World Carp Classic - Offical Global Website
Lake Bolsena 3rd - 9th September 2012
| Marvellous Madine |
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 Hi everyone, and welcome to my first WCC blog Many of you reading this will possibly know me from the competition, as I’ve been a regular participant in it and have fished in matches held on Lac Amance, Lac D’Orient and of course Madine. Others may remember me from my editorial days with Carp Addict Magazine, or indeed you might simply know me through angling circles, fishing forums etc. I’m hard to miss! Sadly, I’m not actually fishing in the event this year, and for the first time in many years I haven’t been experiencing that tremendous buzz of excitement that competitors get leading up to the event. Sitting here now, less than two weeks to go until anglers from around the globe convene on Madine, I should missing that excitement badly, but in truth I’ve been too busy to reflect on it too much. However, today that has changed. You see, as Editor of the World Carp Classic Magazine, I have been beavering away concentrating my efforts on the production of the mag to the extent that the past few weeks have just flown by, and it really wasn’t until this morning, when Ross mentioned that there was less than two weeks to go until the competition, that I suddenly felt it. I believe the term is “OMG”. Mild panic had almost set in before I reminded myself that I didn’t have a mountain of tackle to sort out, neither did I have to prepare bait, no, this time all I had to do was get there, just me, nothing else but me... oh, and a clonking great boat! “A boat?” I hear you cry! - Yes, and a very big boat too, and as my knowledge and experience with similar sized boats extends back over 45 years, Ross felt that he had found his ‘skipper’ for it on Madine. I will add here that when Ross told me that he had the boat, it brought a tear to my eye... no, not because I was ecstatically joyful, it was a purely nostalgic tear. You see, the boat is a Dell Quay Dory Nab 21, and was built in a boatyard nearby to where I live by a company formed way back in the 60’s and it was this very model that I seriously drooled over every time I saw one all those years ago. Locally, they were heralded as the best money could buy and just as an added note of interest, this particular model was frequently used by lifeguards and coastguards, and they were often used by harbourmasters and sometimes used as pilot boats etc. Anyway, I guess you’re wondering why such a big boat is being hauled all the way to Madine (?) Apart from the obvious answer, to assist with getting anglers and their equipment to and from the islands, the boat is to become an emergency response boat. The coastguards etc. used these boats for a very good reason, as their ‘double skinned cathedral’ hull affords them extremely good stability even in the most hostile conditions and with a 115hp outboard mounted on the back, she certainly isn’t a slouch! Anyway, that’s enough for today, we are a few minutes away from wrapping up work on the Magazine and there are a few minor details left to sort out... It looks stunning, and I’m sure that you’ll agree when you see it!.....more tomorrow!!! Tight lines Steve |
