Well today I decided to go fishing at Ballina even though the boat is not available yet..I got there and it was raining and blowing a gale but I thought not to let those little things put me off...so I pulled up on the old ramp for the ferry ( next to the current ferry) ..it was great as I could get real close to the water...not much walking... and I could cast my line and sit in the car with the rod out the crack I held open..it was so windy the car door would get blown shut if I did not hold it open with my footI did that to keep a little dry.
Anyways I was rewarded for my positive outlook with a nice flathead and a nice bream both over the legal length...now cleaned sitting in my freezer to be eaten next week sometime...
So even not being ideal weather I had a wonderful day and shouted myself a dozen Pacific oysters to have while looking at the ferry cross...these Pacific oysters are much better than I remember them ..bigger and perfect in taste...expensive but worth it for a treat occasionally..just topped off the day.
Years ago I thought fishing was cruel but I have been watching so many fishing "catch and cook" videos that I caught the bug..I still think catching and releasing is cruel..killing them and eating them not so cruel..odd way to see it really...
I was so tired by the end of today I could not bring myself to cook...but I have prepared some real nice salad and sardine ( Sprats) mix that I use as filling for rice paper rolls which although simple is top notch tucker.
Hey Alex, hope you are safe, the news says fires your neck of the woods
Hi Narayan
The fire is about 7 klms away...so I went to town and bought another 40 mtrs of fire hose ...that should take care of it and having a dam and a life jacket I can fight it right to the last...
It was scarey last night with gusting wind and being able to see the glow in the sky but I dropped down to have a look ( it's Sortta in my road) before I went to town this morning and frankly it did not look too bad...
I have been burnt out before and lost everything and it really is not that bad after five years you have accumulated more junk and the loss becomes just another memory...when I left Casino there was a road closed sign saying no traffic past Tabulam but that's OK I don't go past Tabulam.
I am going fishing on Saturday so it will rain for sure and that should put it out..
So long as it is all sorted by the next New Moon it will all be OK.
Finally had the tow bar ( ball) fitted to my little car ..it has only been 5 weeks but instead of the quoted $1500 they only charged $1240 so that made me cheerful for sure, ....
and the out board motor finally arrived ( after two weeks) and I got me a rod and reel I thought was too expensive as it went on special, ....and I got myself a fish finder ( in case I lose any fish) and also a trolling motor and organised the boat trailer for tomorrow ...so I am getting closer to launch day...such a simple thing but there is just so much to make it happen...
I don't know what the fire is doing but now that I am back home I will find out...but I feel it should be under control as I know they were water bombing it...
So it's been a huge day..up from 4 am and starting to fade now...but cheerful.
I now have everything ready to go and gave the boat a paint job..I went for a camo approach as I could get away with minimal preparation and now that it is almost finished I am very happy with how it looks.
Need a little more paint.
Tomorrow I will get the boat onto the new trailer and finalise all the little things and get ready to go and launch the boat.
I have a name for it but I just want to check the spelling.
I now have everything ready to go and gave the boat a paint job..I went for a camo approach as I could get away with minimal preparation and now that it is almost finished I am very happy with how it looks.
Need a little more paint.
Tomorrow I will get the boat onto the new trailer and finalise all the little things and get ready to go and launch the boat.
I have a name for it but I just want to check the spelling.
alex
Nice job Alex. If you're ever in the jungle you will be very hard to spot Best of luck with the launch.
Cheers, Richard
Nice job Alex. If you're ever in the jungle you will be very hard to spot Best of luck with the launch.
Cheers, Richard
Thank you Richard. I won't be in the jungle but I thought camo may help when fishing near mangroves...I have painted my anchor chain black so as not to be noticed by fish...but I feel it could help being less noticeable hopefully...but as I said the camo choice was to avoid days of sanding off the old peeling paint...I expect I will set a trend
The name I am thinking about is "Sargon" AKA Sargon the Great or Sargon of Akkard. He may well have been the first man to have ruled an empire but what caught my attention was words from his own mouth recorded on a clay tablet...
"My mother was a high priestess, my father I knew not. The brothers of my father loved the hills. My city is Azupiranu, which is situated on the banks of the Euphrates. My high priestess mother conceived me, in secret she bore me. She set me in a basket of rushes, with bitumen she sealed my lid. She cast me into the river which rose over me. The river bore me up and carried me to Akki, the drawer of water. Akki, the drawer of water, took me as his son and reared me."....And so seems Sargon was the first to offer the " Birth Legend" which is found with and including Moses, Karna, and Oedipus, but I like the idea that a little basket protected an unwanted infant in these stories in a little vessel in a river and each of whom went on to much greater things....but their basket not only saved then but was part of who they became. But certainly a popular story or we witness a few
co incidences.
But his " Birth legend" came at a time when kings would claim they had far from humble births claiming perhaps important folk as parents or even a god or two in the family so his claim to a humble start set him apart right there.
Anyways Sargon is a huge figure in history well worth study and certainly worth having my little boat named after him...and hopefully it will protect it passenger and he can go on to greater things...ie me
A good name Alex and I like your idea of being protected in a vessel. I like reading about those times in early history too and what I find surprising is we have so much information written(cuniform tablets mainly) down from those early periods. I like reading the " History with Cy ". Youtube channel. Have a good day.
Cheers, Richard
A good name Alex and I like your idea of being protected in a vessel. I like reading about those times in early history too and what I find surprising is we have so much information written(cuniform tablets mainly) down from those early periods. I like reading the " History with Cy ". Youtube channel. Have a good day.
Cheers, Richard
I follow Cy and many others.
Yes we are so fortunate to have you tube and the wonderful history channels...AND indeed so many channels ..I can learn just so much in such a short time.
But these folk who nit pick and holding these channels to what they expect from university are tragic intellectual snobs fearing the fact there is a modern way to learn stuff. Heck I have some understanding of molecular biology, for example, and not under any delusion that to practice in that field one needs more than a variety of videos...
But I can tell you a little about motor protein or the Krebs cycle... etc
And a productive morning, although it is raining,....I found I needed the girls help but the boat is now on the trailer and motors are in place..sure still stuff to do but it now is so close I could go this afternoon if I really wanted to get it launched.
Travel is a fantastic way to open the mind, see and experience new places and things, and to realise that we're all human beings on this rock and we all have our own stories to tell.
Travel is a fantastic way to open the mind, see and experience new places and things, and to realise that we're all human beings on this rock and we all have our own stories to tell.
Cheers,
V
I have never been interested in travell because there are so many foreigners in other countries.
I certainly would love to hear your stories of travel in Japan.
I painted my new boat trailer purple as I thought that may make it a little less attractive to thieves...fortunately to me it looks a nice blue
So I have spent much time gently running the outboard motor to familiarise myself with its operation best starting procedure etc. and just running it in.
It surprises me just how long my to do list remains.
But I chip away and plan to launch on Sunday or Monday.
The winds predicted are rather intimidating so I have decided to add reef points to the sail but even so it is perhaps not wise to test it's sailing performance in strong wind as it can capsize not having a weighty keel.
I hope to fit the fish finder tomorrow and places to house the various batteries...
But the real benefit of this project has been ..at least I think I am getting stronger legs...I have pushed myself knowing I really need to improve and this morning I did feel they have improved.
Too many stories to relate, really. It's a completely different world over there in Japan and nothing like what we have here in Oz, on so many different levels.
Cheers,
V
Quote:
Originally Posted by xelasnave
I have never been interested in travel because there are so many foreigners in other countries.
I certainly would love to hear your stories of travel in Japan.
Alex, I once had a large Canadian canoe I used for fishing. I wanted to be able to stand up while fighting a fish but that created stability problems since I also had no keel. I got around that by rigging two pontoons - one a side - a bit like a native rig that served them so well.
It was a bolt-on affair that was easily transported. Worth a thought perhaps.
Where do you buy the striped/spotted paint?
Nice job!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pmrid
Alex, I once had a large Canadian canoe I used for fishing. I wanted to be able to stand up while fighting a fish but that created stability problems since I also had no keel. I got around that by rigging two pontoons - one a side - a bit like a native rig that served them so well.
It was a bolt-on affair that was easily transported. Worth a thought perhaps.
I have a large 20+ foot Kayak called a "Catcan". It was designed and built by an army engineer (Mr Peter Poole) at Girraween, Sydney. It takes a sail and small keel and converts into a single hull sail powered 2 seater. It also has a tramp kit available (had) and with the aid of another hull converts into a catamaran.
I bought it new in 88 but it's so bloody heavy it can not be taken anywhere without a dedicated boat trailer. I must get it back in the water one day, I have an old boat trailer here I can convert.
It was an amazing kayak, designed to handle a 6 metre swell. Unfortunately as a non swimmer I wasn't. But it cut through the water amazingly well and with the rudder was a fast, stable, controllable beast.
A few of the same rigs set up as cats came in with the first fleet re-enactment in 88 with a bunch of Army guys on them, they'd been around the Aussie coast first from memory
Alex, I once had a large Canadian canoe I used for fishing. I wanted to be able to stand up while fighting a fish but that created stability problems since I also had no keel. I got around that by rigging two pontoons - one a side - a bit like a native rig that served them so well.
It was a bolt-on affair that was easily transported. Worth a thought perhaps.
That is a great idea...I could make some from some pvc sewer pipe and a heat gun. I will see how it sails first but with a little thought one could extend deck area for camping.
Yesterday I added reef points in the sail and in fact have already reefed the sail so that I can start with less power but I will still wait for mild conditions...boating causes you to think the worst and even then you are often presented with unexpected dramas.
I have decided to place the transducer for the fish finder on the trolling motor to avoid issues with turbulance if placed on the hull...but I don't have a ring clamp that large so it may have to wait...I will use that as an excuse to take the little red car for a run into Tabby
I have fitted a little box to house a very small battery that hopefully will run the fish finder and I have already established that battery will run the bilge pump from using it to water my little garden...it surprised me as I have pumped 10 garbage bins of water and it was still going strong ...if it needs to do that much when on the water I think I will have bigger problems than worrying about the battery going flat...
AND finally I found a place for the battery that will hopefully power the trolling motor and it fits perfect.( the middle seat does not go all the way to the topsides, it has flotation under it but there is enough room to fit the battery on the starboard side and happily the cables to the trolling motor just reach)..I was thinking all sorts of solutions that were rather complex so I am extremely happy (and very cheerful) that the solution came to me.
I have been working on the boat since 6 am ( stopped at 8 am for meds and a rest) and there is still plenty to do...Sunday seems to be the day..excellent fishing predicted but strong wind so probably will not get to test the sail.
Made up security cables for both motors and fitted them to appropriate points ...did a nice job and got to use my swagging tool as I had left over stuff including stainless steel cable from the observatory roof strengthing project.
Where do you buy the striped/spotted paint?
Nice job!
I have a large 20+ foot Kayak called a "Catcan". It was designed and built by an army engineer (Mr Peter Poole) at Girraween, Sydney. It takes a sail and small keel and converts into a single hull sail powered 2 seater. It also has a tramp kit available (had) and with the aid of another hull converts into a catamaran.
I bought it new in 88 but it's so bloody heavy it can not be taken anywhere without a dedicated boat trailer. I must get it back in the water one day, I have an old boat trailer here I can convert.
It was an amazing kayak, designed to handle a 6 metre swell. Unfortunately as a non swimmer I wasn't. But it cut through the water amazingly well and with the rudder was a fast, stable, controllable beast.
A few of the same rigs set up as cats came in with the first fleet re-enactment in 88 with a bunch of Army guys on them, they'd been around the Aussie coast first from memory
Thanks for your praise on the paint work.
I would encourage you to get stuck into making it happen...what motivated me was the realistic realisation that this may be my last summer where I can manage this ... assuming I can even now...launching will tax me to the max and just getting in and out of the boat should be fun to watch for interested bystanders...
Edit addition...I am very encouraged as I have just now been watching a video showing a guy on crutches launch his boat...it is amazing how things appear just at the right time.
alex
...so I pulled up on the old ramp for the ferry ( next to the current ferry) ..it was great as I could get real close to the water...not much walking... and I could cast my line and sit in the car with the rod out the crack I held open..it was so windy the car door would get blown shut if I did not hold it open with my foot
I did that to keep a little dry.
and having a dam and a life jacket I can fight it right to the last...
Best of luck with the launch.
