Enough excitement for a whole year

[richi]

29th December 2013

As usual I had been watching for a weather window.Today had been looking on for days and last night with winds nowhere near xcweathers forecast the alarms were set ready for my last Needles trip of the year.

Cold morning,the first frost I've seen this year but by the time I arrived at Keyhaven the sun was up and things were warming up nicely,hardly any wind.Didn't bother with the sail.No charters out,plenty of free parking right on the slip.Happy days.

Launched and made my way down to Hurst,it seemed that as soon as I reached Hurst point the wind picked up,it was almost like somebody had flicked a switch,ah well,it'll make for an interesting trip




The trap was fun on the way out and there was more to come.

I got to the bridge and opted to round the lighthouse to reach the spoil grounds instead of taking my normal course close to this rock,you would've too wouldn't you More on this later




I did the Needles from Keyhaven in 56 minutes hitting 9mph in the process







As I say,I decided to round the lighthouse,who knows if it was the right decision but shortly after this pic I got a lovely wake up slap from a rogue wave

Up till now my hands had been warm but they were bloody cold after that and I wasn't going to put gloves on till sat at anchor.

I headed out towards the Spoil Grounds and after a short while it was becoming apparent that it just wasn't going to be fishable there today,there were big swells coming in with the occasional rogue thrown in for good measure.I turned round after a while and settled on an inshore spot just off of sun corner,I was that close inshore I could see the tourists walking around the clifftops.





Anchored up and after a quiet hour I caught a doggie Ah well at least I wasn't going to blank but it did seem quiet today.


A rib came over to have a look




I ignored them.


Then after about a further hour I had a decent bite and hooked into a decent fish,Yes! you beauty! gently does it up to the kayak comes a big fat




Bass? WTF






This certainly perked me up a bit and I fished on with renewed vigour for a further hour but with no result.

The coastguard had been talking about gales later and the tide was spot on for my return so at around 2pm I upped anchor to head home.

It soon became apparent that this wasn't going to be easy.There was a rolling swell at Scratchells and it was pumping through at the bridge and the round the light option didn't look too nice either.I hung fire at Scratchells evaluating the swell then decided to look for the lull and go for it.After a few more minutes it looked like time to go and I turned and pointed the bow at the gap and went for it.

You know that feeling when you have decided to go for it then spot something big over your shoulder?It is normally accompanied by "Oh F**k"! I wouldn't say I was crapping myself but my heart is pounding thinking about it now.I surfed through the bridge and I was totally on the limit keeping myself in the kayak but the Splash took it all in her stride.


I took a few pics after entitled "I can't believe I went through that"!








Like I said,the round the light option wasn't any better.

After coming through that unscathed my thoughts started turning towards the infamous hurst trap,I wonder how that will be performing today,,,,,,,after a half hour or so I had the answer




I decided to take a video because it was too wild to take photos but only a few seconds came out,shame because I hit 11.6mph at one point





Back towards Keyhaven and someones boat hadn't weathered the storm





I had a great day,one of those days where I loved every aspect of the trip and came home with a nice 60cm Bass to end the year,priceless

[Sunny]

I'm with you Richi....how the heck did you get through that ?!!

Its a nasty bit of water in a Raider 18 and all the more so on a yak. I tip my hat to you.

Nice Bass to mate...well deserved. I guess the bulk of the cod are now away, as normal. Its a real shame that the cod are not with us for longer; bloomin season is over before you know it.

I'll be out there next winter mate, so expect to see you :0)

[skyetoyman]

Last time I went through that spot was 45 years ago in a 60 ft cruiser out from Christchurch and that was bad enough.
Worth remembering that every 7th wave is a big one.

[loopy78]

I think my inner coward, just like Roy Schneider would demand a bigger boat for anything that big and lumpy!!
Top effort and a nice reward to finish it off, well done Richi

[Sunny]

Dec 31, 2013 16:30:49 GMT skyetoyman said:

Last time I went through that spot was 45 years ago in a 60 ft cruiser out from Christchurch and that was bad enough.
Worth remembering that every 7th wave is a big one.

I was drift fishing the gap between Hurst and the IoW one summer and 60ft+ cruiser went through on the side nearest to Hurst and a wave broke over the top of the bow, rolled up the cabin, over the windscreen and dumped on top of the passengers in the bridge....the screams from the bekini-clad femal passengers could be heard by us on the far side of the channel....flippin hillarious :0)

Taught me something....doesn't matter how big your boat is you can still get one come over the top

[walker]

Great report and read - I can only imagine what that must have felt like

[richi]

Jan 1, 2014 14:01:39 GMT walker said:

Great report and read - I can only imagine what that must have felt like

I bet you imagined right though That's the beauty of the Needles trip,you never know what it will really be like.I think that is one of the things I love about the sea,no two days are the same.



Thanks for the comments guys,it was a memorable day.

[snoopy54]

Richi - hats off to ya mate

Great read and NICE Bass - still think yer a nutter though nipper

Kindest

Clive