Floating, fishing

Date: March 26, 2016

Trip #15
Weather: Fair, sunny  
Waters: A little choppy in the west, calmer just off the marina 
On board: C, A, J2 and R  
New gear on board: Water Wolf, Lexan hook 

The tide wasn't in our favour today, so we didn't make an island landing. We just dropped anchor and fished off the boat. We first headed towards Puteri Cove, intending to hug the coast, head north for a bit of sightseeing until we saw the Causeway at Woodlands, and then turn around and do a spot of fishing in the area. 

We didn't get that far! Not long after passing Sarimbun Island and the Sarimbun buoy where we had our first fishing lesson (see post here), we came upon a clutch of floating fish farms. They spanned almost right across the channel between the Singapore and Malaysian (southern Johor) coast, and we weren't sure about being able to drive through, between them.  (These were the farms along the Lim Chu Kang coast that lost thousands of dollars worth of fish and fry a year ago because of a plankton bloom. For more, click here.)

So we did an about turn to go back the way we came, intending to look for a fishing spot. We dropped anchor near Sarimbun Island, but the currents were strong; they would have pushed the boat toward shore, near the SAF live firing area. We decided to move off, but had huge problems bringing in the anchor. It seemed snagged on something on the seabed. It took a while for it to come free, during which a patrolling Coast Guard boat came by. The officer on board used a mic, apparently to ask us if there was a problem, but his mic wasn't working well, and we couldn't hear him. 

Time for some research on how best to free a stuck anchor - or buy a bigger boat which comes with its anchor winch!

Anyway, we got the anchor free after a combination of brute-strength pulling and putting the boat in reverse to yank it free. We had had this same problem the last time we anchored in these parts to fish with KH, so we vow never to drop anchor in these parts again. 

We headed back to the waters just outside the marina instead. It was calmer there, and we dropped anchor again, had a late lunch of the burgers we had brought, broke open the wine and beers, turned up FM91.3. 

Simple pleasure. Sharing a beer.

The Water Wolf, an underwater HD camera able to record images of fish and underwater life for playback later, is C's newest tech toy.  We set up one of our rods with it and cast the line and waited... but came up empty even after an hour. 

Above and below: Attaching the Water Wolf.

The cylindrical device, about 10cm long, had recorded images on the micro SD card all right - but the footage was all pea-soup green, seemingly devoid of life. We will embed a short clip here as soon as the three longish clips are properly edited - not that there is much to see. In between the screens of green are short interludes when the line was reeled in, leaving the Water Wolf spinning crazily in the air even as it continued recording, so all one sees are whirling images of parts of our feet, the boat, the swim platform and, occasionally, some of our faces. 

At least we know it works. The images are really sharp. Now the job is to find clearer waters and fish! We may have better luck off the Sisters Island marine park. Till the next time, then...   

The other new piece of equipment on board is a Lexan hook, meant for pulling the boat closer to the dock. This was ordered from Amazon, and had come in a box that was as tall as A. 

We saw other people out, enjoying the water this afternoon. One group was from the Singapore Management University, out sailing. The other group was in this odd-looking two-storey-high vessel that we called a "houseboat", for want of its correct term... 

Both groups practised what has come to be maritime "tradition"
- they waved back at us.  

After we got back to the marina, there was still the usual post-trip work - cleaning the boat, flushing its engine with fresh water ... 

We chucked out the storage boxes that we have kept in the hold (various
boat detergents and other paraphernalia) because these boxes weren't water-
tight. Water from the weekly washes had gone right in and made
some items mouldy. Next task is to hunt down some water-tight
storage boxes, but without blowing $300+ on military-grade tactical cases.

And then, there was another of Raffles Marina's fabulous sunsets to behold...