harold

just be glad we were not born seals!

i only have 1 rule and it works for me "do unto others.."

About 8 or 10 years ago i saw a 32 foot Riviera at Sactuary Cove that i fell in love with. I just had to have it and i had negotiated the price down to $105k and the deal was done. The only problem i then had was how to get it to Sydney, do you sail it or put it on a Truck? I estimated the cost of fuel at about $2000 and the truck cost was about $2500. After considering it, i decided i was too much of a novice to sail it down so truck it was. I did some checking and found (no name) this certain company was the leading transporter of boats and so i engaged them. On their form was the question asking whether you wanted insurance for the journey and if so did you want transport only insurance or all risks. The difference was like $100 or so. I considered the thing and thought "what on earth can go wrong? I guess the truck could crash or be stolen and that is covered by the cheaper policy, the boat could slip off the truck but that is also covered by the policy" I decided to take the cheaper but then, the ever cautious person inside of me came out and i ticked the more expensive box thinking "its only a hundred bucks and given the size of the total cost it is nothing". So the deal was done and all i had to do was wait until the due date for the boat to be picked up and then 3 days later it would be in the water at the Quays and the joys of boating would be mine once again. Everything went just swimmingly and i was walking to the train station one morning when my mobile rang and the call went something like this: Caller "hi is that Harold?" Me. "yes it is" Caller. "well hi mate, my name is John and i am the driver of a truck with your boat on the back of it and we have a little problem". At this point i time i started to break out into a sweat and i had stopped walking. Me. "Oh, what sort of a problem would that be John?" Driver "Well, i have never seen this before and i have been moving boats for more years than i can remember, this is really just..." Me. "John, just tell me what the hell has gone wrong" Driver "well we stopped yesterday at the motel at Macksville to have a sleep and when we put the boat onto the truck we had to take the Bimini off the flybridge so it would go underneath the bridges on the way..." Me. John, i am getting real nervous here, what has happened?" Driver "well, when we loaded the boat and took off the bimini, we left the keys in the ignition and we didnt turn off the battery isolation switch. Also it is customary for us to put the units in gear as it keeps the levers flat so they dont get knocked and bent." At this point in time i am starting to breath again because i was sure he was about to tell me i had flat batteries. I mean what could that cost? 4 batteries at $250 each is a grand, no sweat. Driver. "So when we stopped, it started to rain and we went and had a sleep and when we came out this morning we noticed one of the propellers was turning and as we got closer to the boat we could see one of the motors was running and we dont know how long it has been running for." At this time i am sweating again, here is a Volvo turbo diesel motor running for a period of time and it is not in the water. Driver. "As we got closer we noticed a terrible smell and when we got on board all the paint is burned off the motor and the hoses are split. It is a bit of a mess. It seems the rain has got down the side of your key and short circuited the starter switch, that has had the same effect as turning the key and the engine has started. One in a million chance and as i have said i have never sen it before. Sorry." Me. "John, how long before you are in Sydney..." To cut a long story short the repair bill was $38,000 and it took 4 long months. The engine was totally rebuilt with new head, block etc and the stern drive was 100% replaced. The only saving grace for me was that i had ticked the all risks box otherwise i would have had to foot the bill. Keep your boat insured to the hilt as you just never know when weird shit happens.

I have had 1 claim and i have seen several incidents that would have surely been a claim. I have shopped the whole thing around for many years and my conclusion is you just cant go past Club Marine. I have no affiliation with them it is just they are always right on the money and when i did claim---no problems, it was all taken care of. I actually have had the weirdest insurance claim you have ever heard of and i will post it under its own heading, it is 100% true. catchem, keepem & eatem. (not sure what that would be in Latin)

Thanks Brian

some time ago someone posted a link that showed the names of all the little bays, points etc in the lower Hawkesbury and Pittwater. Does anyone have that link? Or can you advise where a map of the area, thats shows this fine detail, can be purchased from? Thanks.

all i can say is un$%@*&()(ing believable. Just mind boggling. Did they eat it???

i am guessing that there should be a link there. Yes?

Mick, i know we have been talking about Sydney Harbour fish and certainly there have been 1 or 2 rather large ones taken. But they pale into nothing compared to the beauty they caught at Chernobyl a year or so ago. I know you were there when that record tadpole was taken, tell us about that.

Yeah thats the one. I heard it was big!

Hi Crow, where do you usually fish? Welcome.

wind is down on sunday so thats the day i will go out and see what delights the Hawkesbury has to offer. Thinking about taking Monday off but feeling guilty about 2 long weekends in a row. hb

good on you mate, that is one hell of a fish.

i heard a local at abbottsford hooked into a monster out the back of the rowing club. Seems, they had to skull drag it out using a pair of D10 Cats. When it finally was out, the water level in the harbour dropped 3 inches. Mind you this was back a few years now and the story might have distorted a little over the years. If we were talking about the smallest fish out of the harbour, i would have been a contender on many occasions.

how many is too many when you are talking VB?

I have caught dozens of fish on SP's and they all tend to hook themselves as long as you continue retrieving the thing. I dont really jag the line at all. Hope that helps and not sure if it is the professional way, it is simply what i do and it works.

there is another thread with the same subject in the bar

I hate to tell you guys this, but this is the year Ricky and the boys will get up. Adrian is just a mis understood little boy who meant no harm, he was just practising his "hello". He will drive a hole through all the triers this year. Anyone for Souths as premiers?

I remember my mother cooking one up when i was a kid. Took out every bone and then mixed it with mashed potatoes, tasted quite like lobster, mind you that was more years ago then i care to remember. I remember the pile of bones that came out of the thing.

its madness, the guy made a lot of money out of the game and could easily afford to go and buy lobsters from the fish market. Just plain greed and theft

anyone know the fisheries hotline number? I will be putting it in my mobile

This did not happen to me, but to my lifelong mate Craig (to save him embarrassment i wont put his sir name here). Craig had moved up to Runaway Island (out of Surfers) and he had bought himself a 28 foot Bertram to go fishing in. He went out and was catching nothing so after an hour he decided to drop into the pub at sanctuary cove and have a counter lunch whilst waiting for the low tide to turn. He tied the boat up against the side of the wharf and in he went. He told me he had a couple of beers and a steak and was about to go when he ran into a couple of mates, they then had a few more beers and 3 hours went past, when he came out, and as he walked out onto the wharf he said he could see all these people looking down into the water and as he got closer he started to wonder where the Berty was. Seems Craig had tied the boat up on very short lines and the tide had risen a huge amount. When he looked down he said he could see his beloved Bertie sitting peacefully under the water. He said it was a very bad days fishing.

on 4lb Fireline, it sure would be a challenge. What a ripper

Well Ash, half the fun of fishing is to see if you can beat what nature throws at you and still be lucky enough to catch a fish. Good luck next time out.

Pete, i know a great freelance marine mechanic (retired) his name is Bob Baker and he is now living in surfers. He would be very happy to advise you as to what your options are. His number is 0423143637. He would not be interested in doing the job but after a lifetime around boat engines in sydney, he will know someone who can help. Tell him you are a friend of Harold Baldry's hb