padstow - a warning

[Bosun Higgs]

Just been to Padstow after a 2 year break, and was startled to see the very large number of obviously new pot buoys all over the northern channel. True they are well marked by pot buoy standard but there are sufficient of them to make a night time approach unadviseable. There is no obvious channel through them.

If you have to approach at night , then I would recommend leaving Newland to port and approaching from the south. There still are pot buoys on that route, but far fewer of them.

 

[Morpheous]

We had the same experience last year, it was as if they had set a string exactly on our course from Lundy to Padstow

 

[Bosun Higgs]

There were more than 10 of them in the space between Newland and the shore!

 

[Csail]

There were loads off Ilfracombe too.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Didn't see as many off Combe CSail.

But I'm normally fairly relaxed about pot buoys on the basis that you have to be unlucky to get caught by one ( touch wood!) because the gaps between them are much bigger than the areas covered by them. In the case of Padstow north channel, for the first time ever I felt that you would be lucky not to snag one going in blind at night.

 

[Csail]

Well they were slightly W of Ilfracombe. Amazed we didn't hit one.

 

[chrishelen]

There's one just off flatholm,between the Wolves rock and the island,i noticed it last week and it was still there this morning,partly submerged its quite hard to see in the chop.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Really? With all the silt in the water I would have thought the lobbies would have had difficulty seeing the pot too!

 

[chrishelen]

Dont know if there is a lobster pot underneath but its tied to something on the bottom.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Some of the local anglers put down weights / anchors and buoy them in their favourite fishing spots

 

[Allan]

I'm not sure if it's true but my perseption is that pots seem to be more dense now than a few years ago. By that I mean that there are is the same number but they are more grouped together.
Off Morte point recently I saw a buoy which had at least 10m of blue floating rope leading away from it. That should be illegal in my opinion. All ropes should be weighted to stop these "traps".
Allan

 

[seedog]

Coming back from Ireland a couple of weeks ago and halfway across in 80 metres of water there was one pot buoy all on it's lonesome. Was weighted down and not moving so we think there was something on the end of it. We did wonder about having a look but there were a few bigger vessels around so we kept going. Possible it was something waiting to be collected?

 

[fergie_mac66]

Just been to Padstow after a 2 year break, and was startled to see the very large number of obviously new pot buoys all over the northern channel. True they are well marked by pot buoy standard but there are sufficient of them to make a night time approach unadviseable. There is no obvious channel through them.

If you have to approach at night , then I would recommend leaving Newland to port and approaching from the south. There still are pot buoys on that route, but far fewer of them.

One of our rudders was flipped going south from padstow on way to Isles of Scilly a few weeks ago on way out of Padstow last week we went round two bouyed nets about 50 meters long they were well bouyed but gave me shivers when I saw them, as we had gone into padstein at night a on way back, a couple of days before

 

[Freshbreeze]

There's one just off flatholm,between the Wolves rock and the island,i noticed it last week and it was still there this morning,partly submerged its quite hard to see in the chop.

I was around Flatholm a few days ago, and this pot was still in situ!

I wonder if it has been checked?

 

[Freshbreeze]

I'm not sure if it's true but my perseption is that pots seem to be more dense now than a few years ago. By that I mean that there are is the same number but they are more grouped together.
Off Morte point recently I saw a buoy which had at least 10m of blue floating rope leading away from it. That should be illegal in my opinion. All ropes should be weighted to stop these "traps".
Allan

When I put a trip line to my anchor, I ALWAYS put a length of chain between the pick-up bouy and the warp going to the anchor. This way any loose line will hopefully be too deep for other vessels to foul on. Oh, and I do not use floating rope!

The point being if we do this for our trip lines, why can't they do the same for pots????