just the job at

Adam I have some stuff you can use (free). It's actualy white plastic window sill extrusion. We can cut a piece of exterior ply to use as backing easily (Table saw and all that in my workshop). Piece of cake really, just bring your wrecked stuff over and you/we can do the do over here. PM me for Phone and address details. (Not so mad really) Mad Mike

Oh no not at all. The guy radioed for help and the lifeboat and the police boat were there in no time at all (the RNLI & the marine police base are only a couple of miles from where it happened). It's just that the local scandle chit chat around Poole Quay is that there are more folk pleased about it than sypathise with him. Mad Mike

Have a look at #2486627030 on ebay. It's a boat and engine, it's local so you can go and look at it, and if it came at the right price keep the engine and sell the boat/trailer on. I have done this sort of deal in the past and ended up with a very cheap engine. Mad Mike

Coddy excidedly gushes.......... off fishing in the Gulf of Mexico just off Sarasota in Florida next week-end want a trip Mike I was there last year Coddy. It's bloody brilliant man!! You can bare boat hire small dorys (like the Dell Quay thingies with 40HP O/B's ) to fish the intercostal waterways but your not allowed out to the sea proper. Or you can get a skippered charter (very expensive but you can often share the cost with a couple of other guys) Never leave your rod unatended! I put mine down for a second and WHAM!! a fish struck and a brand new rod and reel wwnt whoosh over the side. You must get a visitors licence (you can usualy buy one in a K-Mart) The licencing is very strictly enforced and policed. Most of the fishing you can do yourself from small hire boats will be in what the Ynks call 'a pass', which is where the intercoastal waterway opens to the Gulf. Anchor and fish downtide with shrimp which the boat hire dudes will have and rent an air pumped tank to hold them in. A deep sea charter will take you to an artificial reef or deliberately sunken ship to create a rod only fishing zone. Expect Bonito (like mackerel but they run 10 to 20lb) Barracuda. Hammer Head shark, and fish they call Permit which fight like fury. Have a GREAT time and have a full breakfast of fried eggs waffles butter, bacon and maple syrup for me (Go to any of the 'Dennys chain) Mad MIke PS EVERYTHING fishing tackle wise is incredably cheap! There are specialist Sports stores as big as a Tesco supermarket and also fabulous sports areas in Walmarts. Well worth buying stuff to bring home.

1#It (everything that is) is always the skippers fault (well it's his boat innit!) 2#Even when you know the skipper has anchored off the mark it is not polite to tell him. 3#Bring your own bait . Skippers can not be relied upon to let you have anything but 4 times refrozen mackerel 4#Never sugest moving to a better spot. It hurts their already frigile pride. 5#Be ready with your compliments for them finding the LSD hot spot of the century. 6#Do not mention that when you crewed for XXXX two days earlier, what a stonking day you had with them. ( it's the pride thing again) 7#Their boat is handy, compact, easy to launch, or even bijou. Never 'smaller' than XXXX's boat which has 'proper seats'. 8#As you will inevitably catch more and larger fish than the skipper, it is unpolite to point this out to him at 15 minute intervals. And NEVER sugest that he tries to rig his terminal takle like you do (even though you were shown the rig by Matt Hayes when you crewed for him). 9#Be patient and understanding when skipper dicks about trying to get the boat off the trailer on a falling tide. 10#Be even more patient and understanding when their dicking about has caused them to end up with the boat high and dry 20ft from the trailer with an hour to go untill dead low. 11#Always remember to arrive at the slip in your own car. NEVER accept a lift in the skippers car. This means that when the dick head has finished up as in #10 above, you can bugger off home to a warm cuppa whilst tit head waits for the tide. 12 Skippers actually like you to try up-tiding with your 6ft Ugly Stick even though they let out the odd squeek as the lead, and size 0/6 baitholder flashes past their eyes at 2" distance. (They have always wanted to try it themselves but lack the sheer guts that you have.) 13# Never offer to chip in with the fuel costs. Skippers are a touchy breed and will only think you are patronising them. I am sure those of us who crew will have other little pearls of wisdom to pass on to the newcomer to crewing, and I for one would love to hear them. Mad Mike PS I am availablr to crew next week end ...............................Any one?

Ah! We got the whole scoop from one of the Poole charter skippers at the boat jumble. Apparantly this boat is well known by the professional skippers. The unlicenced owner of it takes out diving parties, claiming that all occupants are friends and do not pay for the trip. The boat was old and as it was unlicenced had never been safety checked. When it sank it had 10 aboard and safety equipment for four! There is an unmarked small boat channel going over the gravel bar that stretches from the fuel barge towards Aunt Betty bouy. It is basicly taking one side of a triangle instead of two and a short cut. Well this dude in his overloaded rotten hulled ancient wooden boat missed the 10ft wide little channel and ran his boat at full chat onto the gravel., thus ripping the rotten soft double diaganol wooden bottom out. It didn't so much as sink, more it failed to float when the tide came up. As the owner was disliked by the professional skippers there is a certain amount of merryment at his misfortune. Mad Mike

Thread and Pipe Elliot road Industrial estate Wallisdown It's the first unit on the left as you go into the center of the estate. Mad Mike

Printable version Ten rescued from sinking cruiser The motor cruiser sank in Poole Harbour Six adults and four children have been rescued from a sinking motor cruiser in Dorset's Poole Harbour. A Mayday call was sent from the 45ft boat Freedom at 0948 BST on Saturday, saying the boat had hit something and was sinking off Brownsea Island. Portland Coastguard helicopter and both of Poole's lifeboats were scrambled. Nine crew were rescued by a local safety boat and taken to shore. The skipper stayed with the lifeboats to try to save the boat, which later sank. Weather conditions at the time of the accident were very poor due to fog, Portland Coastguard said. Spokeswoman Tonia Hallett said: "The Salterns Marina Yacht Club boat was able to respond to the Mayday and was on scene within minutes, by 0959 BST. "All but the skipper were taken to Salterns Marina. "The skipper transferred to the Poole inshore lifeboat with the hope of being able to put a pump aboard the vessel, but unfortunately the vessel has now sunk." Mad Mike

Paul gasps.........Caught a nice sized starry smoothhound - didnt get to weigh it though as I got called out by work whilst fish was alongside the boat - fish then decided to make a break for freedom while I was on the phone and straightened out the hook Paul, was the episode worthy of a 'Youv'e been framed' video clip. I can imagine it now . Was Helen with you? What a shame you had to cut the day short. I bet you were well 't'eed off. Never mind mate have a great day at Weymouth. Mad Mike

Think I would have preferd the blonde myself ................. Coddy Yes on a wire trace and a 3/0 treble they are a good trolling bait for 'cuda I think it's the blond wavey hair wot does it Mad Mike

Happy birthday mate, and many of them.... Mad Mike

One of the first things is indeed the wreck it's self. I 'spose it's a 'given' really. Mainly you need tough tackle because the fish will dive for the safety of the wreck once hooked. So bendy rods and 20lb line are out. The two basic methods of fishing are to anchor up tide of the wreck and fish down to it. This is OK if the water is not too deep or the tide too fast. However as most good fishing wrecks are in deep fast running water the Drift method is most commonly used. The 'art' of drift fishing a wreck is for the skipper to know his job so well that he can consitently find and go over or very close to the wreck each drift. Sometimes one only gets a couple of minutes or less per drift. Mad Mike

To quote the motto of the Guards........ 'honi soit qui mal y pense' (evil is he that evil thinks) I would sugest I could be thought of as either depending on the generousity of ones nature. Mad Mike

The speed thingy is quite easily explained. It's basicly vector velocity. Assuming the true straight ahead course is the X-axis, and LHS is the negetive X-axis, and the RHS is positive X-axis. As the boat is travelling at the direction (dictated) by the ob (in this case slightly to the right, say 10 degree). The boat is travelling at 100% (presuming no energy lose to friction etc) of the output, in the direction of 10 degree. Say However, if Jim wants to stay on the [true] course, he has to compensate it with a counter balancing force along the -ve X-axis. Resulting with a slightly less the 100% of output, probably around 92%. Hence the drop in speed. Well we all knew that anyway, 'sobvious innit! An' in practical applications of your formula you gotta take asymetric velocity vector due to varying drag coefficients into account any road up innit! The big question is answered easily by getting Victor to stand on the other side of the boat or leave the bugger at home for causing all this trouble anyway innit! Mad Mike

One has to set it at a slight angle to aim the bow away from the direction its trying to turn, sorta like an aircrafts tail fin. Mad Mike

By the cringe I bet your right Coddy!! Often these little dodads double as a sacrificial anode, and if that has worn away so it no longer counteracts the engine torque that'll be the answer. Mad Mike

OK let's go through the obvious which I am sure you have but any way it's worth saying again. Is the engine vertical to the horizontal of the transom? Ditto to an imaginary lie taken from the water line of each side? A new prop with a higher blade ratio causung a 'paddle wheel' affect which will push the stern in the direction of the prop rotation. Uneveness of prop pitch (one blade out of pitch?) Engine in EXACT alignment fore and aft?** A weight distribution problem moving the fuel and the battery to the same side? You've got fatter aswell? ** I've seen this once or twice....... On an older boat the internal wood braceing between the two GRP surfaces of the transom has softend arround on clamp/mounting point but not the other. So when the clamps/mounts are tightened up the transom compresses slightly on one side causing a thrust bias because the engine might be everso slightly off from 90deg fore and aft to the transom. Mad Mike

Bloody good job I asked ........ Coulda turned up Saturday and looked a complete twit!! Ah, in that case Paul I very reluctantly have to say no to Saturday as I have some jobs to do with Carol and Morgan in the garden. Elivating the shed so it sits at the same level as the new decking. As Aristotle once said "Give me a long enough lever and a place to stand and I could move the earth" He also said " Here's looking at Euclid" but thats another story.......... Mad Mike

It must have been a very sureal experiance walking on a deserted coast with nothing but the gaunt time worn bones and the ghosts of these creatures. A place and a time for introspection I guess. Mad MIke

There is a huge amount of body fat in a whale and as it is less dense than water the fat makes it float. Also I wonder if all that decaying material in a small area like the Solent would be a good idea. Mind you Portsmouth is on the Solent and you should smell that on a Friday night!!! Mad Mike

I'm getting muddled (senior moment) When is the boat Jumble that I have volanteered my meager services for. If it's not this Sat comeing then yes please. Where and when? Mad Mike

If your short of a crew one day Paul give me a shout please. Mad Mike