Reply With Quotelee
havent had that experence yet
but home safe is the main thing
pete
Awoke at 2am saturday to be picked up by Jason (aka jurkyjj) and off to mates to pick up the weapon for the day (7.4m Lazercraft powered by steyr 3.2l turbo diesel)to head offshore for the day, plan was to bottom bash for some pearlies at wide cal for a few hours then troll the mid to late morning and into the afternoon.
The run across deception bay was flat and in no time we were out into the shipping channel, started to get a bit sloppy and continued to stay the same for the whole trip out, original plan was to head up mid wide cal then work our way back, I decided that i would start at the southern end and see what the weather did, put a few fish in the esky and things started to go slow, by this time the ne had dropped out and a little and i called for the shift north. Arrived inside 20 minutes for the 10km run, shows on the bottom looked real good. Set the drift and the first drift put 2 in the box, this continued for a while and then things just shut down.
After a quick change of gear the call was made to troll back down to the trench then to hutchies, set the spread and pointed her south, was very quiet, no bait, no birds and no action, we had been trolling for a bit over an hour and were about 6km from the trench when a strange noise appeared from the motor,
After a quick inspection it was found to be a seized idler bearing on the tensioner for the water pump, Unfortunately we carry a few spares of filters and belts but no bearing. We tossed a few ideas around but unfortunately it was terminal, no water pump no more engine running. The call was made to Coastguard for assistance, i ahd no mates close by so it was our only option, While waiting for the coasties to arrive Jason was out the back having a fish, he proceded to cchange from bait to the knife jig for something to do, he pulled 2 fish in 2 drops, i wont mention what he caught he can do that.
Coasties took 2 hours to get to us as the run through combie was crappy and had to approach from flinders area, Now this is where my day changed, we did not want to tow from the anchor bollard as the weather was not great and could be dnagerous on the trip back, now we cant reach the front pull down used for winch and safety chain so someone had to get wet, 70 metres of water and a good 15knot notherly and a metre sea, ovet the side i went, well the cleat from the coasties did not fit the hole, i was out of the water quick smart, then we decided no a d shackle in there then the cleat, so back in i went, by now the adrenalin had ran out and this was i can tell you in no way fun. Tow was now underway and life jackets went on as the only way back was through the freeman channel, now anyone that has been through there in average wind can attribute to what it may be like. 2 hours later and we were back at the pontoon.
All in all it was a good morning then something that none of us want to experience, it so could have been a lot worse, a big thanks to Redcliffe Coastguard for their assistance.
No photos as the catch was nothing special, Jason did take some photos while being towed, but i dont thin we need to se what the back of a yellow cat looks like.
thanks for reading.
Cheers Lee
lee
havent had that experence yet
but home safe is the main thing
pete
Pete, yeah, i had had to do it once before when i had motor issue 4 years ago, but i was not far from scarbs then. And home safe was all that mattered.
Cheers Lee
p.s we will have to catch up for a fish soon.
There will be more spares onboard after that experience for sure. Freeman Channel gets a little tight at the southeastern end in my experiences. You are lucky that this was all done in daylight.
Cheers
Chris
Lee, I can understand why you wanted me to explain what fish were pulled over the side with the knife jig.......1 x harlequin fish and a sea toad!!!! poor effort, but, wanted to at least try to get a fish on the new 6000 stradic and Shimano jig wrex rod. Just a pity that the shows on the sounder weren't producing something a little better. Next time we should grab some photos of the sounder. It was impressive with the shows on the bottom, with no luck.
Have to say though, glad it was you getting wet......my small (VERY LARGE) fear of the toothy critters would have seen me still out at sea rather than jumping in the drink. Well done for that.
Apart from the motor giving us an early day with the fishing, was still great to be out on the water and having a blokes day.
Can't wait for the next trip.
Jason.
FISHING IS NOT A HOBBY...................IT'S AN OBSESSION!!
Chris, oh yeah it was dicey, no way in hell i would go through there by my choice under power in those conditions but was the best option from what we had, did not want to go though spitfire or the wild banks, and yeah i would hate to do it of a night, i know there is no way in hell i would have gotten in the water in the dark.
will now carry a spare one for the water pump and a spare for the alternator, easy to change at sea if problem ever reoccurs.
cheers Lee
Chris, Yes it was friggen dicey.
We were certainly lucky that the problem had occurred so early in the day rather than closer to sun down.
Would have been edge of the seat stuff closer to night time.
Jason.
FISHING IS NOT A HOBBY...................IT'S AN OBSESSION!!
Jas, agree completely and yeah i knew you werent getting in and cant ask the owner to do it, we are using his boat and hey we took him fishing in his own boat, I will let you know on result of insurance company covering cost, its looking good though we looked at the policy today and it clearly states they will cover the cost. Was a good day on the water that could have been so much better or so much worse.
Same as you cant wait for the next trip.
cheers Lee
good to hear you guys got home safe. we seen you comming out of the freeman and with the tide the way it was it would have been down right ugly to say the least.
cheers dale
hi lee sorry to hear the day ended like that as this time of the year we all want a break from work to escape the dramas?? better luck next time, jim
Bugger, glad you got home - and out of the drink as well. Could not have been fun.
Tony
Lee,
This happened to me many years ago off Mooloolaba on a Sunday night in a building 25 kt gale and 1.5m sea. One of those sessions where I overstayed by an hour or so because the fish were on but motor refused to start.
The Coastguard do a wonderful job but had their hands full finding a crew at that time of a Sunday.
I had to get in the drink too and it was very ordinary, (especially since I was by myself) so I now have a permanently mounted "lizard" on my bow tow point. This is a short length of heavy good quality rope suitable for towing the boat that is shackled onto the lower bow tow point and is secured back onto the rail beside the cabin on the starboard side. If you ever need to attach a tow line it is easy. I also now use this "lizard" for anchoring as it saves going to the bow when setting the pick.
Anyway, just a thought and glad to hear you got home safe.
Gary
Thanks Gary,Originally Posted by SkipperGary
"Shark Bait" would be a better name for it!!! Cause I'm sure that's what Lee felt like when he dove over the side.
It was a funny story actually......"The call was made to hook the tow rope onto the winch anchor point instead of the bollard. Someone is going to have to jump in the drink and connect it up if we can't reach the spot."
Both Tim and I looked at each other and then we both looked at Lee and said "Two against one.....your it!!!" So over he went........funny that.......never realized that he could swim so fast.....maybe a future in the Aussie swim team Lee.
On a more positive note, that is a great idea Gary and maybe something that we need to look at........just for insurance sake!!
Jason.
FISHING IS NOT A HOBBY...................IT'S AN OBSESSION!!
yeah thanks Jas, yeah thats what i felt like, i like that idea gary and might suggest that, might also do that on mine once finished.
cheers Lee
Hi Lee
At least you had a good reason for going overboard-- Not like someone else i know who went over for a pair of mako's.
You have more g**ts than me-- too many bities in there for my liking.
Glad you are all ok and no matter how long it took its nice to know you have the Coastgaurd nearby if needed.
Ronnie
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