Windguru - A good weather forecast for Boating

I love calm seas and gentle breezes. Little waves lapping against the boat's hull is okay. As much as I am able to, I avoid going out to sea when the winds blow greater then 15 knots and waves higher than 0.7m, I'd rather cruise around the sheltered waters off our local waters. Over the years, I have found one website that I totally rely on to make sure I don't get caught off guard. That website is www.windguru.com It is a free to use site and describes accurately the wind and waves in many regions that our local boaters frequent. This is an example of the forecast off Desaru Malaysia. I use this forecast whenever I fish off Horsburgh Lighthouse and up to 60 nautical miles North of the lighthouse. It has served me well all these years.  

  

Malaysia - Desaru  (wave: NWW3 50 km 27.4. 2014 00 UTC) [Options]

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GFS 50 km 27.04.2014 00 UTC Su 27. Su 27. Su 27. Su 27. Su 27. Mo 28. Mo 28. Mo 28. Mo 28. Mo 28. Mo 28. Tu 29. Tu 29. Tu 29. Tu 29. Tu 29. Tu 29. We 30. We 30. We 30. We 30. We 30. We 30. Th 01. 08h 11h 14h 17h 20h 05h 08h 11h 14h 17h 20h 05h 08h 11h 14h 17h 20h 05h 08h 11h 14h 17h 20h 05h Wind speed (knots) 1 3 6 6 5 2 1 1 4 1 3 2 1 3 4 3 5 3 3 3 2 4 5 3 Wind gusts (knots) 2 3 6 6 5 2 2 1 4 2 3 3 2 3 5 3 5 3 3 3 3 3 6 4 Wind direction Wave (m)                                                 Wave period (s)                                                 Wave direction                                                 *Temperature (°C) 28 31 30 30 28 27 28 31 30 30 29 27 28 31 31 31 29 28 28 30 31 31 29 28 Cloud cover (%) high / mid / low - -   87     72   16 56   55 57     91   41 91   45 87   17 90   34 96   16 97     97   37 96   20 92     89   23 75     70     93     94   12 92   33 91   45 87   5 81     98   6 *Precip. (mm/3h) -   0.6 4.3 0.5 2.3 1.7 1.8 3.6 3.9   2.7 2.4   1.2 1.1     0.9 1.6 6.4 0.4     Windguru rating

Modifying the Tiger-Cat's Trailer

The RSYC (Republic of Singapore Yacht Club) finally decided to retire their tractor on the 1st April 2014. That means no more towing of trailers for launching & recovery. All boats had to use the Marina Bulls (giant fork-lift) for this operation. That meant either I got a new trailer for the Tiger-Cat or make modifications to the existing one to accommodate the Marina Bull. We decided to make the necessary modifications. The first thing that had to go were the 6 wheels & rusting axle. We had a bit of fun working on this task. It had been sometime since my fishing buddy Ah Boon & I worked on a project like this. It was fun.The pictures describe everything.

Testing the existing trailer with the Marina Bull to see how it fits together. Surprisingly, it was a perfect fit and the more we looked at the trailer, the easier the project became. 

How nice, a perfect fit even without modification to the frame of the trailer. By deciding to allow the forks to lift the trailer from the inside, we saved having to fit additional cross bars and used the existing ladder frame instead.    

However the wheel & axle certainly had to go as they would be in the way. In any case, the wheels were already giving way and would not be of any use in another couple of weeks.

Ah Boon, grinding the bolts & bracket to hold the heavy duty I-stands. He's probably the best field mechanic I know especially for cars & boat mechanics.

Almost done. Just need to remove the front section, the bow stem, ladder & winch to allow the boat to slide into the trailer stern-in instead of the usual bow-in protocol.

The finished product, all ready for launching and recovery. Perfectly balanced on 4 heavy duty I-stands

Fishing with Jiang onboard MV Sports Fishing Explorer off Horsburgh

 On 4th April at 2pm, some 18 anglers set off onboard MV Sport Fishing with Jiang at the helm. Jiang is probably the best local sport fishing charter captain in Singapore. His new boat is a 80 foot purposeful built sport fisherman that caters to bottom fishing and jigging. The highlight of the boat as night falls is squid fishing using a very clever contraption at the stern that has once hauled up a bounty harvest of 1,000 squid in a single haul. Each night the boys would easily haul up on average about 200 - 300 squid. Sufficient for all night of bottom fishing.    

MV Sports Fishing Explorer at Marina Country Club. 80 foot of pure mean lean fishing machine. Everything you'll need to catch fish is already fitted onboard. 

The boys setting up the amazingly innovative squid net. Without live squid, catching good quality fish would be a lot more difficult for night fishing. 

Left to Right: Jeffrey the organiser, Tony & Ernie my regular fishing kakis for these types of trips. 

Ramesh & David in the for ground with some new fishing kakis we met onboard the boat. The initial trip to the fishing grounds the first day always holds much excitement and positive anticipation of a fun fish filled trip.

Hauling in squid; there's definitely no better bait for night fishing. The boys worked very efficiently and before we knew it, all the live-bait wells were filled with squid to full capacity.

Can you see the squid? Just the right size for the targeted fish. the prize as always.... Golden & Red Snapper

All eyes on the net. Can you faintly see the squid at the back edge of the net.

David with a beautiful 2kg Golden Snapper. David says that's the biggest fish he ever caught. And what a beauty too. Nothing better than a Golden.

Live squid swimming in the live bait well waiting to serve as bait

The incredible hydraulic drum winch. Fully automated and easily controlled from the enclosed bridge. Every good fishing boat should have one of these. The common capstan looks good but it cannot beat the efficiency of a drum winch. 

Indonesian Fishing Charter Boat anchored too close for comfort. We eventually re-anchored some place else. Somehow their presence seems to have driven the fish away.

Yours truly waiting for the big one to bite. Using a 15 year old G Loomis rod and a Salttiga Z30 multiplier reel. 

A pretty decent haul. In all the boys lifted the net about 20 times