As the song says "Oh what a day"

Post Options Post Options   Likes (3) Likes(3)   Quote bazza Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: As the song says "Oh what a day"
    Posted: 11 Nov 2017 at 1:58pm
bazza View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar
OBE - Over Bloody Eighty

Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Location: Mostlyinthepoo
Status: Offline
Points: 17915
Quite a few factors came into play that lead up to yesterdays' mini dramas.
 
Firstly could not find my key to the mitsi a couple of weeks back which is one of those new fangled things, that electronically control more functions than a space rocket. Meantime whilst searching high & low for it to no avail, have been operating off the emergency key which hangs around my neck for that was lost, then would be going nowhere other than being towed to the workshop. Could have purchased a replacement but at $700 plus can think of a lot of things I would rather spend that sort of money on. 
 
Secondly sold the motorhome recently including the 10 ft tinny & small motor carried on the back to a nice young lady. I was concerned that she & her partner had very little experience with small boats, so it was arranged that we would take the boat somewhere suitable to show them how things work & demonstrate various safety procedures. The forecast for yesterday was at times showing zero wind or at the most 10 knts therefore that was the day decided on. The plan was for Vinnie to tow the 5.5 mtr Maclay that we could use as a safety boat whilst they familiarised with the operating technique ... simple as .... what could possibly go wrong ? 
 
Ever reliable Vinnie turned up on time as per usual & set about to hitch the trailer on to the back of his wagon whilst I was walking around in a semi stupor having not slept a wink due to an upset tummy. Were about to hitch it on when the realisation hit me that I use one of those lockable pins & no prizes for guessing where it is kept ... yeah dead right on the now missing mitsi key ring. 
 
Have often wondered just how secure those pins are for they look as tho a decent hammer blow would snap them off so now was an appropriate time to find out & amazingly enough Vinnie had a spare one in his car if we managed to remove the existing one. Ok it took more than one blow as that only succeeded in smashing my "recovery" cup of strong black coffee, but with the aid of a hacksaw on the third blow it broke off allowing us to put the new one in its' place & was the precise time I remembered that the boat ignition key had a spare key on it.
  
In due course Nicole & Aiden arrived so it was off we go according to plan to Gulf Harbour where it was intended we would all go do a bit of fishing before starting the small boat safety demos. OK normally I prefer to fish with only two on board with a max of three but on this occasion the forecast was so good decided four would be ok. The conditions initially on the way out in the face of a lively chilly stherly were considerably more lumpy than anticipated however the forecast said it would drop right off when the wind began to swing to a SW direction in about an hour .... so no worries .... better think again Bazza!    
 
Anchored at our intended spot, started fishing & the fish were on the bite but mostly small apart from one keeper, however action was such that surely a fair catch was reasonably assured. Unfortunately the wind was increasing making things a tad uncomfortable so puled anchor to move to shallower water quite close to land where it appeared to be calmer & in short order Vinnie brought another keeper on board but as the wind appeared to be swinging it was decided the end of the peninsular would most likely afford some shelter ... wrong again ... the bloody wind intensified & swung back to the south. Conditions were decidedly uncomfortable with the wind howling thru the Tiri channel against the tide creating rolling close together whitecaps .... time to demonstrate a safety lesson & call it a day before things got any worse. Turned out to be a sound decision as was slow progress making our way back ploughing into angry short chop often dropping the bow into a trough as the next rolled then surged over the foredeck causing a mini waterfall to cascade through the forward hatch drenching our gear stowed below
but amazingly enough phones etc. survived OK. Likewise Vinnie who took a tumble dislodging one of the seats off its' pedestal, creating even less secure hold on space.
 
When giving the preliminary verbal safety run down, had never imagined the initial practical demo would turn out to be so overly realistic. Much of the advice that had been given was now being put to the actual test such as allowing excess fuel for the return trip as we were burning double the normal amount not being able to plane so needed to swap tanks, also the wisdom of wearing life jackets was being reinforced, even if later on ironically it occurred to me that the skipper was the only one that did not put his on ... what a  silly bugger ... will need to have a word with him !
 
Arrived back at the ramp finally mostly wet thru & worse for wear so the relative comfort afforded in the motorhome was most welcome. The trials & tribulations however were not over completely over with our safe return as I had failed to raise the motor & when driving off the skeg dragged on the concrete ram modifying its' shape slightly.
 
It was decide to move to Army Bay in the hope of calmer conditions to carry out the small boat run down trials & were pleased to find the conditions were ideal to conduct the lessons.
 
OK as the old saying states "It is an ill wind (no pun intended) that blows no good " for the day saw one very positive highlight namely :- At one stage Nicole said "what are those?" whilst pointing to something under the standing platform ... and ... would you believe it ... they were my missing keys ... could have kissed her & think in actual fact I did.
 
OK given the conditions they both passed their tests with flying colours & altho unplanned, probably could have not undergone a series of more severe tests & learnt some valuable lessons such as it often pays to listen to instincts rather than, helpful as they are, rely entirely on forecast.
 
The pics give no true indications of just how rough the sea became even tho relatively calm at that point.
 
 They went home with some freshly caught & smoked snapper which hopefully they enjoyed.
 
 
 
When you cry, feel pain or sadness, no one notices your sorrow .... BUT
fart just ONE time !!!!!!!!!!!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote MacSkipper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Nov 2017 at 5:11pm
MacSkipper View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 04 Jul 2014
Location: Manukau Harbour
Status: Offline
Points: 4478
Thanks for posting - I enjoyed the story and can relate to it all - yes you have to be careful with these new style keys if you lose one its expensive to replace if you lose all it gets very expensive as you usually have to change the module in car as well!
Good fishing trip nothing breaks, great trip catch fish.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote pjc Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Nov 2017 at 6:44pm
pjc View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 04 Apr 2010
Location: papakura
Status: Offline
Points: 12468
recently at my club,the dinghy lockers have changed from key to card access,now i had boat and locker key on same ring for obvious reasons,now handed key back and using card,so rowed to boat,climb onboard,bugger key is car,row back,Grr bag on boat,so back to boat dinghy away and home i went try again next weekend.

So Barry you not the only one with this type of luck but seems it happens to you a fear bit moreEmbarrassed
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote letsgetem Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Nov 2017 at 7:35pm
letsgetem View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Whangaparaoa
Status: Offline
Points: 3171
Good reminder how it doesn't take much wind against tide, to make the sea very harsh.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Clutch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Nov 2017 at 10:55pm
Clutch View Drop Down
Platinum
Platinum
Avatar

Joined: 18 May 2006
Location: Te Atatu Nth
Status: Offline
Points: 2044
I went out on Monday from Waiake all the way to Tiri in my 15 foot tinnie. Weather on the way home was atrocious all the way back. 
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Snappa Geoff Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Nov 2017 at 6:23am
Snappa Geoff View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 23 Jul 2012
Location: mokau
Status: Offline
Points: 6424
Few Hickups Bazza! We all experience them from time to time. Good on ya for helping them out and sending them home with a feed! P.S. Why is it when taking pic showing conditions, never appears as rough as it was? One of the posts i did few months back, we were struggling keeping balance, posted photo, looked pretty mild though.....
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote bazza Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Nov 2017 at 7:39am
bazza View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar
OBE - Over Bloody Eighty

Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Location: Mostlyinthepoo
Status: Offline
Points: 17915
Don't know if others are finding the same, but in over the 40 odd years
I have been involved with small boats I cannot recall any time that the weather has been so consistently fickle & unpredictable ... the subject of this thread being a typical example.
When you cry, feel pain or sadness, no one notices your sorrow .... BUT
fart just ONE time !!!!!!!!!!!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote letsgetem Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Nov 2017 at 9:01am
letsgetem View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Whangaparaoa
Status: Offline
Points: 3171
I associate settled weather with anti-cyclones. I cant remember the last time I saw an anti-cyclone. Why not? A meteorologist should answer that.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote bazza Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Nov 2017 at 6:32pm
bazza View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar
OBE - Over Bloody Eighty

Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Location: Mostlyinthepoo
Status: Offline
Points: 17915
Originally posted by letsgetem letsgetem wrote:

I associate settled weather with anti-cyclones. I cant remember the last time I saw an anti-cyclone. Why not? A meteorologist should answer that.
 
Also what happened to the weather bomb that had been forecast for Aucks on the weekend ? 
 
As with Sat/Sun evenings I am about to go water the garden on Mon evening after nary a drop of rain !
 
There are some that would like to convince us that climate change is a fallacy or an illusion, but in the face of recent weather patterns, it is getting harder by the month to accept that might be so.
When you cry, feel pain or sadness, no one notices your sorrow .... BUT
fart just ONE time !!!!!!!!!!!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote bazza Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Nov 2017 at 8:07pm
bazza View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar
OBE - Over Bloody Eighty

Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Location: Mostlyinthepoo
Status: Offline
Points: 17915
As a further example of the crazy weather patterns these were the tropical weather conditions that Vinnie, Ish & self were languishing in, when white baiting today, whilst reports of deluges in various parts of Auckland only kms away as the crow flies were being reported !
 
Normal weather ? .......... I don't think so.
 
When you cry, feel pain or sadness, no one notices your sorrow .... BUT
fart just ONE time !!!!!!!!!!!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote bazza Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Nov 2017 at 1:49pm
bazza View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar
OBE - Over Bloody Eighty

Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Location: Mostlyinthepoo
Status: Offline
Points: 17915
More of the same re the weather yesterday when Vinnie & I went out having been undecided during the lead up due to the ever changing forecast then opting to go when it appeared good conditions would prevail.
 
Not far out from the ramp where yet again it was getting choppier than anticipated but on reaching the start of the channel abandoned any thought of anchoring in our usual spot opting instead to try in the lee side of Tiri. Was here it really turned to custard with waves a couple of times breaking on the fore deck when bow was dipped in a trough & cascading over the windscreen & canopy. We seriously considered calling it a day & turning back until observing about 300 mtrs or so further out the white caps looked to be less extreme. Slogged our way slowly in the lee side direction of Tiri & was gratifying to find the size of the whitecaps were gradually getting smaller until we reached the relative shelter being afforded from Tiri. Even better was the fact the bite was instantaneous with keepers coming aboard ... no monsters but keepers all the same.
 
Reached our limit plus a couple of trevs by the time slack water began with the fish still biting so headed back in with the wind behind us this time making things a lot more comfortable.
 
Once again the actual conditions had proven quite contrary to the
forecasts but have to accept that it must be totally frustrating for the forecasters having to predict conditions, when they are constantly changing by the hour.
 
Here is a pic of that same silly idiot not wearing his life jacket ... time perhaps to stop taking him out ... however that could prove to be a tad difficult.
 
 
 
When you cry, feel pain or sadness, no one notices your sorrow .... BUT
fart just ONE time !!!!!!!!!!!
Back to Top
Forum Jump
Forum Permissions View Drop Down


This page was generated in 0.289 seconds.

Fishing Reports Visit Reports

Saltwater Fishing Reports
Top of the South Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Tasman and Golden Bay snapper still running hot We are not far away from daylight... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Bay of Islands Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Variety is the spice of life On one recent trip, the plan was to spend a... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Hauraki Gulf Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Fish where the fish are! Catching fish or just going fishing? I tackle this issue... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Inner Hauraki Gulf Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Thoughtful tactics required for better fish Over the course of each year the fishing varies,... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Fishing bite times Fishing bite times

Major Bites

Minor Bites

Major Bites

Minor Bites