Wow! The extent of my sea fishing has been Mackerel in weymouth and Rasp in Portsmouth - not sure I would have the strenght to pull up a tuna. I quite enjoy fishing, but tend to go a bit girly when it comes to taking the hook out! Not sure I would like to retrive a hook out of a sharks mouth!

Either a made up heavy duty disgorger or big pliers with extension tubing welded onto the grips. Both sharks and marlin have got good handles to grab hold of (a shark's pectoral fins or a marlin's bill) when you are unhooking them in the water to release them. You probably now realise why I don't like high decks or gunwhales, because I've got to lean right over the side to do it.

Goes without saying really

No auto fire extinguisher required by coding! And it probably wouldn't work well unless foam or dry powder as the engine housing has breather vents along each side which don't have shut offs....

When I was Skippering a passenger vessel last year for our vessel's Domestic Safety Certificate we were still required by the MCA to carry a bucket of sand - yet no one could tell us why!

Did you ever join the Conger Club? Ever heard of a boat called the Nikaria?

W.

---"No auto fire extinguisher required by coding! And it probably wouldn't work well unless foam or dry powder as the engine housing has breather vents along each side which don't have shut offs...."--- Well all engine conpartments must have air intakes but that should be considered when selecting the halon replacement extinguasher. Foam or dry powder would be a real pain if the extinguasher went off inadvertently.

---"When I was Skippering a passenger vessel last year for our vessel's Domestic Safety Certificate we were still required by the MCA to carry a bucket of sand - yet no one could tell us why!"--- Got absolutely no idea Wolfie, maybe to keep the younger passengers amused.

---"Did you ever join the Conger Club?"--- No, conger fishing, for me was a bit of a side line. I was, however, in the Shark Angling Club of Great Britian, the Sportfishing Club of the British Isles and the International Game Fishing Association.

---"Ever heard of a boat called the Nikaria?"--- That name does ring a bell, tell me more!

Bucket and sand - I guess the only thing that can go wrong with that is if you spill it!

Did come in very handy for gritting the moorings with the recent fronst though!

The Nikaria was well know charter angling boat from Newhaven, in the 80's - first boat I ever worked on.

The Skipper Chris Martin was one of the country's top skipper with lots of new members to the club from his boat, (you had to had a conger over 100lb to be a full member).

W.

---"The Nikaria was well know charter angling boat from Newhaven, in the 80's - first boat I ever worked on."--- I think I remember it now.

---"The Skipper Chris Martin was one of the country's top skipper with lots of new members to the club from his boat, (you had to had a conger over 100lb to be a full member)."--- You sure Wolfie??? I thought it was more like 25 lb from the shore, 30lb from reefs or open ground and 40lb from a wreck. Even to date there have only been about 35 100lb+ conger recorder, mostly from the west country and only one, to my knowledge, from Nikaria.

In fact Wolfie, if I remember correctly Nikaria was a Lochin 33, that's what I've got. I think Chris Martin runs a Lochin 38 now; Nikaria II.

Thats the one! Blue hull and grey topsides. Yes I lost touch with him years ago but believe he is still around Sussex somewhere doing diving charters now?

Yeah pretty sure it was 100lb from a wreck - that was the main type of fishing he did at least in the couple of years I crewed for him.. long time ago thou so maybe wrong - I never managed to join :( Although I did get the 12lb line class UK record for cod in 1986 on board (35lbs).

W.

I am taking a sea survival course on the 29th of August and hope to have as much fun and learn as much as you did wolfie. Will report back with all the details

Good Luck! Where are you doing it?

W.

Somewhere around Hamble. Can't remeber the name off hand, but will be sure to let you know after I have completed it.

Andark diving?

W.