port dafarch meet

[ZEBRA]

due to the wind it was decided at the last minute to try fishing gallows point but looking at the white horses on the sea it was clear we were going to be Lucky to find somewhere to have a paddle today so we went to penmon and found a bit of shelter .
but even as we were getting ready to launch we could feel the wind power getting stronger we decided to have a paddle and see how it was before trying to fish .it was good to see all the guys. we kept a guy on shore with a vhf radio just in case even though we mostly all had radios it made good sense to have someone standing by . topcat .spud.hughesey.brewen .tonyw.monair .hatter3 .keno.
jock even brought along stitch ;D and i even seen timo on the way home .
it was really hard going with the wind but we had a good go at it and though it was almost unfishable we did all get chance to all have a good go at the new mini-x and the x factor and test out some pfds to.
note : monair on his first time out see how well he did in the photos he soon got to grips and was hopping from boat to boat trying them all out.all in all a difficult day with the weather but great company thanks guys and jock .

special thanks must go to Kevin and Adam on the cooking it finished the day of nicely with bacon and sausage balms and hot tea .



the photo does not do justice to the heavy wind we all encountered



















testing the stability of the new mini-x full report on that later in the week .

[brewyn]

what can I say..
some nice photo's taken by all. good to see some of the lads again, and met stitch and raskar which could only be a good thing, good to meet you both, and the mop head LOL.

(met raskar later in the day for those scratching there head and thinking I've lost the plot).

Again, what can I say, not a very good day for those of us who wanted to fish and spent in excess of £50 to get to the location, the bait box did'nt even see the light of day. The final location in my oppinion was'nt the safest for the newbies to go out, if you went out more than 50 yards or so you had a good chance of being blown out to sea.

BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME.

[hugheseysx]

Excellent photos. A great photoshoot to showcase the malibu yaks and test out all that new gear. Wind killed the fishing again. Feels like we are cursed. We need to get some weather networks up (i.e. us on our mobiles before the meeting point) and running so we can pick the very best spot on the day.

[ZEBRA]

One of the main problem with organising meets is the weather and once everybody is assembled if the wind is to strong you have a choice either cancel on the spot and go home or have a drive around and try find a sheltered spot we tried gallows and had no luck there so next it was to penmon which was ok just but the next choice was to drive right across the island and see how another place was if we had drive across the island and it had not been fit there then it would have been to late to go back to penmon and we would have had to just cancel the meet but as it was there was a bit of shelter at penmon and although not the conditions for fishing it did give us a chance to have a paddle.

[moniar]

Great photos Terry, and nice to meet everyone for the first time. I really enjoyed my first meet, despite the dodgy weather, and everyone was fantastic in explaining what was what on the kayaks and giving me hints on the paddling etc. Although I have paddled a bit before in "sit in" canoes, its mainly been on lakes and the last time I went out on the sea was around 20 years ago!

I found the sit on top mini x factor very stable even in the high wind, and would have tried some re entry practice if I had had a full dry suit on. Thanks to Kevin for lending me the dry trousers, pdf and neoprene socks, which kept me warm and dry so I didnt need the change of clothing I had brought. Despite the difficult conditions I felt safe and well looked after by Terry and Kevin, which demonstrates the sense in newbies coming out on meets and learning from the experienced members and being under their watchful eye for the first few attempts.

Really interesting seeing Kevin put the mini x through some re entry tests and finding a couple of issues with it to bear in mind. I swapped from the mini x factor to Kevin's P15 prowler at that point, so I was able to experience the longer bigger kayak - I only had a couple of brown pants moments on the way back in when the P15 was side on to the strong wind and nearly had me in! Thanks to Ian too for the go in the new prowler 4.5 elite, which I found to be a bit easier to handle than the P15.

As Terry has said above, the day was rounded off with a delicious bacon and sausage buttie and some hot tea - thanks again Kevin and Adam.

Looking forward to the next meet, when the sea will hopefully be a bit warmer so I can try some re entry drill. I have instructed our hens to work overtime in the week before the camp meet so I can bring along some nice free range eggs to fry up.

Now I just need to finalise which yak to buy (negotiations have commenced with the wife, and my cbf600 motorbike has been offered up as the sacrifical lamb :-) ) and measure up the pony trailer to see if it will take a P13 or just a mini x factor inside it for storage :-)

Thanks again everyone for a great day out - will hopefully take the spinning rod out of the car next time to try fishing from a yak for the first time.

[TimO]

Shame about the weather but you all had a better day than me. Shopping for the week in the morning then driving to Manchester (Hoot and wave to Zebra in the Runcorn bridge jam) for a family get together.
Hopefully make next meet so long as its not between 1st April and 8th April as i'm going on holiday.

Cheers

Tim

Just read when next meet is, might be able to make the 8th. Will have to check flight times.

[ZEBRA]

there is a hole bunch of photos stitch took showing everybody in all the differnt boats i am hoping he is going to get them to me later this week so i can put them up stitch does not have an internet conection at the moment .and all the photos i have are nearly all in the malibu's .

[steveh]

That's where you all were then!
As the Porth Dafarch meet was only a mile away from me, I decided to make my first appearance since New Years Day last year.

Went down there about 10:30 to 11:00 - no kayaks, and the breakers were only six to eight feet ;D - no excuse not to go shopping then.

Next time.....

Cheers

Steve

[topcat]

Hi lads.

How did the mini x trials go, did you find it easy to handle in the wind ,also was it stable.
Look forward to your reports on its performence.

cheers tony.