If you want to help this angler win the slosh reel, share the love on twitter, facebook, link on forums and everywhere! The more links and likes he get the more chance he has of winning! There are links a the bottom of the text to help you share…
Yesterday (11/07/12) I entered a sea angling contest and 3 charter boats had been booked from Newquay harbour. I was offered a spot due to some empty slots and being a novice thought I’d give it a go. The day went as follows…
0830 - 20 of us met as Sainsburys cafe for breakfast (sausage & bacon sarnie, thought I’d give the full fry up a miss for once).
0930 - down to the harbour side, looked out to sea and it looked a bit choppy, not too bad I thought.
0945 - Board boat and head out of harbour - boat rocking side to side and up and down as we headed out to sea. I stood at the back facing back to land as I’m told watching the horizon helps whilst trying to keep my balance. The sea was unforgiving now and got a lot rougher (lumpy was one description I heard). The boat was being rocked and rolled all over the shop by the large swell. We passed the headland and by christ it got worse. I have never suffered with sea sickness before but had taken an anti sickness tablet anyway.
1020 - The skipper stopped for a quick mackerel session and I managed about 10 mins before the sensation of trying to look down at the water whilst bobbing about started to churn my stomach. I put my rod down (that was the last time I touched it until we got off the boat) and sat down on the engine cover looking at land. I could feel the contents of my stomach rising at which point the chap fishing next to me threw up over the side. I made it a duet shortly after and was now green in colour according to others on the boat. I felt like shit having being covered with sea spray, cold, wet and my stomach constantly in reverse gear. What was the worst part was knowing we wouldn’t be going back into harbour until 5.00pm.
My condition worsened and I repeatedly went from throwing up to crouching down in the corner of the boat clinging to the guard rail with my head resting on my hands. The skipper moved the boat to several locations during the day but I didn’t move (other than to throw up yet again). Throughout the afternoon there was nothing left to come up other than a bit of spit but the didn’t stop me heaving/wretching like I was trying to turn myself inside out. I sipped at my water on the odd occasion I could raise my head. I pondered jumping over the side and trying to swim back to land or if I pass out will they get the search & rescue helicopter to take me back to dry land as I couldn’t face knowing there was several hours of this to endure. I stayed where I was, silent and very pale coloured in the corner.
4.35pm - started to head back to harbour, I’m still heaving up bugger all and look like a corpse, speed up and get me back to calm water will you.
5.10pm - back in the harbour in calm water, I made it. Then we were all off to the pub for a chilli & rice or curry. I had booked the chilli and managed half of it and drank nothing but still water. I still felt like shit and my face felt hot, god knows how but I have got a sunburnt face to cap it all.
As for look at the horizon … I tried but the land kept vanishing as we dropped down another wave.
Never again will I go deep sea fishing unless its a very calm day. I have never felt as rough in my life as I did yesterday. I still feel rough this morning and am going back to bed in a mo.
Whilst doing this a freak Wave broadsided the boat and sent me flying backwards off my box, throwing the contents of my half rolled ciggy into the wind and landing at my youngest`s feet! He found it highly hilarious and the rest on the boat joined in the belly buckling laughter which in turn stopped any feeling of sea sickness and set the tone for the rest of the trip!
There is nothing better than breaking the ice on a trip in style! I will remember to this day a fishing friend hooking a fish of his lifetime and the tip of his smoke touching the line as the creature was along side!Only to swim away….
When I was a kid (I started drawing my state pension this year),I had regularly been out shrimping and cockling with some of the boats from Leigh-on-sea in Essex, my birth town. This was a good way to earn pocket money and good fun, as a kid. When I was 17 I drove down to Newquay, Cornwall in June, just after I passed my driving test and landed a job on a fishing trip boat, an old clinker built fishing smack with a sail at the rear and an old smelly diesel engine in exchange for bed and board at the Skippers Wifes guest house..
Up to that time I had never been sea sick. All was well then after a week or so and a few local and deep sea trips we went out to the skippers favourite force 3 wreck mark. We anchored up and the rollers were running one way, the wind was blowing a different way and the current was running a different way again, making an interesting sensation all told.. It took a short while before almost everyone on the boat was green and sick, including me. We moved on to a more sheltered mark very quickly. Things improved for most but I was really sick and felt ill for the whole day..
All I can say in defence was that the skippers wife did a lovely fry up for breakfast every day and I’d eaten a lot of extras.
As the season progressed, I was less and less affected by the sea and was never sick again. I think that practice make perfect to be honest, but if anyone fears they may be sick, don’t go out on the Atlantic especially in rough weather. Cancel if rough weather is forecast. Really check it out before you board the boat. GOOD LUCK!
Thanks for your time in this wonderful account! The problem is all night since seeing this comment all I have wanted is a lovely big traditional fry up!
Motion sickness is interesting, the only thing that made me feel I’ll was flying in a hawk jet. I was lucky enough to have a number of flights and the sickness decreased each flight! It is a strange animal
I know Jamie, it made me hungry just thinking about those breakfasts when I wrote it. I didn’t think about the sea sickness at all, weird eh?
I booked a trip out of Poole, Dorset last year for my nippers 10th Birthday, there were 4 of us booked on including my Eldest Dylan 15, my mate Kev and Rian 10yrs…..
Anyway travelling to Poole it was a clear blue sky with no indication of the slightest bit of wind. But when we got to the Quay it looked a little different. The skipper said that he wasnt prepared to travel to his preferred offshore spot as it was a F5 and would be far to uncomfortable for us all so he headed off to no2 spot a bit closer in, well the fishing started well with some Pollack, Doggies, Thornies.
When Rian looked at me through eyes swimming in his head and a green tinge to his face saying “Dad, I dont feel well!”…..I replied, Just look at the horizon son, of which he did. Within about 20 mins his next comment was “Dad, I`m hungry!” He`s alright I thought so gave him a sandwich and sat on my box trying to roll a ciggy in the swell…… Well with the boat rocking n rollin and catching some waves side on I had my turn to go Green around the Gills, I felt rotten and just concentrated on staring at the horizon whilst trying hard not to expell my stomach contents……Whilst doing this a freak Wave broadsided the boat and sent me flying backwards off my box, throwing the contents of my half rolled ciggy into the wind and landing at my youngest`s feet! He found it highly hilarious and the rest on the boat joined in the belly buckling laughter which in turn stopped any feeling of sea sickness and set the tone for the rest of the trip!
Mark Hawksworth
Southampton
That is a fantastic story! I have Bern out a number of times and my brother and I have seen the daftest things, leaving us both unable to move with laughter!!
Thanks again for sharing your sea fishing tale with us!!
Jamie
Anything happening bout a new blog drop me a mail if you get time pls… Dave
Things been hectic here, basically I am simply going to tune this blog more towards beginners and improver’s, there seems a huge gap in the market place.
I have just spent the last week upgrading all my computers getting ready for the fight to get this site back where it belongs!!!!
Well whats the other story bout OZ dont be afraid to share so we can have a good chuckle!!!!!. Never sea sick in my life touch wood, and yea blanking on a boat in the Irish sea wouldn’t believe it if i wasn’t there myself…..
Was out at the start of the year from a dublin harbour and the one of the lads started trowing up as soon as we left the quay wall…. and boy did he suffer on that trip but the skipper was crap and all that was caught for a full day was doggies… so i never went with that skipper again and a few lads on the boat even managed the BLANK… ON BOAT!!!!!
Wow, some blanked in Ireland on a boat… That was one crap skipper. There is nothing worse than feeling ill on a boat. I fished a number of internationals from West Ireland (Achill). A few of the guys there were very poorly indeed. It really takes it out of you.
My worst experience was tooth ache on a trip. On the return to shore I got to a dentist and he drilled the tooth in to a STINKING abscess under the tooth. I spent the entire trip curled up under the skippers wheel as it was the only dry space on the boat. The skipper was great and very accommodating!!
Bin there, done that!!! I’d never been seasick in my life, untill we went out from Keyhaven cod fishing the back of the wight. I was 35yrs old and been fishing since I was a boy. I’d never been on this particular boat before and to say it had a strange corkscrew motion in the wind across tide conditions is an understatement. The wind was about F4-5 but the sea was not that rough. But the screwing motion of the boat totally floored me. And believe it or not I got sick almost every time we went boat fishing since. So by the time I reached my mid forties I gave boat fishing up. I’m now 60yrs old and restrict my fishing to the shore as there is nothing available that prevents seasickness if you’ve lost the psychological battle, which I clearly have. I hope you have more success beating it than I did.
That is really sad. I know a few commercial angler and Navy personnel who are sick as dogs for the first day or so, but slowly they get used to it and there body adapts.
I have never felt seasick, I have been scared senseless while trawling in Oz, but that is a whole other story…
Do you have much success Ken in your shore fishing??