My ‘home’ beach is surf-bound in northerlies, and we seem to be getting them more often nowadays.
The bay that I took refuge in floods on a big tide but I could hoist a light kayak up the cliff onto a safe ledge.
From there, I could work a net in the nearby bay, sheltered from whatever surf raged past outside, in a milky, perfect fishing sea.
I suppose what I need is an unsinkable, sea-going coracle.
I occurs to me that St David and the rest of his mob of saints, were the first extreme sportsmen.
They built crazy, fun boats out of skin and wattle, and jumped off cliffs, letting the current take them wherever the Lord felt their purpose lay, 'blown by the winds of the spirit".
His Church is set on a beautiful, sea-enthralled peninsula.
I here pronounce him the patron saint of Kayakers and Surfers.
The search for a suitable boat has taken me back to the Internet, trawling through kayak types, looking at carrying capacity, weight, stability, cost, and colour.
Websites are incredibly patchy in how they present information. Most kayaks are from USA, so that’s where you get most detail. The trouble is the range there is not always available here.
Colour does signify, if I intend to keep this boat on a cliff in a remote bay. The trouble is, its spec is that of a fun-boat, and they tend to come in colours that scream "look-at-me".
Cost is even more of an issue buying a second kayak. I suppose the children will love it in the summer, if it doesn’t smell too fishy.
Weight, because of pulling it up the cliff, and stability & capacity because of hauling and emptying a net. I reckon 40lb is handleable, or will feel so after the Prowler's 69lb.
There mustn’t be any ‘snags’ for the net to catch on, on you or the boat. This includes zips, buttons, toggles, even knots.
I suspect that the boat for my purpose doesn’t exist, so whatever I get will be a compromise.
It needs a big well, with a lot of buoyancy upfront. The seat should be far back, but with sufficient fish storage behind. It has to be ‘beamy’ -both for stability and capacity.
I actually prefer to kneel, both while paddling and hauling gear, so I want seat space sufficient for that.
The candidates I’ve come up with so far are the Wilderness Systems ‘Ripper’, the Cobra ‘Play’, the Malibu Mini X, and the Ocean Kayak ‘Frenzy’.
The going rate for this type of boat is £300, but you can pick them up secondhand, as they get hired out as surf-boats.
The Malibu Mini X costs too much, about £430, though its probably the most stable. I considered one before I got the Prowler, but it hadn’t enough deck for potting.
The ‘Play’ looks like a good boat, but I’d have to venture into that beauty-spot, Port Talbot to see one.
I like the lines of the Ripper, but suspect it hasn’t enough body to hold the weight. I have arranged to try one in Cardigan next week; but I’ll have to forego practicing with a net, as the Teifi is a major salmon river!
I only just noticed the 'Frenzy' which looks robust and stable enough, with ample weight capacity.
There’s a Surf Shop in Newgale who will have one, so I might be able to try one out.
When you look at the lines of traditional fishing boats, they reflect the kind of seas they meet: west-coast boats have higher raked bows and more free-board than east-coast craft; unless that is, they are beach-launched, like the 'coble', which has to battle through swells.
I suspect that the lines of the various sit-ons reflect the seas they were designed to encounter: Wilderness Systems from the East Coast, Ocean Kayak from the Gulf, and Cobra, from the Pacific.
The Cobra range appeal to me, as they have loads of free-board, unlike the Wilderness range, which seem a bit scanty for a choppy sea. The Ocean Kayak family are seemingly 'just right' for my coast, with a good girth, but not sitting too high out of the water.
If you fish, you are going to need to haul heavy things in over the side.
So the main considerations are STABILITY and weight CAPACITY. That means simply a wide, fat-sided boat
People rave about how stable the Tarpon range are, but to me they look too narrow and shallow in draft. They are probably OK for mackerel-fishing, but not this work.
The Cobra Fish'n'Dive XF looks like a perfect boat, in terms of girth, capacity, and price. It sounds a bit sluggish though.
I am an unrepentant Prowler Big Game owner (Don't all these boats have silly "I'm-a-real-man" names!) and am happy, apart from the footrests that are weak and snag things and the forward hatch & straps (the wilderness peel-off hatches are loads better).
The Ocean Kayak range is a mess, with lots of craft almost capable of the same things as others. The boats themselves are great though.
I reckon your boat has to be over 30 inches wide, with 300lb capacity once you are in it, which narrows the field to the Drifter and Prowler Big Game.
The Caper might be OK with a short net or single pot, but wouldn't deal with one laden or snagged.
Don't feel you need to get the 'Angler' version of any boat you like, as all you get is a couple of rod holders that you can easily fit yourself (if you want them), and less choice of colours.
"Outfitted" ones turn a perfectly good hull into a plastic clothes-peg, hung with of expensive toys-for-boys.
Reviews can be useful, though most of the ones online are from over-large, over-enthusiastic Americans.
In the end,
You just have to leap off your Cliff of Choice
blown by the Winds of the Spirit.
May St David be with you!!