Put your nets down the other side

After being in the 'upper room', 8 of us headed out for a quick fish (aka John 20). Those 'disciples' present were: James Tarrant, John Tarrant (almost the sons of Zebedee), John Woodgate, Mark Peddle, James Brown, David Austin, Andy Avery and myself. It turned out to be quite an evening.
With 3 fishing rods we lowered our feathers into the water (just off the end of Old Harry). The lines didn't feel right as they went down, so wound in to find we had all caught on all our hooks!! 11 fish in as many seconds!! Ended the evening with 55 mackerel... but sadly Jesus was not on the beach in the morning to cook our breakfast. Suspect a few talks will make reference to this evening!

Too early start...

I had a bright idea to start the day at 04:00 for a seriously early fish. Somehow mustered 6 friends: John Tarrant, James Tarrant, John Woodgate, James Brown, Andy Avery, David Austin so in the dark we arrived at Baiter in the pouring rain. Sadly baiter doesn't open till 6am !!!

So we launched at "Slipway" (aptly named road!!) next to the RNLI building. It was a rough old morning with limited visibility in the water, so feathers were not very succesful. James Tarrant landed the first fish, I kindly removed the hook, attempt the kill - but the fish made a last leap at the water. That was that last we saw of that one!!

Lesson for the day, don't start so early... stay in bed.

Mackeral anyone?

First decent catch of makeral today when John Woodgate, Andy Avery and myself headed out for a Saturday morning fish and snorkel. They were very nice BBQ'd in the evening with the family.
Visibility not great for snorkeling though, only saw one crab hiding in the weed.

Birthday splash

Joined for the day by my sister and their family - it was Ben's 14th birthday. Time for some fun in the ringo!

Double vision

John Gilly liked the flyer so much, he went and bought his own! "The Rose" also has a 90hp, so here's hoping for some great skiing sessions. Here a rare sight outside Salcombe in Devon...

Pottery Tea

Beautiful sunny summer evening, warm gentle breeze, tea at Pottery Pier on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour. Beth was away on a school camp so, Sam, Eleanor, Rachel and I headed off.

We were just there long enough to watch the sun set...

Haven on the beach

Not exactly blue sky, but a great day at the beach today after lunch at Pottery Pier. Took the Woodgates for a spin to Old Harry... maybe a little too fast at times :(

Doggies anyone?

John Woodgate and I headed out for a morning fish, caught nothing but dogfish - we decided to try them once, probably won't again! Very strange gutting a fish that keeps moving! Even the fillet of fish would move when poked hours after it died.... very strange!

Everything stands still

Sometimes all you can say is wow! Broke the frost off the boat cover this morning in the dark at 6am wondering what on earth I was doing. Made our way out to Old Harry, and this was waiting for us!!

Nothing biting :-(

A newbie to the world of fishing, but keen none the less. The summer over, but still able to get the boat in the water! Fantastic.

Sadly nothing caught on this trip, but experience!

Below, one of my favourite sights... Old Harry.

Bit cold but the fun doesn't stop

Yep its November, but still a chance for a ski... novelty, madness or what? Don't really care because it was great fun.

Just for the record, I was taking the photos, you wouldn't get me skiing in November!

Wider family

Following our skiing session, the family joined the fun together with my sister Rebecca and her family. Went to Middle Beach near Studland for an ice cream. Rebecca managed to dip the nose in the swell soaking all those on the front seats. Thus proving the flyer is quite capable of catering for 10, but be careful in a large swell!!

Don't mention the shorts

They say pictures say 1000 words... these say great fun. John Gilly, Dave Austin and myself headed out for an early morning ski. Perfect conditions - super smooth water. Our first ski behind the kahuna.

This was Dave's first ever ski!

First tripping

John Woodgate and myself drove on Knightsbridge in Devon to collect the Flyer today, then took a quick trip with the family (minus Beth who was at Legoland on the CYC outing). Managed to loose one of the back seat covers on route :( but found again on the way back to the slip way! Phew.

It all started...

when I saw this advert for a salcombe flyer. We already owned a 13' dory with a 20hp engine which was great fun, but... it wasn't exactly a salcombe flyer 530 !

The salcombe flyer had already been spotted as a great family boat that would be a great all rounder: family picnics, fishing, skiing - ideal.

Following a new engine, a deal was agreed and the dory went up for sale.


A bit about the flyer: "Originally designed by the former British off-shore powerboat racing champion Gary Appleyard, the Salcombe Flyer range provides an exciting and varied portfolio of quality sports boats. Built in Kingsbridge near Salcombe in South Devon using only quality materials and fittings, every boat is produced to the highest possible standard."