No more moaning about not making it out windsurfing anymore...

Gnarly Suck Ups

Yesterday was a great wind direction, cross onshore from the SW, combined with a super solid mast high swell. The only problem was that the wind was gusty. I rigged my 4.7 as full as I could and was just getting spanked in the gusts out back. Guernsey airport was recording an average wind speed of 32 knots and based on the surface conditions, I would estimate that the gusts were well in excess of 40 knots. Great session with huge jumps and a few forward loops, and some good down the line hits when the wind relented. Had some good spankings too and had to swim for my gear about three times. Would have given it 5 stars if it had lasted longer. Wave riding, jumping and fully powered out back 5, but with gusty conditions on the inside knocked it down to 4 stars. Made the most of it while it lasted.
Arrived to pouring rain, big swell on Tothers and with mother nature doing her best for this time of year with the wind. Met Simon (The Boy Marshan) on the beach and watched the blackness for a little while.
Was already in my wetsuit by the time the rain had cleared so thought what the hell and started to rig.  Very hard to pick the strength with the gusty conditions so thought I'd go 4.7 and 75litre board . Absolute grovel off the beach, actually there was no wind until I reached the reef, then it was time to hang on. Not enough, to too much in a blink of an eye for the 4.7 out the back, could have had a 4.2.
Headed back out with Matt (El Presidente) who had also arrived, the 4.7 was perfect as the wind steadied out and found its rhythm. Noticed a few nice looking waves breaking on Gnarly Suck-ups outside of the reef so headed up there to check it out and was rewarded with something special...

Once again Vazon at it's best, cross onshore down the line sailing 10 minutes from home! Picking the decent sets as usual was not my strong point but when I did it was awesome, my best wave gave up 5 bottom turns and was over logo high. So nice looking back up the wave as you're bottom turning to see the peak forming in front of you. Simon took the worse wipeout and the worst working by a wave, of his sailing career so far, owing to the small tide that was causing Gnarly Suck-ups to live up to its name. Set of the day rears up and it was his, about 8 foot.  He whips in perfect but too confident and gets in deep, big mistake!! Getting hung up on the lip he went completely over the falls as the wave sucked up over the reef and left him free falling down the face, with the lip right behind/on top of him (not sure which). One of the boys said it was very entertaining to watch. One very savage break pushed him completely to the bottom.  He's probably getting better at taking it and learning just how long he can hold his breath. 

  Session ended with a traditional beer in the hot tub to nurse those aching bones.

Action at last....

Silver bar





                                                                                     

Had a few hours out with the boys tonight fishing before the weather turns nasty.

 Going to keep this post short as I look at the forecast, need to load the truck up with my wave sailing kit for tomorrow. Finally it looks like there might be some wind  



Forecast for the Bailiwick of Guernsey from 5pm today Wednesday 25 May 2011 until 6am tomorrow.

Weather :   Sunny at first this evening, then rather cloudy with isolated showers overnight.

Min :  11 °C  Visibility :  Mainly good.

Wind :   Southeast or variable light F1 to 3, soon becoming west to southwest, increasing moderate F4 to fresh F5 later this evening and fresh F5 to strong F6 around midnight.

Open Sea State :  Slight with a low swell becoming rather rough to rough overnight.

 

Forecast from 6am until 6pm tomorrow Thursday.

Weather :   Rather cloudy with isolated showers. Feeling  colder. Max :  14 °C  Wind :  Southwest to west fresh F5 to strong F6, occasionally strong F7, with gusts to 40 mph, veering west to northwest late afternoon.





First blood actually. Tuc was first in






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Oost Vlaanderen

Rhine Barge
Location: NW of the lower heads buoy
Depth: 33m
Weight: 421 tons
Cargo: Cement
Date of Sinking: 23/5/43 
Armed motor vessel: Depth - 22mtrs to 31mtrs.

Built 1931: 412 tons


During the Second World War when the Islands were occupied by German forces. The Dutch Rhine barge Oost Vlaanderen arrived off St Peter Port in May 1943, laden with cement and a few guns. Before she reached the safety of the harbour, she was attacked by allied aircraft and sank within minutes.
   

This wreck was sunk by the RAF in May 1943 and was part of a convoy travelling to Guernsey from St Malo to supply the occupying German forces, she sank after being struck on the waterline forward of number 1 hold and sank with the loss of all hands.
The Channel Islands experience one of the largest tidal movements on earth which can make for some exhilarating drift dives, so as we were going to dive on a 9.1m tide I had very little hope of a big slack tide window in which to dive.

The plan for Friday was fairly simple, get on the boat, shoot out to the Cement wreck and do a dive. We trundled out to the OostVlaanderen (which is only 1.5 miles from St Peter Port). Known locally as the cement wreck, it is a reasonably intact fairly conventional steam powered coaster with an AA gun's and cement in the hold's. 

The sun was shining and the seas relatively flat when we arrived at 6pm, and not a minute too soon as it looked like slack water was already upon us.  Once on site, the shot line and anchor were deployed and it was time for the off. I was going to do about 25mins along with my partner in crime Gary who was going to about the same.The depth of this wreck makes nitrox a good choice.
 

On jumping in, I knew the vis would be good, but it wasn’t until I got to the bottom and my eyes adjusted I realised quite how poor it was!  Looks like a second plankton bloom is on its way...  Once again, as with all our wrecks around these waters congers seem to be living in every hole and huge shoal's of Pout hover over the wreck.
 I would say the vis was limited to 6m in a torch beam and was certainly not over 8m,  There was plenty of sediment in the water.

Laying in front of me was an upright but battered wreck on a white shingle seabed. My depth at this

point was 32m.

The shot was lying on the port side of the wreck, so from here we swam across the stern and towards the bow.

On reaching the bow, I swam into the forward anchor room and had a quick look around and poked in the debris and mud for a bit.  Swimming back out into the forward hold, I was surrounded by a massive shoal of pout darting in and out of the wreck as if they were trying to avoid the beady eyes of the resident congers. I was on a mission on this dive to return to the stern and ambush a big bug I had seen lurking on my last dive, Nothin’doin’ he'd seen me coming and disappeared deep inside the wreck, (next time I'll have him).
Heading back towards the bow and dropping into no 2 hold, I carried on poking around the AA guns at whatever was poke-worthy. With a dwindling No Deco Limit, I headed back to the shot line just in time to see the rest of the gang coming down. Passing them on the line we went our separate ways. During my hangtime bursts of air bubbles shot past me, letting me know that the boys were still have fun on the bottom.

Hauling my ass out over the gunwale it was time to get de-kitted and get down to sorting and hauling gear, driving home, cleaning gear and all the tasks large and small that accompany diving.  This was delayed by one of Gary's friends who unknown to us had turned up over the wreck site while we were down in his boat. Dave shouted across to us to see if we fancied popping across to our sister island of Herm for a few beers. Time to abandon ship, still in my drysuit we grabbed out gear transferred it to the other boat and shot over to Herm. While enroute I phoned ahead to Jen who had booked some boaty tickets for Herm and the Cider and Real Ale Festival that was taking place that night, to get the beers in for when we arrived. The Mermaid Tavern was packed. Had a couple of beers at the festival, different to the 'old' style in that there were not wooden barrels everywhere and just 2 ciders, however we coped very well! The BBQ was good and the company even better. Saw lots of old friends, which is always nice for a yarn. A young dude called Josh played at the Tavern followed no less than by The Barley Dogs (minus Clem unfortunately). They were excellent however. Jen said they even struck up a few notes on the M.V. Travel Trident on the way back which was awesome - just like the old days ....

Somewhere off Sark, Tubby Bashing

Tide: 7.8m @ 15:51pm.

Fishing: 15:00pm - 18:15pm

Weather: Light NW wind, dying off later. Sunny.

Fishing Grounds: Somewhere off Sark.

Species: Anything Flat.

After picking the worms up from Chancre (thats the nick name of the bait man) down on the fisherman's key, Stu and I  headed to a mark not too far from Sark that we knew was producing some nice size Turbot. Days before there had been 8lb's, 10lb's coming up. Hopes were high between myself and Tuc.We got to the mark to find that there was already a few boats fishing.
  Down to business, Tuc set up using a 5/0 hook with a sand eel flapper, standard tactics for targeting Turbot. I was armed with a bunch of nice red and a few green sand eels on a 6/0 hook. 30 minutes in I had a very good bite, I reeled into what I thought was a good fish, I could feel movement and weight, hoping it was a flattie. A minute or two later and up came the most....huge....massive.....slimiest piece of seaweed you'd ever seen. Oh well may dream of catching a turbot was shattered.
  Very little action after that, what made it more frustrating is that the anglers that were already there were catching, the boat alongside us had landed two nice sized fish. After 3 hours of sun bathing waiting for a bite we started to pack up and head home. That's when we saw wiggi out in his boat, so Tuc gave him a call to see if he had any luck. The following conversation went something like this.

Tuc: Any fish!
Wiggi: Na. And you!
Tuc: No flats this end. Heading home.
Wiggi: No fish here Tuc! follow me.

With that, Wiggi was hard on the stick and had his boat up on plane and was off to his secret spot, with us following close on his stern.  We got to Wiggi's mark in good time and began the drift for bass and turbot (Drift No.1). We were within casting distance of one of the popular Sark fishing marks. First blood of the day went to Wiggi, we could here him jumping up and down with excitement as he landed a nice bass and looking very smug with himself. His face soon dropped as Tuc's rod tip bent over and touched the water.

After a few minutes scrap, up came a very nicely sized 9.5lb Tub. (Drift No.2) saw a little toaster size Tub caught by yours truly, which I put back to fight another day. By this time Wiggi was not jumping up and down with excitement he was giving us verbal abuse about how he showed us his little spot and  we had cleaned up.... All to late now Wig, the marks are in the plotter.............




  

The ocean is scary...

A shocker.... Makes all other 'X' certificate horror movies seem as harmless as a Sunday afternoon stroll"
 Clawing out of the sea from a mile deep.  Monster crabs are invading Guernsey. Armed with a jar of mayonnaise, Phil steps into battle. An army of red monsters is marching west from Jersey They have eight legs, and huge claws, and they grow up to 6ft wide. They’ll eat anything they can catch. There are 10 million of them, and they’re multiplying rapidly.
Run for your life...........

Off Road

Mother Nature has been quite unkind the last few months giving us no wind for sailing. I guess she really exhausted her breath way back in April when she was blowing at 25-30 knots most of the day. She has given no breeze at all since then and then there was wind. Wouldn't you know the moment I go on holiday she gets her breath back. I had a call from Hutchy while I was away, saying it was pretty windy in little old Guernsey but it was tipping it down with rain, (full report http://www.hutchsurf.blogspot.com/). On the other hand, I was basking in 24 degrees of Mediterranean sun, but I still felt like I was missing out on a sail

So, what's a Guernsey windsurfer to do on a Thursday morning when there's no wind in the Med?

First of all I must thank Jony O for the great off -road trip I did with Jen on Thursday.
   Now, if you go for a pure adrenaline kick, I have just the thing for you.  Off-road quad biking.  Feel the adrenaline kick in on the steep slopes of the Cypriot mountains, breath in the fresh mountain air and be amazed by the variety of the landscape on the west coast of Cyprus.  The Akamas mountains is a lumpy peninsula jutting into the sea and a protected area along the Mediterranean coast of Cyprus.  The countless dirt roads offer stunning views of the coastline, they lead to immaculate beaches,and let you encounter the local inhabitants (goats and the odd donkey),or encourage you to kick up the dirt. Think of Cyprus and you probably think of an increasingly popular package holiday alternative to Spain. All sun sea and sand. Which is fair enough up to a point but as you may also know there is so much more to Cyprus than cheap packaged tat. (But don't expect to ever be much more than a stones' throw from it!) If you're into Outdoor adventure (and reading this means you most likely are) you probably also know that Cyprus offers some truly fantastic riding opportunities in its mountains. and it's a great  playground all on it's own.  We took a day off from ticky touring and went exploring it, leaving the tourists behind totally and devoting ourself to playing in the wilderness.
Picking up our quad bikes from Coral bay we hit the road and headed out, we passed the little fishing harbour of Agios Georgios and then hit the dirt to Viklari (The Last Castle) restaurant where we had lunch the day before.

Quite hard to get to by car (we had a 4x4) down a rough and bouncy track but well worth the trip. A truly great setting on the cliff tops above the Akama Gorge overlooking the sea. The food is simple and rustic. Grandad turns the barbecue spit whilst his children and grandchildren help in the kitchens and wait on the tables, which are flintstones style rock slabs, under a shady roof of grape vines. There isn't really a menu  just barbecued meat or fish with Greek salad and home made chips, simple but delicious. The setting is stunning . I loved this place.

Heading North West about 5km ride from the end of the road from Agios Georgios you come across Lara Beach which is situated way beyond the popular resort are of Coral Bay, and divided by Cape Lara.  Access is via rough tracks only (4x4 recommended). The bad news is, during the summer, you'll have to share the golden sands of the northern half of the beach. The good news is, you'll share it with rare sea turtles, who choose this picturesque beach as one of their last remaining nesting sites in south Cyprus. Backed with low cliffs, its a pretty beach with no vehicle access and selected pedestrian access points. During the breeding season, the entire beach is out of bounds as the young hatchlings struggle to the surface of the sands and begin their dangerous journey down to the surf.  Leaving Lara bay behind we turned inland and headed up a step trail to Fontana Amoroza on reaching the top of the mountain pass you greeted by the most spectacular view of clear blue seas the make up the blue lagoon. We made it along the track to the Blue Lagoon. Admittedly the track was steep in places and the drop from the edge was “noticeable” (if picturesque), but we made it nonetheless. Humorously it is only when one reaches the other end and turns around that the ‘Dangerous Road, Do Not Enter’ sign is visible, but we didn’t die on the way home either.

 After 3 hours of dirt being thrown in my face by Jen doing burn outs on her quad it was time for a beer and some lunch. We had reached the town of Latchi, otherwise known as Lakki or Latsi dependent on which map you are using!

  Once a tiny fishing harbour, Latchi,  has grown considerably over the past couple of years, yet still retains its unique charm. It was time to sit back and enjoy a seafood lunch at the harbour.  Stopping off at one of the waterside tavernas  it was time to tuck into a bowl of garlic prawns and calamari, washed down with a nice cold beer and watching the boats come in and out the harbour.
  Then it was time to hit the road again for the journey back home.

Finger Bobs

Jen playing with her food

"Sucks gas and hauls ass!"

"Sit down, shut up and hang on!"
Giving it some berries

Blue Lagoon

Checkin out the view

1 Horse power VS 300cc Horse power