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Trip to Alderney aboard "Samuel
Irvin 3" - July 2007 |
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8 Essex Guys - 61 Pies - (and a Sack of Pork Scratchings) Here's a fitting tribute to a most enjoyable 4 days in great company aboard Ian Noble's "Samuel Irvin 3" out of Dartmouth, on an adventure to Alderney in the Channel Islands. On my return, I told my Wife, Patsy, all about our excellent trip, and before I knew it she had written an "Ode".
Ian Noble was our trusty
"Skipper" aboard the "Samuel Irvin".
We tackled up and all prepared,
to give this mark a try,
It's the end of our trip already,
with plenty of fishing, how time flies. I was delighted to accept a generous invitation from Ian Noble, who charters his Blyth 33 catamaran, "Samuel Irvin 3" out of Dartmouth on a 4 day trip to enjoy the fishing in and around the Channel Islands, based in Alderney. The morning started with typical minor snags, you know the sort of thing; while loading my estate car with cameras and enough tackle to fish on the moon, I banged my head on the up and over rear door. After struggling to pull on my waterproof salopettes, I discovered that I had left the car ignition key in my under trouser pocket, and just to help things along, our family pet, a very excited black Cocker Spaniel, "Golly" tried very hard to get into the back of the car, with the luggage. It was then that Ian called me on my mobile to let me know he was alongside. Yes you've guessed, my mobile 'phone was in the pocket of my under trousers. At 6.40 am on Saturday 21st July, I boarded "Samuel Irvin 3" alongside the Town Pontoon, on the South Embankment at Dartmouth. The sun was shining, Ian was his usual affable self and suddenly my cares were forgotten at the prospect of a four day Alderney fishing adventure. As we motored quietly across the River Dart I adjusted the height of our fenders on the starboard side of "Samuel Irvin 3". I could see the rest of our group, members of the Essex based "Green Line Sea Angling Club, waiting on the pontoon at Kingswear. I later learned that their club motto is "Fishing with friends" and that certainly proved to be the case throughout our time together. We came alongside and exchanged greetings, then loaded the provisions for our trip. There was all the usual fishing tackle and bags of clothing, but there were several extra cool boxes and a huge clear polythene sack, large enough to hold a King Size Double duvet. Did my eyes deceive me? No! I know it was early in the morning, but I could see that this huge package contained the best part of a gross of packets of Pork Scratchings. I quickly discovered, as I was loading cases of "Pepsi" and stowing them under the seats at the rear of the boat, that the cool boxes contained 61 pies. There were steak pies, chicken and bacon pies, and even Blueberry, Apple or Rhubarb pies for those with a sweeter tooth. This really bettered our usual fare of ship's biscuits by an Essex country mile. I was introduced to Geoffrey Roff, from Chadwell St. Mary; Chris Bailey from East Tilbury; George Young from Grays; Paul Line from Bulpham; Fred Budd from Hornchurch; Alan Jory from Hornchurch; and Jim Lucioni, together with his Son, Jayke age 15 years, from East Tilbury. To a chorus of "Why are Pirates called Pirates?" With an echoed chorus of reply in a Salty Sea Dog Brogue, "Because they Arrrrrrr!". We steamed gently out towards the twin castles which guard the entrance to the Dart, while I stowed the fenders and mooring ropes. Our adventure was under way. As we headed for the open sea, Ian gunned the throttles, as Gulls mewed over head. I reckon they had seen the pies! We cruised smoothly to a mid-Channel mark where we used "Storm Shad" lures to catch some fine Cod and Pollack. The Essex boys had in the main brought along 9 foot 6 inch Daiwa or Fladen up-tide rods which served admirably for wreck fishing in 240 feet of water. Many had fitted them with Abu Garcia Big Game Lever Drag 7000 reels, with a mixture of braid and mono lines. Ian and I chose a couple of my newly acquired Shakespeare "Salt Sporting Braid 20 to 30 l;b class 8 foot rods, fitted with my favourite Accurate B870M multiplier reels, loaded with 30 lb Berkley "Fireline" braid.
Geoff Roff was as pleased as punch to be the first to
boat a quality fish, with a prime Cod in excess of 18 lbs.
We all caught Cod or Pollack. Jayke Lucioni, age
15 years, was clearly very excited when he caught the best fish of the
day, a prime Cod, 19 lbs 7 ozs, his personal best specimen Cod to date.
Though dark clouds briefly threatened we resumed our cruise towards Alderney, which lies about 20 miles north of Guernsey. The skies cleared and the sun once more broke through. I have sailed into Alderney on perhaps ten or eleven previous occasions, the last was probably around ten years ago, but I had never before fished out of this lovely island. Alderney has its own relaxed pace of life, a different rhythm, well away from the "Rat Race". This was a whole new experience. We disembarked from the boat in Braye Harbour. We 'phoned "Riduna Buses" on 01481 823813 and within minutes we were collected by mini-bus, to be whisked away to our accommodation at Farm Court, which is situated in the only town on the Island, St. Anne, about 1½ miles, up hill from the Harbour.
On arrival at Farm Court, we were greeted by the
proprietor, Moira Sleeman who made us most welcome. The property,
which is opposite Alderney Pottery, comprises a number of converted farm
buildings set around a cobbled courtyard garden.
I was a late addition to the party and so had made my own booking. I had single occupancy of a comfortable and well appointed well appointed double room with its own en suite bathroom at a cost of £60 per night. I went to the fridge to collect a small jug of fresh milk to use in the coffee which was available to brew myself in my room. I stopped and looked again, before I realised that Alderney milk is yellow, the colour it used to be when I was a boy. And to hammer the point home I read the label, this was "Lite" quality, or perhaps in our terminology, "semi skimmed". What must their full milk be like? It's nothing like the pale white stuff you buy from your local mainland supermarket these days. The local butter is bright yellow too and at first glance, you could be excused for mistaking it for cheese. I spread it generously on my toast which accompanied a "Full English" breakfast the following morning. You can visit Farm Court on line at www.farmcourt-alderney.co.uk or you can Email relax@farmcourt-alderney.co.uk You can call 01481 822075 or you can Fax the same number to arrange your own booking reservation. Alternatively, you can write to Moira Sleeman, Farm Court, Alderney, Channel Islands, GY9 3UX. I commend it to you. That evening we dined at one of the many eating places on the island. There are so many for such a small place that you can take your choice.
On Sunday morning we were collected again by mini-bus
and boarded "Samuel Irvine 3" alongside in Braye Harbour at 9.0 am.
George Young decided to stay ashore and enjoy a day looking around
Alderney, which he later told me he thoroughly enjoyed. We spent
the morning fishing on the drift on the South Bank close to the Island,
with no great success. I guess the fish were just not feeding, so
we headed off to a rough ground mark where we all caught Black Bream on
rigs terminating in small hooks, baited with Squid or Mackerel flesh.
My own best Bream of the day was around 2 lbs 8 ozs and provided great
sport on light tackle. Many of the fish we caught were released
alive to grow, breed and fight again another day, though a few were
retained for their fine eating quality on our own table.
To add insult to injury, Chris Bailey's Wife was back
at home in Essex. Was she cooking the Sunday lunch? No!
She was boat fishing out of Bradwell. Kim Bailey caught her own
specimen Bass which weighed-in at 10 lbs 8 ozs aboard "Kingfisher".
Kim used a Penn
Power Stick and an Abu 7000 reel, with 18 lb braid line and a 4/0 Mustad
hook, baited with a whole Squid
to catch her
double figure Bass. Mobile 'phones are great gadgets, but Kim used
hers to send Chris a photo of her big Bass, which though it pleased him,
may have rankled just a tad.
We returned to Braye harbour around 6.30 pm. I was surprised when we were unable to contact our mini-bus. It did not arrive and I admit that with the damage to my right femur, which I broke in 5 places some 19 months ago, I struggled to walk back up the steep hill to Farm Court. That evening we enjoyed a superb meal at the "Belle Vue" Hotel, which is in the centre of St. Annes. I dined on Irish fillet steak with pepper sauce. It was superb and tasted just like steak used to. I could get used to this. On Monday we enjoyed some mixed fishing over rough ground between the Island and the Casquettes Reef. We caught a variety of fish.
We caught a mixture of Ballan and Cuckoo Wrasse.
Paul Line caught a beautifully coloured Cuckoo Wrasse which he returned
alive.
We caught several nice Black Bream. George Young
caught a fine Black Bream.
Several pretty Red Gurnards were caught. Alan
Jory caught a nice Red Gurnard.
As an aside, I have to smile when I think back. Ian asked what was in the cool box. and was told "Pies". When Ian enquired what was in the boxes beneath the pies, he received the reply, "Frozen bait". During our voyage, Ian offered to heat some pies in his gas oven on-board. Much to our collective amusement, this endeavour set off the smoke alarm in the wheelhouse when Ian attempted to catch fish and cook pies at the same time. Hence we sampled a new culinary delight, warm fruit pies with a heavily toasted crust, and did I detect just a hint of Squid. On our return to harbour, we were met by our Mini-bus. We learned that the previous evening when we had 'phoned, the owner was out walking her dog. This evening, the driver dropped us off at our request at Alderney Angling & Sports, where we just had to buy some items of tackle. We were like children in a sweetie shop. Encouraged by Mark, the proprietor, we stocked up with shads, line, hooks and everything we could possibly need from his well stocked emporium. I introduced myself to Mark, who, like me, writes a regular monthly column for Sea Angling News. Perhaps this is a good time to mention that there is no VAT imposed on goods sold on Alderney, which is a significant and worthwhile inducement to spend your money. Mark also offers a guiding service and tackle hire to anglers visiting the island. He can be seen most mornings at Braye harbour selling tackle from the back of his van which is an admirable service. He can also supply you at a small cost with crushed ice to conserve your fish for your own table. You can visit Alderney Angling on-line via www.alderneyangling.com or you can Email Mark on mark@alderneyangling.com You can 'phone or fax Mark on 01481 824884 or call him via his mobile on 07781 130304. That night we again ate at the Belle Vue Hotel. I again enjoyed a fillet steak with a different sauce, followed by a delicious home cooked strawberry cheesecake. I can still recall the taste and it is good. The following morning we enjoyed a cooked breakfast at 7 am before boarding the mini-bus to get to Braye Harbour for an 8 am departure. Mark was there to see us off and sell the lads yet more tackle. It's an indisputable fact that a man can never have too much fishing tackle. Most of the guys had pre-ordered duty free drink and cigarettes which awaited us on the quay alongside the "Samuel Irvin 3". Prices are far below what we pay on the mainland.
We cruised to a mid-Channel mark where we all caught
more Cod and Pollack on "Shad" lures. Ian Noble and I looked on
with eager anticipation as Fred Budd clearly enjoyed bending his rod
into a hard fighting fish. Fred eventually boated a fine Cod.
Alan Jory was clearly delighted to boat his own quality
Cod.
Not to be outdone, I caught a hard fighting Cod in
excess of 18 lbs, which gave a great scrap, despite having a deformed
tail.
Like my Cod, I'm now nearing the end of my tale of another enjoyable fishing excursion. We returned to Dartmouth about 5.30 pm, where we bid our fond farewells. I would like to convey my thanks to the lads and to Ian Noble for inviting me along on this wonderful Alderney fishing adventure. Thank you for your companionship, the delicious pies (courtesy of York Butchers, Linford, Nr. East Tilbury), and the wonderful company. If you live in the Essex area and would like to join a really friendly sea angling club then I suggest you take a peek on-line at www.greenlinesac.co.uk or call George Young on 01375 385036 for further details. (c) Mike Concannon - Fishing Dartmouth 26th July 2007 |
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