Arm update

Cuts and scrapes are among the most common injury's incurred by ormers. The surface of the rocks are covered by soft living material, which is easily torn from the ridge abrasive structure underneath, and then deposited into the scrape or cut. This greatly prolongs the wound-healing process by causing inflammation and, occasionally, in this case some sort of ammonia burn.

So the poor old wounded soldier had to give in and take a trip to the quack to get some nappie rash cream for his poor little arm.

AHHHHHH BLESS

Ormering can damage your health

Day Two

The search for the Ormer involves turning over a great many rocks and looking up many cracks which can unearth many an unwanted marine creature. Whether your a Turner or a Cricker both methods of Ormering can result in some serious scraps cuts and bruises or in Tucs case a nasty encounter with something that gave him a reaction giving him a rash on his forearm.

Time and Tide waits for no man

Day One...

Well, another Ormering adventure finally had begun. It was Saturday and low tide was at 13.40 with a 0.4 metre low making for a good tide to go in search of Haliotise Tuberculata (Ormer).

Fortius pulled up along side the fisherman's quay with Tuc on the helm. The sun was shining and everyone congregated at the stern to load our gear for a days hard work
turning granite. Leaving St Peter Port behind and with The Peril in tow we headed off to
Guernseys sister isle of Jethou for our first location of granite turning. The hunter gatherer instinct in us was strong and we were all keen to get ashore. Traditionally ormers were seen as a valuable food source. Many years ago they were relatively plentiful and easy to gather but due to over fishing the once plentyful supply had become depleted. I've been going ormering with my close friends for as long as I can remember and today was no exception as we had a boat full. Tuc (El Capitano), Blakey (the Bordeaux Rat), Jen (Chief Photographer), Wiggi and yours truly.

Kitting up for action. The Bordeaux rat got off to a bad start by tearing the ass out of his waterproofs, which meant he was going to get very wet. Heading ashore in The Peril, it looked like the spot we had chosen to look at didn't have many rocks to turn. You have two ways to hunt for the allusive Ormer.

The first is by Turning. You pick an area of boulders and roll them over to see if there are any stuck to the backs. They can be quite hard to spot sometimes especially under water when your waist deep in freezing cold 8 degree water.

The other way is by Cricking, which is where you stick your arm into the many cracks and crevices of the rocks and feel around for the Ormer.

Opting for the Cricking method in this spot worked out quit nicely and I was rewarded with a nice half dozen slugs. Tuc and the Rat went for the turning and kicked my ass with 10 a piece. Tuc's a Jammie bugger, if he fell in a pile of poo he would come out smelling of roses.

We still had time before low, so off we headed to spots number two and three. Spot two, a small reef west of Jethou called Clavelee which produced a few more slugs and guess what Tuc came out on top again. Off to spot three, a larger reef called Grossee Ferrriere. We had to cross a tidal passage to get to the Ferriere in The Peril called the Tobars passage. So we had the mother ship (Fortius) follow us across with Geoffers at the wheel who was looking after her while we were ashore.

Unknown to us we had been beaten to this spot by fellow Granite turners on the previous tides and all had been turned. We all had work hard and the strains of the days activity was starting to show, Wiggi hadn't been Ormering for a good few years. I think we broke him good and proper. We called it a day and headed back to the mother ship for a well deserved coffee and to look over the photos Jen had been taking over the day. Tomorrow brings a bigger tide so more of the same ...

Father like Son Surf Time

When I was a kid, my Dad and I used to always head down to the beach when the surf was up. I would hang out with Pops and the other surfers and their kids having adventures on the beach, while the dads would go surfing. It was pretty cool being brought up on the beach, in fact, I loved it. So it's not surprising that my love for the sea grew over the year's. 30 years on and we're still hanging out down the beach,and swapping story's of our surf sessions.

Weather is holding out today with no rain and hazy blue skyies with a side shore breeze. Surf has various peaks breaking all over the beach from the groins to outside T'others and still has a little of that long period swell from the west. The swell has dropped a bit, and is smaller than the last few days,but still a few over head grunters pushing through on the reef and Centers.

Paddled out with Pops to the line up on the reef where there are already ten in the line up, half inside half outside. Saw some nice size shoulder high set come in. This all had me kind of stoked.

As soon as I pulled into the line up these sets kind of diminished. Waiting for a set wave to jack up on the reef was a good time to catch up with Pops on the weekly goings on. The conversation was cut short as a swell showed its head and I paddled into a sweat right coming of the reef.

First wave in a week and stayed up a little too high and played it a little too safe for the inside section. Could have really dropped in and pulled a nice bottom turn, nope,not on this one. Paddled back out to wait for some more only to see Pops dropping in on a nice set wave, and showing me who the master is. Had a few more nice waves and called it a night just as the sun set. Great night, more of the same tomorrow as the days are getting longer.

Better than expected

Just a quick post.

Cross off off and a sold swell pushing into the west coast this weekend,a bit sketchy on the inside but fine once planning. A bit tricky picking up the swell and pretty gusty but sweet waves.Timing was crucial on the drift and drop. Plenty of wind on the faces.Wasn't looking to promising when I looked over the sea wall and nearly talked myself out of not going in,better to go in than die wondering.

V-209 First dive of 2011

The Helm Deck Hatch to hold

Top of Engine in amongst wreckage

Conger having a little look

This little German armed trawler met her end by British aircraft in 1944. She was built in 1928 by Seebeck in its Wesermunde yard in Germany as a steam trawler for Finnish owners.This ship was launched as Prince Rupert, but the Finns soon sold her to the German Grundmann Groschel of Geestermunde,which changed her name to the Dr Rudolf Wahrendorf (locally known as the Ammo Wreck) and gave her the official fishing number PG-383.

The 381 ton trawler then set off on a successful fishing career that lasted until the start of the second world war.

The German Kriegsmarin took over this little trawler on Christmas eve 1939. Armed her with a 40mm gun at her bow and a 20mm at the stern it made her a Verpostenboot (guard ship) with the official navel number of V-209.

By July 1944 she was an armed escort trawler based at St Peter Port. She had been fitted with a bigger stern gun but, like most German shipping after D-day she never travelled alone in the channel or in daylight hours.

On the evening of July, 1944 five Grumman Avengers aircraft of 850 squadron were on anti shipping patrol. Their flight plan took them over the Channel Islands in the early evening close to Guernsey. The three man crew of these US torpedo bombers saw three small merchant ships being escorted out of St Peter Port by three armed German trawlers. The Dr Rudolf Wahrendorf led the way. The Avengers soon swooped in on their bombing run. They had no torpedoes, instead ,the bays held four 500lbs bombs. The first two bomber's attacked the Wahrendorf and the merchant ship behind it. Huge bomb flashes showed direct hits. The second ship in the line was also hit and was soon covered in smoke and flames. She looked like she was slowly sinking. Later reports said this ship was seen beached north of the harbour.

There was no doubt about the Wahrendorf. She was gone from the surface and, apart from the bodies floating in a pool of oil, there was no sign of her. Guernsey reports said that 26 of her crew were killed.

It's been a long time since I dived this little wreck.And as it was my first dive of the new year it was a nice warm up dive for the 2011 session.

After chugging out of St Peter Port half a mile, on Gulf stream, a 28 foot aqua bell. We radioed up Port control for permission to dive on the Ammo wreck, as it is in very close proximity to the harbour mouth. The harbour master called back over the VHF, and said that the Condor express fast ferry was leaving port at around the time we need to catch slack water to dive. As Condor came out of the harbour she passed right over the wreck site, we gave her a wide birth and then start looking for the wreck on the sonar. She sticks up off the sea bed by about 10 metres so finding her was easy. We arrived over the wreck and threw the shot line in, the pool was now open for Paul and myself to tie the line in and send the grapnel up with an air bag, as soon as we splashed in (I will kid you not it was freezing 8 degrees on my dive computer) we noticed in was slack as a yak, no tide at all which made for an easy descent down thirty three metres to the wreck below. The vis on the surface look ok at about 4/5 metres but as I dropped down through the water column the day light started to fade along with the vis. The shot had hit the wreck mid ships starboard side at about 23 metres just by the remains of the wheelhouse (8) which is easily accessible as the sides have decayed over the years of being under the sea. Inside you can still find in the debris the partly broken spokes and hub of the remains of the ships wheel with a steel framed hole that contains a ladder leading down to the engine room.I now had my bearings of were I was and started to swim forward towards the the pointy end (bow) I soon came across a reinforced platform (10)that would have had a large anti aircraft gun mounted on it, which has been salvaged. Forward of this,the corresponding gun shield (11) is resting on the deck. Reaching the bow you come across the remains of a deck shelter. All that remains is a wide open arch of steel (12) which makes for a nice swim through. The port side of the bow is well broken up (13) and a mess of twisted steel and plating, providing a nice home for large snakes (Conger eels). Making my way to the stern you come across the deck house (1) fixed through the deck house and reaching above it, is a support for another anti aircraft gun platform. Dropping down to 28 meter on the stern deck is the trawl winch (2) and the rounded deck gate (3) for the trawl cables to slide over the deck to stop them from chafing. Beneath the stern is the rudder (4) turned to starboard at 33 metres, took a quick look around for a few scallops and bugs (lobsters) for tea but to no avail as the bottom is heavily commercially trawled. Made my way back to the shot line and took a last look around. With my bottom time running out I returned home the way I came,looking down on the wreck I notice that we had kicked up all the silt that was covering the hull in a grey carpet, making the water look like pea soup and turning the visibility to 0. Diving on Nitrox 32 gave me a nice long bottom time giving me no deco, just the good old 3 minute safety stop.

All came back safe and sound.

Happy bubbles

Phil

A Not So Windy Weekend

Jump Sequence 4

Jump Sequence 3

Jump Sequence 2

Jump Sequence 1

Woke up this morning to the sound of wind in the trees and the roar of a 14 second period swell rolling into the beach with the thought of another days sailing down at the old stumping grounds. Made myself a coffee and a bowl of porridge, then let the cat out ,then back in, and out again. Grabbed my wet suit and sneaked out the house with out waking Jen and headed off to meet the gang.

With a promising forecast that never quite delivered I headed down to Vaz for some mellow jumping action. By ten we were already rigged and heading out in logo high sets. The morning started well, stacked on a 4.7.But by twelve the varying wind was becoming annoying. Later in the session I saw hutchy bottom turn into a logo high breaking monster that spat him clean out the lip, and then slapped him hard. The wave then swallows him up in two or three metres of exploding foam, with the equivalent of an Olympic size swimming pool of water landing on his head.I laughed to myself knowing that under all that white water that he would be grinning from ear to ear. A couple of seconds later he popped out the washing machines fast spin rinse cycle with a big cheesie grin on his face as he then had to take a long swim back to the beach chasing his kit, that was still remarkable in one piece . Called it a day around one totally broken.

Fine Tuning

Coming in to land

No pics from today's action these were from Fridays session.

Thanks to Sue for the shots

Post Storm Conditions

Stu preparing for battle with mother nature.

BEACH POSE. New 4.7 Ice Hd

We were all waiting in anticipation for today to arrive and wind guru, and the local forecast to be correct. And guess what it was, well all most. We scored 5/6 foot with the odd set of logo high wave riding although the wind was a little fickle and gusty ( from 25 gusting 40 knots).The boys scored an early session at high tide this morning leaving the afternoon shift (Stu and myself) uncrowded and had the waves to ourselves. There were some nice grunters pushing through at high tide,(but some of us have to work for a living). But when we turned up at low tide it looked like the swell had picked up and there was some nice waves breaking out on the sand bar in the middle of the bay.

Looks like good wind and waves again on Saturday so fingers crossed.

My new Ice Rip's in these conditions and I'm rapidly learning the joys of the sensational handling especially when descending the wave, the impressive performance over a very wide wind range and the instantaneous reaction on the top turns. The results are impressive across the board. The 2011 ice feels much lighter in the hands and radical to direct over my old sails.

Happy sailing

Phil.

Pre Storm Conditions

Conditions aren't that bad considering that South west wind is already on it.



Some nice surface bumps but no whitecaps yet.



A nice pulse is pushing ahead of tomorrows wind making for some nice chest to head high sets. Wind is supposed to stay in the SW for the next few days and start howling by late tonight. Resulting in a small craft warning.



Wind is starting to pick up a little so

I better stop writing and get out there.


Forecast for the Bailiwick of Guernsey from 6am to 6pm tomorrow Friday



Weather: Mainly cloudy. Risk of a little drizzle at times.



Max: 10c.



Wind: Southwest fresh force 5 to strong force 6, locally force 7.

STORM WARNING

WEATHER WISE THINGS ARE ABOUT TO CHANGE

THE NEXT STORM

IS ON ITS WAY

Wave sailing session to come

A Southerly change has come through in the last few days and warmed things up a little. Waves have picked up again and looks like they will stay with us for a few days. A light South West wind blowing this morning has increased to 18/20 knots this evening, although saying that the waves aren't fully chopped up but a little messy.

Weekends forecast on wind guru is looking very good with 30/40 knot winds blowing in from the SW,which should make for some nice wave sailing conditions kicking off on Friday, SW 28/38 knots and peaking on Saturday morning, 34/44 knots. Looks like It's time to break out my new 4.2 Ice HD with that forecast looming.

Ever since the winter solstice we have been gaining a little more day light hours every day, just about 2 minutes a day. Not much in the scheme of thing that occur in our busy working day, but after a while it all add ups. For instance I'll soon no longer go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. Which can only mean one thing, more time in the water after work. So with that in mind I managed to get a quick surf in to night and got those mussels and lungs working before nuking Friday hits us and I swap by long board for a sailboard. After last weeks baltic blast from the north there's still a nasty chill in the air after surfing at this time of evening and opening the van door with numb fingers was fun. Been out the water for a few hours now and my toes are just coming back to life.

Mid winter.

Christmas and New Year are a thing of the past.

Every thing is on sale at 50% off .

And nothing but Easter stands between us and Summer.

Roll on day light saving.

Sorry no new pics, so here's an old one of Gary and myself sharing the shoulder from last Autumn on a small day on T'other.