mark
Well-known member
just back from a fortnights jollies up the west coast. Not the best, if any ones been watching the weather in that part. been blowing a hoolie for the last 2 weeks, form a 4-5 at best to an 11 at one point.
so there I am 4 miles out, just west of muck, when the F4 which I can cope with decided to go loopy, time to head homeward sez I, so of we potter nice and steady, 8-10k bouncing through the lumps, when the engine suddenly sounded a lot smoother, which was great, except we were no longer moving... shear pin lived up to its name!
don\'t know why but I\'d taken me old seagull with us, just in case. Never bother usually, but glad I did. never been used in anger for getting on for 10 years, but started 3rd pull and of we puttered, making as much as 3-4knots. it was going to be a long hour back....(ended up nearly 2) the sea just got bigger and bigger as we bounced our way back. TK was watching all from the shore and thought we had sunk several times as the boat dissappeared into the swell over 12foot to the top of the aerial!
worst bit wass yet to come though, the mooring is got to through a bit of a slalom course through some pretty rough skeers into a sheltered inlet. Problem is, the sea packs up around the skeers and there\'s always a standing wave to get over. only with the sea lifting, this standing wave was now a roller breaking in both directions about 8 or 10 feet high!, no way would the seagull have the power to beat that, so thought a short cut was called for. there are other routes in, depending on tide and I reckoned there was enough tide to nip around a couple of other rocks with maybe a foot or so clearance underneath. the seagull is a long shaft and drops lower than the main OB, and decided to mince the kelp on the way over and tie the prop up, not good. at the same point in time when the swell lifted us up and dumped us straight on top of some nice sharp granite! out come the oars! and paddle like fuck! managed to get free on the next swell and in to shelter not the best days fishing I\'ve ever experienced. Stornoway coastguard issued a a sever F11 warning just after we got in. Some poor sods in a trawler were stuck in the F11 all night with no engine and had to be lifted off by the helicopter. the mooring held over night, which amzed me as I\'d built it!, but the wind/waves actually blew one of the windows in on the boat. The weather station at the lighthouse next day had recorded a gust of 98.6MPH!
trip to balamory was needed for a new shear pin, none in the chandlers, but they did point me up the hill (just next door to Miss Hoolies house) to see \'Phillipe\' french marine engineer who went to mull on holiday 10 years ago and never went home, he had none either but whipped out his micrometer measure whats was left of my pin (0.633in di) stuck a bit of stainless on a lather and within seconds had turned it down to exactly .633 thou, well impressed and charged me a quid!
as for the fish, only got out 3 times, and the second 2 of those was just in the bay - basically drop down for a bit wind in, pump the bilges and then repeat!
managed millions of mackeral, lots of coaies and pollack - all substatially larger than usual, 1 small ling, doggies and a conger about 8lb. the conger, (I say conger I mean swimming ferret) lands in the fish box and was a given a severe beating with the priest, which I think it quite enjoyed, so out comes the folding back up anchor in an attempt to subdue it a little, brayed it about the head and thought it was nicely subdued so carried on fishing. and hour later back at the mooring, puts me hand in the box ot lift it out to show the bairns and the sodding thing bit me, not just a wee nip either, took a dive at me hand grabbed a finger and wouldn\'t let go, soddin powerful things these conger so decided it deserved it deserved its liberty so lifted it over the side and put it in the water, it sort of looked at me as it to say next time it\'ll be your throat and then calmly swam off.
wasn\'t allowed to eat the doggies either cos the family all though they were too pretty
couple of small wrasse, small flounders and some huge launce as well so not a the big species hunt I\'d hoped for
took 6 pots up lost 3 in the storm, one with an action man diver in it, finn though it might be fun for his action man to wrestle giant crabs, armed only with with his little plastic dive knife!, so any one north of ardnamurchan finds a lobster pot with an action man in......
some canny big basking sharks cruised by a couple of times. jeez have they got big gobs or what, the dorsal fin must of stood a metre or more out of the water.
fishing from the rocks produced the usual holy trinity of mackeral, coalies and pollack, but not as many of the weeny little pollack. don\'t know if the rough weather brought the big uns in, but the small ones were all a good pound or so, best about 4lb from under the lighthouse and plenty of em. almost a fish every cast
roil on october
Anyone want to buy a leaky boat that smells of poo!
[Edited on 29/8/2005 by mark]
so there I am 4 miles out, just west of muck, when the F4 which I can cope with decided to go loopy, time to head homeward sez I, so of we potter nice and steady, 8-10k bouncing through the lumps, when the engine suddenly sounded a lot smoother, which was great, except we were no longer moving... shear pin lived up to its name!
don\'t know why but I\'d taken me old seagull with us, just in case. Never bother usually, but glad I did. never been used in anger for getting on for 10 years, but started 3rd pull and of we puttered, making as much as 3-4knots. it was going to be a long hour back....(ended up nearly 2) the sea just got bigger and bigger as we bounced our way back. TK was watching all from the shore and thought we had sunk several times as the boat dissappeared into the swell over 12foot to the top of the aerial!
worst bit wass yet to come though, the mooring is got to through a bit of a slalom course through some pretty rough skeers into a sheltered inlet. Problem is, the sea packs up around the skeers and there\'s always a standing wave to get over. only with the sea lifting, this standing wave was now a roller breaking in both directions about 8 or 10 feet high!, no way would the seagull have the power to beat that, so thought a short cut was called for. there are other routes in, depending on tide and I reckoned there was enough tide to nip around a couple of other rocks with maybe a foot or so clearance underneath. the seagull is a long shaft and drops lower than the main OB, and decided to mince the kelp on the way over and tie the prop up, not good. at the same point in time when the swell lifted us up and dumped us straight on top of some nice sharp granite! out come the oars! and paddle like fuck! managed to get free on the next swell and in to shelter not the best days fishing I\'ve ever experienced. Stornoway coastguard issued a a sever F11 warning just after we got in. Some poor sods in a trawler were stuck in the F11 all night with no engine and had to be lifted off by the helicopter. the mooring held over night, which amzed me as I\'d built it!, but the wind/waves actually blew one of the windows in on the boat. The weather station at the lighthouse next day had recorded a gust of 98.6MPH!
trip to balamory was needed for a new shear pin, none in the chandlers, but they did point me up the hill (just next door to Miss Hoolies house) to see \'Phillipe\' french marine engineer who went to mull on holiday 10 years ago and never went home, he had none either but whipped out his micrometer measure whats was left of my pin (0.633in di) stuck a bit of stainless on a lather and within seconds had turned it down to exactly .633 thou, well impressed and charged me a quid!
as for the fish, only got out 3 times, and the second 2 of those was just in the bay - basically drop down for a bit wind in, pump the bilges and then repeat!
managed millions of mackeral, lots of coaies and pollack - all substatially larger than usual, 1 small ling, doggies and a conger about 8lb. the conger, (I say conger I mean swimming ferret) lands in the fish box and was a given a severe beating with the priest, which I think it quite enjoyed, so out comes the folding back up anchor in an attempt to subdue it a little, brayed it about the head and thought it was nicely subdued so carried on fishing. and hour later back at the mooring, puts me hand in the box ot lift it out to show the bairns and the sodding thing bit me, not just a wee nip either, took a dive at me hand grabbed a finger and wouldn\'t let go, soddin powerful things these conger so decided it deserved it deserved its liberty so lifted it over the side and put it in the water, it sort of looked at me as it to say next time it\'ll be your throat and then calmly swam off.
wasn\'t allowed to eat the doggies either cos the family all though they were too pretty
couple of small wrasse, small flounders and some huge launce as well so not a the big species hunt I\'d hoped for
took 6 pots up lost 3 in the storm, one with an action man diver in it, finn though it might be fun for his action man to wrestle giant crabs, armed only with with his little plastic dive knife!, so any one north of ardnamurchan finds a lobster pot with an action man in......
some canny big basking sharks cruised by a couple of times. jeez have they got big gobs or what, the dorsal fin must of stood a metre or more out of the water.
fishing from the rocks produced the usual holy trinity of mackeral, coalies and pollack, but not as many of the weeny little pollack. don\'t know if the rough weather brought the big uns in, but the small ones were all a good pound or so, best about 4lb from under the lighthouse and plenty of em. almost a fish every cast
roil on october
Anyone want to buy a leaky boat that smells of poo!
[Edited on 29/8/2005 by mark]
