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Decided to finish work early today and spend the afternoon afloat in Poole Harbour. I have not boat fished in the harbour for several years and even then never really did enough to get to really get to know it so it was always going to be a bit of an exploration.
To avoid any suspense I blanked - if you want any more details go to the last para. However, the point of this post is to warn against what must be a hazard to small boats.
There was I mid afternoon tied to a buoy in Wych channel, just north of Brownsea island when I heard a ship's horn - it was the Brittany ferry announcing her departure and I watched her cast off and make her way slowly down the harbour making little disturbance to the calm surface of the harbour. After a while I lost interest and looked back at the rods but was shortly distracted by a sound of breaking water. Looking back towards where the ferry had passed some minutes earlier I was initially surprised but increasingly alarmed to see her wash buliding into a series of large breaking waves heading towards me, beam on. They must have reached 5 or 6 feet and for a moment I was quite alarmed. I considered starting the engine & letting go of the mooring but decided against it as time was short instead I closed the front hatch, checked my lifejacket and hung on tight. Well, by the time the wash reached me it has subsided to about 3-4 feet having reached deeper water again but still foaming on top and the boat took it ok, about 45 degrees on the bow, having been naturally swung into it. What must have happened is that the wash had piled up as it left the ship channel (circa 25ft deep) and crossed the mud bank (circa 2ft) separting the channel where where I was fishing. It's like a mini Tsunami effect though of course much less dramtic or destructive. However, I felt it could have been dangerous in several ways:
First if my boat was smaller or less seaworthy;
Second if I had not heard/seen it coming (e.g. if it had not been flat calm and there had been a surface chop making more noise) and had perhaps been standing up;
Third if I had been more or less stern on and...
Fourth if I had been mored or drifting at the shallow northern edge of the channel instead of in the deeper part (c.20ft) further south.
Otherwise a gorgeous afternoon untroubled by anything fish-like. I used rag and slipper limpet with squid tips on a variety of attractor spoon and bead rigs both ledgered and under a float. Also had a bag of mashed bread over the side to see if any mullet apperaed but did not see any. On a brighter note the terns are nesting on Brownsea and dive bombing in the water so there must be some fry or sandeels about.
Cheers
Boy Scott
To avoid any suspense I blanked - if you want any more details go to the last para. However, the point of this post is to warn against what must be a hazard to small boats.
There was I mid afternoon tied to a buoy in Wych channel, just north of Brownsea island when I heard a ship's horn - it was the Brittany ferry announcing her departure and I watched her cast off and make her way slowly down the harbour making little disturbance to the calm surface of the harbour. After a while I lost interest and looked back at the rods but was shortly distracted by a sound of breaking water. Looking back towards where the ferry had passed some minutes earlier I was initially surprised but increasingly alarmed to see her wash buliding into a series of large breaking waves heading towards me, beam on. They must have reached 5 or 6 feet and for a moment I was quite alarmed. I considered starting the engine & letting go of the mooring but decided against it as time was short instead I closed the front hatch, checked my lifejacket and hung on tight. Well, by the time the wash reached me it has subsided to about 3-4 feet having reached deeper water again but still foaming on top and the boat took it ok, about 45 degrees on the bow, having been naturally swung into it. What must have happened is that the wash had piled up as it left the ship channel (circa 25ft deep) and crossed the mud bank (circa 2ft) separting the channel where where I was fishing. It's like a mini Tsunami effect though of course much less dramtic or destructive. However, I felt it could have been dangerous in several ways:
First if my boat was smaller or less seaworthy;
Second if I had not heard/seen it coming (e.g. if it had not been flat calm and there had been a surface chop making more noise) and had perhaps been standing up;
Third if I had been more or less stern on and...
Fourth if I had been mored or drifting at the shallow northern edge of the channel instead of in the deeper part (c.20ft) further south.
Otherwise a gorgeous afternoon untroubled by anything fish-like. I used rag and slipper limpet with squid tips on a variety of attractor spoon and bead rigs both ledgered and under a float. Also had a bag of mashed bread over the side to see if any mullet apperaed but did not see any. On a brighter note the terns are nesting on Brownsea and dive bombing in the water so there must be some fry or sandeels about.
Cheers
Boy Scott
