bolan

Thanks heaps guys, (and Gals) I know my reply is a littl late, but my mind has been in other places recently ! My Birthday was cool, heaps of socks and undies , but I did get a nice cook book for seafood Just to bring you up to speed, Day Release is still parked up. I havent been on it since the little event up at SWR. But my aim is to see it out soon.Thanks for the offer to help with repairs Guys, but at the moment i'm working my ass off to keep the house afloat, let-alone the boat ! Cheers, And happy.............er.........Shark Fishing! Stumpy

It was the middle of my holiday at SWR. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday had been spent taking kids out, surveying the water and mostly gathering important info at the holiday park in the evenings. It’s always handy to check out the fish cleaning facilities and have a few VB’s with the other boaties there! The plan was for an early rise on Wed morning, as sea breeze said the swell was up Thursday and Friday. With South West Rocks having a very long bar, and possibly one best described as “A wolf in sheep’s clothing” I was determined that this was the day for a big fishing brag on Fishraider! We launched at 6.30am with Me, Mum, Dad, and my partners Son- Ryan on board. Everything in place, Nav equipment and radios on, we cruised down to the bar. Stopping 100 metres inside the bar, life jackets went on all and I surveyed what was ahead of me, no big deal, a series of 1 and 2 foot waves in sets of 5 to 7 waves at a time. The first set at the end of the wall, the next set approx 50 metres further out where a sand bar has built up over the years. The basic routine being to hug the right hand side of the wall where no waves break, and then cruise past the first set of waves into no-mans land. Then you cruise up to the second set and should there be nothing coming, break right away from the sand bar and power gently outside the reach of the waves and off to fishing! Should you confront the second set, just take them front on nice and easy and break right when all clear. Never get caught going sideways with a wave about to hit you. No Rambo required, just keep going forward and cruise over the very small waves. Done it quite a few times now............... I didn’t log with Trial Bay Coastal patrol, something I did last time, but since adding another 3 foot to the bertie, and equipping her with 300 hp on its tail in the form of twin 150 Mercs, I felt that my 24 footer could deal with this quiet easily as I have done before. Well, with jackets on, we proceeded along the right hand side of the wall, nice and easy over the 1 and 2 foot set that came on us. We approached no mans land and onto the outer sand bar. Half a dozen baby un-broken waves approached us so I decided not to break right straight away and took them head on. Easy, no more waves, lets head out................ Keeping the same steady pace, and no waves ahead ,I turned to Dad to suggest of the brilliant day that lay ahead when he looked back from the water and said “Son, where in trouble” I looked ahead and forming about 20 metres in front of us was a wave with an easy 7ft face and we could both see the sun shining through it................it was about to break! It all happened in about 5 seconds, nothing could be said, I neutralized the twins with the thought of letting it break in front of us but we were being pulled straight in to it. So straight away I launched the bertie, the twins roared which lifted the nose of the bertie up just as she broke. Well, the twins pushed us through the wave, thank God, so we didn’t go sideways and roll. I backed off at the top of the wave so we wouldn’t go vertical and all I could feel was water washing over my feet. I kept going forward until I knew we were out of danger, barking out a sound-off to see if we had lost anyone. All present and accounted for. A quick scan showed me a massive amount of water in the boat, engine management system down, thankfully radios working. I idled the twins and looked into the cab, to my horror the wave had punched through the front windows and filled the cab, the water was going red and to my dismay, the flaming glass was not safety glass and as it shattered , was pushed through the boat by the several tonnes of water that went through. Our legs and my ARMS were peppered by shards of glass. The steering consul was also ripped off its mount by the impact. We sat there bottom heavy and I threw the bilge pump on. Thankfully it worked. After much bailing and the bilge pump going full noise, we decided to head in, still with water inside but after a little drive, figuring the boat handled well enough. I was worried that with all the management systems down, I wanted in! Soooooo, with nerves totally shot, I re-entered the bar for a text book pass and we soon were back at the boat ramp, with all the other boaties there in shock at seeing 4 bloodied people exiting the once proud and now tattered Day Release. We had a small scare on the way in though, just at the point of no return when re-entering the bar, we had a small electrical flameout causing me to abort and shutdown all electrics, foolishly I should have radioed VMR Trial Bay, but having wired the boat myself, I knew that the radios were on a separate power circuit and were all working OK. I think pride also played a major part in my silence, ..........how stupid.......... If there is a lesson to this story, never take Mother Nature for granted, as when you least expect it, She will bite you on the arse. A footnote to this account is that on our way in we passed an 18ft twin hull heading out, he got smashed aswell. Later on that morning, a beautiful 19 footer wasn’t as lucky as us, it went down............. 3 sinking’s and countless bashings (such as ours) in 2 weeks. The Hit Reefed my Steering The Remainder Of My Windows After Taking The Water Out Glass At The Rear Of The Boat Well, a big learning curve for me.................... Cheers, Grumpy Stumpy

Well, here goes the first part to my week away at South West Rocks, A bit of a read, but hey, I have to do something whilst I wait for the clothes to dry! Saturday morning (10/1/09) started at 6.00am and we were on the road to South West Rocks. Me, Jess, Beck, Cam and my partner, Lisa, and her two, Ryan and Chloe. 7 in the car, the bertie on the back, and what a load on the Explorer! Now, to break down the equipment needed for the trip, I shall outline the following basics....... 1 big tent, 3 little tents, 1 tarp to cover the lot. 6 billion poles,pegs,ropes etc...5 blow up mattresses, 2 fridges, 2 eskies, 1 Barbie, 2 stoves, pots pans, storage accessories, lights, gas bottles, food and BEER. Not to mention the 3 tables, 7 chairs, and 4 bench seats. Then came the 2 bikes! This saw the Bertie filled to water level with restrictions placed on my meagre fishing tackle being 1 tackle box and 27 fishing rods. The forget list being my outriggers, 3 bags of pakulas, witchdoctor, landing net, teaser and bait board! Soooooo, about Midday on Saturday, we all landed at SWR Tourist Park and I was a very relieved person. It was a hard drive with a massively loaded boat which commanded the utmost diligence on the road, and a load that I would not allow my partner to drive. Out came the gear and it was a camp building event from hell, I barked out orders (drank beer) and the kids jumped too (Mine from enthusiasm, hers from terror) After a few moments where I thought Lisa was going to walk out on me, everything got set up and the kids went exploring. Mum and Dad had arrived with their van and walked down . Our New Home My Sister and her tribe arrived at the camp site next to us, so Lisa and I sat on the boundary line-drank beer, and watched their marriage almost end whilst they set up their tents! How Cool!............ And The Fight Begins! Day 1 saw the “men” head out on Day Release for a feel of the ocean and a fish. After negotiating a bar that was up a bit, I opened the twin Mercs up and headed towards the bait grounds. Unfortunately, some big tuna boat had moored itself onto the bait trap out the front and it was no longer there. With just a handful of pilchards and a few prawns, I used my knowledge from a previous trip and headed to “Fish Rock”. After 15 minutes at a moderate speed, we anchored near the rock and set about chasing kingies. Using Penguins technique of peeling the servo prawns, we cast out and crossed our fingers. I started getting worried 20 minutes later when all of a sudden they came on, first Dad, then Jamie, and it was on for young and old. Kingies everywhere! (Thank God for Penguins posts on peeled prawns!) The good news that we were on, the bad news was that they were all rats, but hey! We found the buggers and that was a good start. Unfortunately, our trip was cut short due to Jamie (Brother in Law) getting sick, so we headed home to brag of our day out to anyone that would listen. Day 2 saw my Partner Lisa, Myself and Cam (Stumpy Junior) head out. With the little fella so keen to catch another Kingie- after the last Fishraider Comp, we headed outside and went to a wreck located up north. This proved a disaster due to the fact that as soon as we anchored over the wreck, Cam got sick, so we headed back inside to the river. Now, after the previous nite of mingling with the other boaties who shared my love for beer, I knew that there was nothing happening in the river, so I spent the day pulling up to any structure I could find, letting Lisa and Cam hit the smallish bream and whatever would be kind enough to bite. 6 hrs later, we all headed in with both of them well and truly happy with their catch! (A dozen bream and other shitty fish all released!) Thats A New Shade Of White Cam ! The Twins Open Up Whats Wrong With Washing??? Day 3 saw a carefully planned trip go into action. The barbie and beers had done its work with much valuable information being gossiped by the other fishers at the park that night The only place that was firing big time was the outside FAD with 15kg Dollies being caught aswell as small black marlin. Myself, Dad, Mum, And Lisa’s Son got up early and headed for outside. Unfortunately, disaster struck crossing the bar which saw us back on shore 1 hr later. I will detail my experience in another post to follow. The remainder of the day was spent cleaning up Day Release and generally sulking. Day 4 and 5 saw the grounding of Day Release and myself having to mix it with the kids. Now, being at one of the best fishing spots in NSW, with a dead boat, one would think that all was lost..... But no! Quite the opposite. Having got used to the kids disappearing at dawn and only coming in to feed, it was certainly an experience to join them. We floated several kilometres down the river with the tide and ended up at a beach, jumped off a footbridge, (not me-too chicken) attacked each other in the Caravan Park swimming pool- and actually went out to lunch with them-threatened a dozen horney teenagers chasing my 2 girls, and basically bonded with my family- something far more important than fishing-considering my divorce last year. Someone had to Stay and Take The Pic Hmmm...... Bad Girls It was a great week, despite my lack of fishing, I thought that my boat was the centre of my holiday and my only chance to connect with my kids, yet day 4 and 5 were probably the best days of the holiday............... Go Figure Cheers, Stumpy

Anyone interested in looking us up, the Stumpy Tribe will be at "Back Creek" tourist park from the 10th till the 17th Jan. It shouldnt be too hard to find us, just look for the 21ft bertie with twin mercs on it. Actually.............just walk in and follow the noise! , there will be Myself and my 3 kids, My Partner and her 3 kids, My Sister and her 2 kids.......shit.......... I might head up to the motel ! "Day Release " will be on UHF and 27meg whenever we are out. Cheers, Stumpy

There were no exhaust fumes as you couldnt start your engine Ross , remember ........................hehehehe You are soooo right Pelican, last year it was exactly as you said.......... dragged anchors everywhere, idiots all but running into you...... This year was so much easier. Last year I had 2 beers all night because I was that concerned. Mabe the fact that I was parked at a different part of the harbour. Most people tended to be a little easier on the aggression. I actually thought it was less crowded this year too ! Cheers, Stumpy. (My first responsible post this year........or 2!)

Ohhh dear dear dear ..........................I dissapear for a while and all of a sudden you come up with smart cracks about my navigational skills.Well, its obvious that Fishraider need me back to set the moral standard of truth telling and non embellished stories, so I might aswell start here. We shall start where you give me the phone call to say your under the harbour bridge and we shall communicate on channel 96 for finer directions. I do believe that the reason you COULD NOT HEAR ME on the radio , thus relying on PHONES was that your aerial ( being a coathanger shaped into an outline of Australia) wasnt recieving, only sending ! Well....................DER ! The fact that I never know wheather to tell you to head right or left, is simply because I dont know if you want to know Your left heading towards me, or My left watching you head towards me. And what idiot knows where North is when your surrounded by thousands of boats ???? Anyhow........ We had a good trip out heading from Roseville, and its literally been 12 months since Day Release has been in the water ! (Thats what a divorce does to you !) I had the twins serviced the week before and I was anxious to see how they went. Well they certainly went well. All was great, my partner was beaming and I was feeling quite cocky. Unfortunately I came back to reality when I accidently forgot to notice this small wave ahead that was rolling off the back of a rather large ferry................ I had no idea that you could get a 24ft bertie fully airborn So......... we putted rather slowly around to near Athol Bay, and met Ross and tribe for a totally brilliant night. Paris and Lisa took over Day Release and danced the night away, whilst us more mature folk told tall tales and did some serious gossip catching up ! You are just toooooo smooth Paris! Well, the 9pm fireworks came upon us and they were great.... Lots of oos and ahhhs and its an experience that you have to see for yourself. 12 pm was coming fast and, well, that was it for Ross. His head slowly dropped and it was lights out for him. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING was going to wake him up ! errrrrrrr, trust me, we tried........hehehehe! 12pm came and the fireworks certainly impressed again! we all got mushy, cuddled and kissed everyone on board, made New Years Eves promises(I stopped smoking for 8 minutes) and ever so slowly went to bed. We had a little drama around 4am though. I was woken to a scream of abuse from the boat next door and could hear the police helicopter right over our boat! I jumped out of the cabin only to realise it was just Ross snoring (And keeping 1500 other boaties awake.)I was going to tell him to roll over but he would have gone into the drink so we just threw a sleeping bag over his head and left him outside! The noise stopped and we all went to bed All in all, a great night...........Thanks Ross and tribe oh yeah, 1 more little thing to clear up................ Boofhead, I do believe that the pic below is Ross working on his ETEC ! It seems that my Evil Twins were used to JUMPSTART the ETEC ! So, I am not too sure about the awesome power of the ETEC........... actually, a warmed up fart would have had more power than Ross's baby SHITBOX !!!! hehehe Sorry............................... I couldnt help myself! hehehehe

Time to blow the dust off Day Release and defend last years results ! Its been a long dry year, but hey............ Im back!!!!!!! (Almost) Me, Cam, Beck, and Jess please. Cheers, Stumpy. (I am sure I will be hearing from Paris )

Come on Dave .......................Fess-Up Hehehehe Stumpy

A stranger was seated next to a little girl on the airplane when the stranger turned to her and said, 'Let's talk. I've heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.' The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, 'What would you like to talk about?' 'Oh, I don't know,' said the stranger. 'How about nuclear power?' and he smiles. 'OK,' she said. 'That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass - . Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?' The stranger, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, 'Hmmm, I have no idea.' To which the little girl replies, 'Do you really feel qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit? Ahhhhhhh.......................Smart Girl Cheers, Stumpy

GO MANLY! Whoops.................. Stumpy

hmmm, not sure ........................but I reckon the sex life would improve. You know our Aussie babes and their curiosity with foreigners Cheers, Stumpy

THE FINAL WORD ON NUTRITION After an exhaustive review of the research literature, here's the final word on nutrition and health.: 1. Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us. 2. Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us. 3. Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us. 4. Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us. 5. Germans drink beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than us. 6. The French eat foie-Gras, full fat cheese and drink red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you. Cheers, Your Local Health Guru Stumpy

PM Sent Cheers,..........and sympathy Stumpy

Paddy met Mick in the street and said, 'Paddy, will you draw your bedroom curtains Before making love to your wife in future?' 'Why?' Paddy asked. Because,' said Mick, 'all the street was Laughing when they saw you making love yesterday.' Mick said, 'Silly buggers, the laugh's on them. I wasn't home yesterday.' Have a great working week Cheers, Stumpy

Wow Penguin...........................and to think I was going to brag about my 700! Here's to the next 3000 posts. Well done, Stumpy