One less to worry about

[extravert]

This ex-pot marker had to be a contender for one of the worst in the country...

200m outside the harbour entrance to Aberysthwyth directly on the leading line for the harbour entrance with a small dark un-flagged float and worst of all attached by 20m of floating line.

The line got caught round my rudder yesterday. The best way to solve the immediate problem and to stop it happening again was with application of the kitchen knife. That one (there are other similarly stupid ones nearby) is no longer a problem.

Noone is going to solve this problem for us. Direct action is the only way.

<hr width=100% size=1>One day, I hope to own a real boat.

 

[aod]

I totaly agree. Going from the last RYA interview with the minister of shipping (or whoever he was) it's quite apparent that they don't give a toss. It's even crossed my mind to borrow a mates rib and go off on an unamed blue 5 gallon drum extermination quest!


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[Twister_Ken]

Meanwhile on the sea bed...

...a lobster starves to death, trapped in a pot that will never be lifted. It dies and goes rotten, attracting another lobster which starves, dies and goes rotten, attracting another lobster...

Not saying you were wrong, just that the problem is best solved by someone (harbourmaster, coastguard?) lifting badly placed pots and disposing of them 'humanely'.

Have you reported it on Kim's pot forum?

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>

 

[Richard_Blake]

Re: Meanwhile on the sea bed...

Seriously, I agree.

Less so... The harbourmaster's overstretched anyway. Let's save him the trouble. Humane and easy on-board recipes, anyone?

<hr width=100% size=1>LowTech

 

[AndrewB]

This means war!!

You are seriously advocating that yachties lift lobster pots? You are a braver man than I.

I trust your yacht is well strengthened against ramming/arson and that you keep a crew of half-a-dozen heavies below decks as reinforcements. The Icelandic Navy may have defeated the fishermen, but can the Birmingham Navy?

 

[aod]

Re: Meanwhile on the sea bed...

I agree with you that if possible it would be ideal to lift a pot all together. However, when the thing is wrapped around the rudder (as it was in this case) it's not realistic to attempt to lift it is it?

I also think that these pots are pretty well anchored down and again a yacht isn't really the right vehicle to attempt the lifting of a pot, is it?

Your point about waste is valid and in my opinion would be better placed with the ministry or in the fishing press.

As for me I nearly lost a yacht because of a lobster pot and even though I didn't lose the boat it cost me £1600 for repairs and the RNLI about 8K, so please don't preach to me that if I hook a pot I should try and lift it to save the lobsters. The people that should be considering the welfare of their livelyhood are the b*****ds that leave pots marked with a blue 5 gallon un-named drum in the middle of the fare ways!

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[Jools_of_Top_Cat]

Re: Meanwhile on the sea bed...

Agreed about lifting the pot, but when we caught one off Lundy this year the line was bar tight to the bottom, I ended up in the dinghy with a hacksaw to free us, lifting was not an option.

A good chance that there were multiple pots with a anchor down there, I had to consider the safety of my vessel and our lives. This was in 178ft of water, it used to be that pots were laid at the bottom of cliffs etc.

This problem has been caused by the advent of GPS, they can lay pots anywhere now, knowing they can find them again in any weather.

<hr width=100% size=1>Julian

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.topcatsail.co.uk/TC_IrishCruise_2003_00.html>Irish Cruise</A>

 

[Richard_Blake]

Re: This means war!!

Perhaps in a real pea-souper? No, I take your point. Judging by the weight of gear described in other posts, impossible of course. I was nostalgically remembering fairly lightweight crab pots we quietly moved away from the windward leg before the Sunday race many years ago off.... no, better stop there!

Seriously? I would really be interested in practical on-board lobster recipes for legitimately acquired monsters.

Plus - a guy I fished with in the US had something which was a cross between double-leverage bolt cutters and one of those things you use to lop branches off trees above your head. Cutters reversed somehow up the shaft to catch a steel wire/cable under water and squeeze. Anyone come across anything like it in Europe?

<hr width=100% size=1>LowTech

 

[Twister_Ken]

Re: This means war!!

I had a holiday job in forestry once and taking branches off the trunks of trees (to encourage greater height/straightness) was called brashing, done with a special long-handled curved-blade saw. Maybe every boat should have one strapped to the coachroof?

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>

 

[Richard_Blake]

Re: This means war!!

Oh, yes! With one of those super-modern, diamond-tipped (studded/dusted?) cut-anything blades. The kind of weaponry Andrew was talking about? But...

...glorious sailing in spite of inexperienced crew. After dark, back up river against the ebb - "Stand by to pick up the mooring, Fred, when we're between those two motor cruisers." "Huh?" "With the boathook - there on the coachroof..."

<hr width=100% size=1>LowTech

 

[LadyInBed]

Re: Meanwhile on the sea bed...

Not quite true Ken, you know the pot buoy saying - where there's one there's two and another two not far away.
'Cause there are float markers at each end of a string of pots.
So those nasty potters will still be able to lift their string from the other end.


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