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Post by pilgrim17 on Nov 28, 2015 13:30:51 GMT 1
Yet another day in paradise!
Yet another day that Mumbles Belle will have to do without me! Lets hope her batteries are fully charged & the automatic bilge pumps are functioning properly (everything should be ok the solar charger should help a bit), & the engine had a good run on Thursday to charge the batteries, but it still concerns me At least Carls idler roller is getting well rained upon, so it should be nicely rusted by the time I get down there, & that should give the perfect surface for galv paint once I have wire brushed the surface Thursday still looks like the forecast is suitable for us to get out, lets just hope it holds (we have been very lucky the last 3 times) & at least Mumbles does give a lot of shelter from W & NW winds. I see no reason to change the area we are catching fish, boats going further out only seem to be having problems holding bottom, & seem to be catching lots of dogfish We are having a few in Mumbles but not in the plague proportions they seem to be having outside. Once the jumbo whiting appear on the Green Grounds I will consider changing the area to chase them, but at the moment we seem to be consistent so we will continue to go to the same area for as long as possible, because it is comfortable fishing too. I put a "wanted" advert on Social Media for another 8lb-12lb Ugly Stick & one of the commercial skippers commented that "I didn't need a boat rod, because we are fishing off the beach" I am quite happy to "fish off the beach" when we have 4 successful trips in succession, so Gareth "UP YOURS" I have had one angler for the Boxing Day Challenge so we are viable, & I would like to fill the boat, come on blow those Christmas cobwebs away, you might even win a festive prize lets just hope Santa brings some nice weather for the day!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Nov 29, 2015 11:34:46 GMT 1
Another contradictory forecast for Thursday!
BBC are forecasting quite strong SE winds until about 3pm on Thursday, whereas XC are giving very light to almost nothing winds from the NW/N? How can 2 forecasters (assuming they are using the same information) come up with totally different forecasts? Unless I get some anglers it is irrelevant anyway, even I cant go out on my own (although with the new idler roller fitted I can safely bring the anchor up on my own if need be ). Once again I cant see me getting down the marina today, unless I borrow my wife's car, the bike is far too unstable in high winds it gets blown all over the place, & motorists tend not to see me at the best of times, betting blown across the road would be the excuse they need to flatten me So unless I get the car Mumbles Belle can fend for herself for another day! More bloody weather confusion! Now XC say Thursday is out with high gusts up to 35mph whilst BBC say its going to moderate? XC now say Friday is going to be what Thursday was like (light NW wind) whereas BBC say its going to blow a gale! Bloody forecaster should be tied to a cows tail & shit to death! They forecast that this wind would die by about 3pm its now 4pm & getting stronger, has nobody bothered to open the window in the Met Office & stick their hand out?? I will post trips for any suitable days later on in the week, you cant really predict anything, the boat will be ready to go at a minutes notice, all we need is bait & anglers!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Nov 30, 2015 14:44:31 GMT 1
Forecasts are still contradictory!
With one site giving a forecast we can live with, & another saying very different for the same day? Luckily there is not a lot of interest for the trip on either Thursday or Friday, so if the weather stays bad there wont be much disappointment. The forecast for tomorrow is better than for today with the wind dropping somewhat & it staying dry, which means that at least I can get down to the marina & do some of the chores I have to do. The new idler roller needs wire brushing & painting with cold galv paint, the engine needs to be run to charge the batteries as the auto bilge pumps must be working overtime in this weather, the two forward compartments will need pumping out, the engine oil level needs checking as does the water level, the propshaft & rudder shaft need greasing etc etc etc so if I cant use the bike I can get the bus down to the Quadrant & walk down from there. I hope Richie is having better weather in Benidorm than we are having here, otherwise the bar in the All Inclusive will be getting a REAL hammering. I hope they sort out this electricity problem on the pontoon soon, being without electricity is a real pain, the guy who has been using out current supply point has allowed his credit to run out, & we had an agreement that when I needed to plug in for power I would unplug his & plug ours in, but now his credit has expired neither of us have power! Time to have a word with the marina people I reckon! Looking at 3 separate weather sites for Thursday & reading their forecasts (determined from the same data for forecasts given for 0900 1200 1500 1800 (that is 3 sites each giving 4 predictions) only two out of the 12 wind speeds tallied (1200 18mph) & none of the 12 wind direction predictions tallied! The worst was BBC forecasting NW wind @ 13mph @1800 whilst Wind Guru predicted 13mph wind SW @1800, not terribly different in wind speeds, but the directions are 90 degrees different? How can they all get such different forecasts using the same raw data? I will wait until Wednesday evening until I make the call & look at the sea conditions on "Gower Live" at last light to decide, & seeing as I will be buying my bait I will leave it until 0830 on Thursday if necessary until I make the FINAL call!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Dec 1, 2015 13:43:43 GMT 1
Got down to the marina today
At last the rain stopped (for a while) & the wind dropped sufficiently for me to venture onto the road on "Hercules", in a few places the bike was being blown quite badly & it was a feet out stabilisers job Anyway I got there in one piece & found out the my fears were unfounded & Mumbles Belle was sat well up in the water like a big orange duck, the automatic bilge pumps are obviously working as they should, & when switched to manual only a small amount of water pumped out. I ran the engine to recharge the batteries & she started no problem, its a shame there isn't a voltmeter & ammeter fitted, along with temperature & oil pressure gauges, they would be very useful engine management devices, maybe once I have generated more money towards the spring, it might be a request to the boat committee, because at the moment I am "flying blind". Knowing that the alternator is charging the batteries at a glance, & knowing that the engine is at the right temperature, & that you have good oil pressure, have always been "standards" in my own boats, & I miss knowing what's going on under the bonnet, so I might investigate E-Bay I managed to cold galv the idler roller (well the parts the rope doesn't run on) no point in painting the parts where the rope & chain run, the paint would be off on the first lift I have cancelled the proposed trip for Thursday/Friday as there was no interest shown (I think people are concerned about the weather) although I went down to the observatory this morning to look at the sea state, & after all the wind we have had (& it was still quite windy) I would have had no hesitation in taking Belle to Mumbles today. So I have booked myself onto the Oystercat on Thursday, let somebody else do the work, & the cooking while I sit back & relax. I see the Commodore isn't aboard so that should mean I have a tangle free day! Lets see what the weekend brings weather wise, & lets see if I can get another trip in.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Dec 2, 2015 16:57:19 GMT 1
That's Plan B gone tits up!
With support for a trip on Thursday or Friday being about as popular as a turd in a swimming pool, I called it off & did the unthinkable I booked passage on the "Flying Pallet" for Thursday! Then came the message that the trip out to the SWIGG/Mixon was only 50/50, I was going to suggest that we fish Mumbles moorings for shelter (well they go to Oxwich moorings to fish 200yds off the shore) maybe its a cred thing because not many see them in Oxwich? Anyway with the forecast for SSW winds of 40mph in the afternoon getting home from Mumbles would be a nightmare I think I might have got off & caught a bus back from Knab Rock So I am "fishingless" now until at least next Thursday as the forecast is for strong winds every day from all sites, so if it stays dry I can do the painting I wanted to do. I don't know if I will be down the club on Thursday as Richie is on holidays, I hope he is getting better weather than we are!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Dec 4, 2015 21:25:58 GMT 1
Sunday still looks uncertain
I called Sundays proposed trip off yesterday, because the forecast was for strong winds until about 9am dropping quickly throughout the day, but I was concerned that if they didn't drop early enough, I was going to have a pontoon full of blokes wanting my scalp, so I decided to let then sleep in instead. Now it looks as if it might well be calmer earlier, & we could have got away with it, so do I curse myself for calling it off too early? Or convince myself that it was for the best & its safety first? Anyway I will make my way down the marina tomorrow to do one or two chores, I want to check the engine to see if there is an oil pressure sender switch on there, & if there is a temperature sender switch in the head, or in the water jacket or in the thermostat anywhere. The problem with these 3 cylinder Listers & Petters engines, is that they were designed to run dumpers, generators, mixers etc which don't have such gauges fitted. I really need to know what is going on in the engine compartment & what is happening to the charging system, than I currently do At present I have a red light that comes on when I switch on & goes off when I start the engine, now whether that is an oil warning light or a charge indicator I don't know? I assume its charge indication, because oil warnings are either green, or orange, but I want more indication of what's going on "under the bonnet" than a single red warning light! The oil pressure could be well below normal before the warning light comes on, same with the temperature which could be off the scale & I wouldn't know until I saw smoke or smelled burning, I need more indication for safety. The same with the charging system, I need more than an ignition warning light to let me know the level of charge & the rate of charge from alternator to batteries, I would like a combines volt/amp meter to give more information. I need to go down tomorrow to look at another Ugly Stik that a guy has for sale, so with winds forecast for 50mph I will take the bus, I don't fancy flying on Hercules (who doesn't like the wind) so its a Shanks Pony & hope the rain stays away.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Dec 5, 2015 17:50:15 GMT 1
I shouldn't laugh
I went down the marina this morning to check on the boat, & did the usual maintenance checks, oil, water, grease the propshaft, start the engine to charge the batteries etc, plus I wanted to put another bolt in the idler roller base & paint the roller itself. I did all that & the guy with the Ugly Stik rods came to the boat & I looked at them & chose which one I wanted. After I had finished my chores I headed back towards the Quadrant to get my bus home, & as I passed the Meridian Tower I noticed a man & woman walking towards me, who seemed to be having problems with the gale force wind, & sure enough a gust came up & blew the woman over I helped the guy pick her up & dust her down then I carried on my way. A few seconds later I heard a shout & when I looked the same woman had been blown over again! But this time I was well away so the guy had to get her up himself, the wind in that area was unbelievable, I am sure the aerofoil shape of the tower mimics an aeroplane wing stood upright, & its generating (lift) either side of itself, which speeds up the wind passing over it (how an aircraft gets lift), this extra speed wind is then blown into the marina on one side, & down the road on the other. There was a small yacht at the top of the marina which was heeling at 45deg+ & it was only the handrails pressing against the pontoon that stopped it going over. Anyway most importantly I bought the Ugly Stick I wanted as a Xmas present to myself cant wait now to try it out, but from the forecast sites it seems like it will be next weekend before that happens, maybe by then there will be some jumbo whiting & codling out on the Green Grounds, I must get out fishing!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Dec 6, 2015 19:47:38 GMT 1
It looks like a "Hercules Friendly" day tomorrow
So I will go down the boat & mooch about with a few jobs, I have been given a digital voltmeter which I will try to fit, & I discovered two lights on the dashboard that had been painted over with "temp" on one & "oil" on the other, obviously what I was looking for, but they were painted over & there are no wires connected to the back of them anyway so it will be fun trying to trace where the feeds originally came from, I must say this bloody boat fights me every inch of the way! The weather is crap for the first part of this week but Friday/Saturday look good, I would be happy to do both if I have the support, but I am not going out with 1 or 2 on both days, I either get a decent number or I stay ashore! I am trying to download a manual for the "new" sounder on Belle, it is functioning fine but I don't know what it will do without the manual, I have been given the link issuu.com/jarviswalker/docs/condor_340-345c_df-manual but for some reason I am unable to open the file when I download it??? If anybody can download it, open it, & print it off for me (or open it & e-mail it to me) I would be most grateful. I can only download pages 14 & 15 for some strange reason?
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Post by pilgrim17 on Dec 7, 2015 15:47:32 GMT 1
Bloody Electrickery!
When I removed the panel with the "temp & oil" lights mounted on it there are in fact wires going to them, but unfortunately there is no power going to them, so somewhere in the labyrinth of wires behind the dashboard are 2 blown fuses, 2 disconnected wires from wherever the engine sender units are, or two loose wires between the engine sender units (wherever they are), & the fuse box (wherever that is) because I put a tester across the wires going into both bulbs, & got no response, so there is no juice reaching either bulb Yes I did have the ignition switched on So I need an electrical type person to cast a beady eye over it to see what ails it! Apart from that all appears well, pumps are working fine, engine starts first time, electronics are working, all the lights are working, all we need is some weather & some anglers & we will be off, hopefully Friday or Saturday (or both) lets hope the forecast holds. Committee meeting tonight in the new venue The George, apparently there is a Xmas Party going on in there as well so it could be a short meeting & give us chance to have a few pints I hope Richie is back from foreign climes & has remembered, otherwise I will miss it
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Post by pilgrim17 on Dec 8, 2015 13:46:56 GMT 1
Went to last night's committee meeting
In the proposed "new venue" of The George in Mumbles, first impressions was that you take your coat off rather than steal another one to put on, as you did in MumbleS RFC They had 3 real ales on so I plumped for Rev James Gold which you could see through (unlike RFC where all were opaque) Price wasn't too bad (£3.20) given what it was, & the quality, it may have been served a bit too cold but I am sure we can negotiate that problem cant we John Elvins For a change there were some important pieces of business to be discussed, which will affect the future running & fortunes of the club, unfortunately with the level of noise rising in the bar, a lot of the discussion some of us couldn't hear up our end of the table, so therefore we missed out on much of what was being discussed, which is not satisfactory & I think we need to use the upstairs room for Management Committee Meetings so we all know what's going on. I know I voted for something I didn't understand last night, John Elvins proposed a new pricing regime for Oystercat, which basically means that fewer people can go out fishing for predominantly "toothy critters" for less time, for less money, which if it means that the boat goes out with less people, for less time, instead of cancelling a trip because of low numbers, or excessive contributions to cover cost, then that has to be good news, & even if it only nets £20 for the club at the end of the day, its better than it earning nothing sat on the berth. I do however resent the "We don't want to be poodling around the bay catching dabs etc" attitude, remember not everybody is as enamoured by "toothy critters" as you are, not everyone wants to run up to Aberthaw or Lundy looking for them, & for those reason they choose not to go out on Oystercat, we are after all there to serve ALL the club members, not just those who wish to travel half an hour in twenty minutes, to catch the unspeakable & the inedible There were other discussions about attracting juniors via app ?? which went right over my head, then there was some discussion about publicising the club more, but by this time the noise from the bar was so great I had lost all interest in the proceedings, & went to get myself another pint of Rev James. So the "new venue" has its plusses & minus's, there is no room for the traditional booking boards (maybe it was time for changing them anyway to smaller versions) or maybe change the system to solely computerised or phone bookings? Anyway last nights meeting has shown, that last nights format was not suitable when there is important & lengthy debate required, we need to rethink where we convene, as there are some VERY important decisions to be made soon & we need to make sure that at least we can hear what the proposals are before we vote on anything.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Dec 10, 2015 1:35:44 GMT 1
I keep the boat ready
So that it is ready to go out 24/7 all I need is anglers who want to use it, tomorrow is forecast to be the only day for the next 7 days to be suitable to get out, & what response do I get? Asolutely Nothing! Yet the last 5 trips have been successful, fishing in sheltered water & STILL nobody wants to go? From now on I wont inform you, you can inform me, & if its convenient for me I will take the trip, otherwise you can contact one of the other skippers to see if they will oblige you! Don't bother to look at the booking sheet, because I wont be entering any more trips on it, I am absolutely sick of spending a lot of my time on the boat, & on here, to be ignored, I can think of far better places to be ignored than on here!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Dec 10, 2015 15:05:47 GMT 1
First windless day in 2 weeks
& both boats are tied up on their berths? Is this a fishing club? Or an origami club? So it has rained, don't you have waterproofs? I know I do! So there was a bit of mist, we have chart-plotters, echo sounders, GPS, compasses, I even have night vision binoculars (with infra-red if needed) & if push comes to shove I have charts of the Bay, so getting lost isn't a problem. We have lights, navigation lights, anchor lights, floodlights fore & aft, we have a cooker & tea & coffee, & drinking chocolate, & Oxo (several flavours) , cuppa soups etc. So you have boats, skippers, crew, electronics, & all the things a boat needs, except for anglers! so where the hell are you? I have been scouring the forecasts for 2 weeks, looking for a comparatively windless day straining at the bit, & when a suitable day arrives getting anglers is like trying to get shit from a rocking horse I have posted a trip for 26th Dec & I have already had some interest in that, but I don't intend to post any more trips before, or after, that, from now on its a case of "Its you who wants to buy, & not me who wants to sell"
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Post by pilgrim17 on Dec 12, 2015 17:59:59 GMT 1
Another "Blogless" day
Because of a contagious "lack of interest"!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Dec 15, 2015 14:18:57 GMT 1
Bah Humbug!
Bloody weather forecast is crap up until 24th with strong SW winds gusting up to 35mph, & it doesn't look like it is going to be any better on Boxing Day so I don't know whether to call off the Birthday Challenge or just postpone it until the first suitable day. Saying that we will probably get a decent day & people will have to "go shopping with the wife" "Babysitting the grandchildren" or similar, & I will end up drinking the First Prize myself!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Dec 16, 2015 16:49:57 GMT 1
I will wait!
Until Xmas Eve until I make a final decision on Boxing Day's trip, I have frozen mackerel, & frozen blacks in the freezer, & I will probably get a box of squid & some uncooked prawns to use as bait, if we do get a last minute reprieve. Grub isn't a problem I can cook turkey burgers on board from frozen, & seeing as I am on my own over Xmas I can pre cook the chicken drumsticks in the microwave on Xmas Day, & finish them off on the griddle on board if we get the go ahead! I cant see it happening really given the forecast up until Xmas Eve, but it is Xmas & miracles happen then don't they? The last meet social evening before Xmas takes place on Thursday at "The George" in Mumbles (apparently we cant have the Rugby Club room because they have a party) It appears that a few members are taking their wives or partners, but luckily mine doesn't like me very much so she wont be going. This also means that they will be obliged to sit next to their wives, & there will be no bad language, & drinks will be in moderation! (I'm glad I will be on my own ) However I assume that we wont be stopping for the traditional pancake rolls we have every week, because they will be "greasy & fattening" (which is what makes them delicious ) So roll on 2016 back to normal, & maybe the weather will improve!
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