After a few exchanges with the organization, the latter convinced me to participate in this competition. Of course, I don't know the fishing area, I have never fished for sharks, the species that scores the most points in the competition, and I never fish at anchor.
These are some of the original features that distinguish me from the other competitors. Nobody fishes in drift in this competition, it is this argument that seduced me: I could score points on modern fishing of sea bass, sea bream and tenya. There is still one detail to be settled: the crossing of the English Channel.
Preparation for a 110 nautical mile sail
Indeed, the adventure begins, for my part, by a crossing of the strait. A 110 nautical miles navigation that requires a little preparation and a mild weather on the way out and on the way back.
I optimize the weight of my equipment and remove everything that won't be used during my stay. We decide to leave together with Bastian, mechanic at QG Nautic, Beneteau - Suzuki dealer in Dieppe.
We leave as light as possible because we have to accommodate in the Barracuda 7 the suitcases of the week and the fishing equipment. This is the most difficult choice: not knowing the area and how the fishing will be done there, I prepare 12 sets of rods and reels.
Technical problems that limit the outbound fishing
Clearly, I quickly scan the fishing area of the competition and spend more time to scrutinize the spots to do on the way. There are indeed some beautiful wrecks with yelloweye that deserve to be prospected and I study this carefully. On the road, there is the Greenwich buoy which marks the longitude 0°, a symbolic passage which will be an obligatory step.
We set sail in the early morning on Tuesday in a sea of oil. Far from imagining the adventures that await us. To cut a long story short, the livewell pump had to be replaced, which delayed us by two hours, the autopilot had to be reset by installing two new handsets and the accessory battery was showing signs of fatigue.
All of this reduced our outbound fishing program considerably and I decided to do only two wrecks to get to the area as quickly as possible and correct the remaining problems at our home port in Portsmouth.
Passage through the Greenwich buoy
Let's remember the positive, the lighthouse mission was successful, we caught some pollock on the wrecks and rocky banks near the Greenwich buoy. The delay caused by technical problems brought us to the area at the wrong time, in a 2.5 knots current. But our perseverance was rewarded by a few fish.
