GPSguru

Yes it would be nice to hear from him again .............. it looks like the vessel is still active from Port St Mary, but does he still own it ? The last time the AIS was active ........ 28th Sept 21 (6 months ago) https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:5567951/mmsi:232006227/imo:0/vessel:ISLA

I have an arrangement with the local dive boats, they keep me fed in scallops, and I will always move on if they want to dive, also we often have an exchange of fresh Pollock / Mack for scallops on the slipway !

IIRC those are real baby shore crabs.

Perhaps you need a fishing trip on a RIB. I will see what I can do during the summer.

In lyme bay we get porgies , usually near the wrecks. To find blues we need to get out to the deeper water, at leat 20 - 30 miles out. We get threshers, but that is a rare fish for us. However, we do get lots of big mackerel.

Big stuff is not an issue, as you know, I don't tend to report my catches of sharks etc. TBH my biggest concern was sharks hacking at the chum bucket, but I also got a bit concerned with a very angry porgie that we hooked. My biggest fish, (an oversized Mackerel) went 109.75 inches, and TBH I doubt that I will ever beat that, so this last 2 years I have concentrated on wreck fishing. Fighting very big fish from a RIB is hard graft as you have no leverage points, you have to take the fight to the fish. Regarding fish hooks and tubes…… provided the hypalon tubes are at the correct pressure, the hooks slide over the tubes and do not dig in. I am on day 6 of covid now, days 4/5 were a real battle with dropping oxy levels, but Ok now. As an aside, the UTI has come out to play again, but the GP is dropping of a ‘one hit wonder’ antibiotic that should see it off ( you just mix it up and take it once).

Oh yes, peasants are no problem, my forte is flying rats (pigeons)

I got banned from the shoot, because they were not impressed with me using a 9 shot repeater …. Hmmm , ‘not sporting’ they said. 🙄

My Ribcraft is 21.5 degrees, and sits in the water Ok at rest.

A RIBCRAFT 6.8m, starts at £62k for the basic boat, my 5.85m starts at £40K ............. then add the trailer, probably a different consol, possibly a different seating layout, larger fuel tank, twin batteries, changes to tube hardware, bowroller, electronics etc, and the cost soon spirals .... ask me how I know ! There are less than a handful of 6.8m 2010 - 2012 boats around at the moment and those are fetching £35 - £40k Other RIB's to consider are Humber, and the new Solent Rib's Like hard boats, not all RIB's are Deep Vee (all RIBCRAFT are), but all still perform reasonably well as the Vee is continued for the length of the hull, which is why they work so well. Avoid chinky crap like Highfield etc, also avoid the Zodiac Pro range as the build quality is apparently shocking.

Might be OK swimming, but not with diving gear on. A lot of RIBS have a rope boarding stirrup that you just lob over the side, others have a small fixed boarding ladder on the transom, diving boats often have a dive ladder that is stowed and lowered from the A frame. I don't have anything, as the idea is to stay IN the boat 🙄

Probably the biggest for most will be that RIBS have less fishing real estate than a hard boat, but all the plus points more than compensate. You WILL need a boarding ladder for diving and also for swimming, however you could always climb up the engine. Also, there are RIB'S, and then there are RIB's, you will need to do some careful research. I use RIBCRAFT because they are a totally British brand that has been going since the early 80's and has a strong pedigree in sea handling, quality of build, and durability. For a growing family and also towing, I guess you will be looking at 6.8m (or a minimum of 6m), but ideally a 4x4 to tow with (my 5.85m is 1.6T)....... if you want a new 6.8m RIBCRAFT built, then I believe you are looking at a 2 year wait. Remember that RIB's hold their price, so either new or S/H the money is strong. Mine is 3 years old now, but it was recently valued by a local Chandler / Broker, and I wouldn't even lose the original VAT if I sold it on............. I renewed the insurance today, and my insurers recommended that I kept the original value.

Being immunosuppressed is exactly what it says on the tin ! I didn't give it much thought at first, but now it has sunk in ! I remember the consultant saying the ulcerative colitis could never kill me, but the drugs inadvertently could. However, to be free of the colitis is worth all these other issues. The UTI was self-inflicted due to stupidity, and COVID is now a fact of life

Daughter is a nurse, and she called in for less than 5 mins to pick up the grandkids on the day before she tested positive. I tested Positive 3 days later, touch wood, the wife is still ok though.

Ok, after 7 weeks of antibiotics I have shaken off the UTI, but ….. on the last day of antibiotics, I have tested positive for COVID. Into day 3 now but not too bad so far.

I was told by the Mercury UK (Barrus), only to use the flushing port as a last resort ! Flushing with muffs was the much preferred option, and mine is flushed for 5 mins after each trip.

Why, what you been eating ?

That is why I am going to fit a minnkota on the bow 😉👍

All you need it some paraffin to run it and a bottle of propane to get it started ................👍

5.85m RIB ................3.5Kg Bruce, 5m of 6mm chain, and 220m of 12mm 3 strand. With a RIB it is difficult to use the Alderney method and the rope can damage the tubes, so I just 'hand ball' it, which is easy enough.

Just sounds like a confidence issue, I was the same back in 2015/16. If I had been on the boat with you, I would have fished SPJ right through, and I can pretty much guarantee that my jig would be Blue Silver, or Blue pink (Blue white jigs are hard to come by)

Spoke too bloody soon, one week later and back again ....... FFS

Kin'ell, that is poor. Obviously, I didn't miss much by not going out on Monday ! March can be a very strange time of the year when wrecking ........... we call it 'the all or nothing month' I am getting a few reports of Cod showing on some of the 15 mile wrecks, fish to 15lb, but not in any numbers. Also, the Plaice are showing on the Skerries.

IIRC @jonnyswamp went wrecking out of Dartmouth on Monday ................ what did you catch and how far out did you need to go ?

You must run a cheap business ............... The postie collects my mail and parcels every afternoon at 2:30pm