richardlawrence

A couple of launch points spring to mind. Porthclais to the sout hof St Davids. Free car parking beyond the cafe (don't park in the first sapce you see, they charge. There is a small £1 lauch fee per kayak. Solva is also good if you get the tides right. You can float the kayak down the river and then arrive back at your car on high tide. You could also launch from Whitsands beach car park. Not tried this. Should be fine in the bay but beware of strong currents near Ramsey sound and off St David's head. Have fun. The forecast looks good. Rich.

Hi PG, There are loads of sheltered launches depending on the conditions. Here are a few. Solva. Porthclais. Broad Haven North / Little Haven. Nolton Haven. Tenby southbeach. Saundersfoot. Stackpole Quay. Pwll Gwaelod. Cwn y Eglwys. and loads more. A good source of weather info is www.newsurf.co.uk or phone 01437 720698 for an answer machine surf report. Do you live down here or are you visiting? Rich.

Calm down, it's only a commercial

Nice picture Stu. Where abouts did you do the coasteering? I went from St Nons near St Davids a few years ago. Great fun. At the end of the route there was a good jumping spot. One of the instructors decided to show off by jumping from much higher than everyone else. Bashed his coxyx on landing and was taken of to hospital... Muppet!

I have a drift chute that I made myself. It is useful when fishing on the drof in breezy conditions. Most of my fishing is lure fishing in close over rough ground, I don't tend to use it in these conditions. It is useful though and certainly keeps the boat head into the wind when there is a bit of wind blown chop. Rich.

I've made leads in the past by filling short lengths of copper pipe. I drilled some holes in a block of wood to hold the pieces of pipe then poured in the moulton lead with one hand whilst holding an eye wire in place with a pair of long nose pliers in the other.

On lures you'll get plenty of mackeral and possibly a bass if you're lucky. There is some rough ground to the south end of the beach. There should be enough to keep you going until breakfast

Hi, As stated Newgale can pick up a bit of surf. There is also a large shingle bank to traverse. Other good launch spots include:- Solva - Park by the pub in the village and float down the stream. Return on high water right to your car. Porthclais near St Davids. Broad Haven, Little Haven - beach launch with less surf than Newgale. Nolton Haven - Similar surf to Newgale but easier launch since no shingle bank. Hopefully that will get you going for starters. There are other launch spots but you'll have to get a map out and find them Rich.

I'm quite happy to state that Pembrokeshire is the best coastal county in Britiain in terms of scenery and the like. However I wouldn't say that Neyland is representative of those atributes, if you get my drift Rich

Your best bet for mackeral and bass in the summer is to explore some of the rock marks around the open sea coast. There are loads of accessible spots all around the coast of the county. I suggest that you get a map and explore. There are tackle shops in Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock, Haverfordwest and Tenby. You don't need a licence for fishing in the sea at the moment. Regarding Neyland, it's central to the county and provides reasonable access to most places, it's not a picture postcard town though. Within the county there are loads of opportunities for walking and the other interests that you list. You could do worse than have a look at the National Park web site, that should give you some ideas. There are also a few charter boats that are based in the Marina at Neyland if you fancy getting out on the water. All the best. Richard.

Hi, I've made myself a drogue. It works brilliantly when there is a stiff breeze. As you say it can virtually stop you in the water as well as holding you head to wind. That said I don't use it that often when lure fishing close in, only when on a long drif in open water.

Hi, I bought my P13 from Brighton Canoes over the web, they were great. I know that Haven Sports in Broad Haven north have some OK gear and can get stuff ordered for you I think. Could be worth giving them a ring if you know what you want. To keep costs down I would suggest an angler version since you get rod holders and seat included. You don't really need to do anything else to the boat then but obviously if the desire strikes only your imagination will limit the possible modifications. The most important point is to make sure you have the correct safety gear (last weekend we witnessed a guy with no PFD in an inflatable kayak in an offshore wind!!! OK he was close in but it doesn't take long for things to go wrong.) Good luck. Rich.

We saw three or four down here in sunny Pembs over easter. Does that mean that summer has arrived?

I've never made a kayak but have looked into building a sea kayak myself. One method that looks quite straight forward is a stitch and glue plywood technique. The ply is encased in GRP to give a light strong construction. I've seen details on the web for a S and G surf kayak. Should be quite easy since you'll need quite a flat underside with a good rocker line. Try searching the web for 'stitch and glue' Good luck Rich

Looks like you had a great day. Good luck for the summer

From other threads I thought that us sit on top users were supposed to aspire to the ranks of using a sit inside kayak where we would present less risk to ourselves and the emergency services. I suggest that the important factor is the person in the boat, not the type of boat!!! On the bright side at least they seem to be alright. I knew there was a good resaon for being a fair weather kayaker Rich

Hi and welcome. We'll be watching the 'Birdie' to see how you get on.

Congratulations Chris. I suggest that you get some sleep now before they get home. It could be the last you have for a few months. Rich.

That sounds great , send a PM or place a post on here when you are planning to go out. There are a few of us that fish around Pembs and are always keen to meet new folk. In your photo it looks like the water was quite clear at the weekend, was it? It might be worth getting the lures polished up and ready for some action soon! I can't be doing with all this bait fishing lark so it's been a quiet few months. Still the evenings are drawing out and the clocks change in a couple of weeks. Roll on summer :clap2: . Rich.

Nice one Bobboy. I'd recognise those rocks any where. It's a great spot in the summer and nice and sheltered in a southerly. It's also great for the wild life with sea birds, seals, porpoise and turtles all spotted last year. Cheers Rich.

Ever heard of the 'Darwin Awards'? They are given posthumously to fools that remove themselves from the gene pool by acts of extreme stupidity. Sounds like an award in the making.

Congratulations Bob :clap2: Post a message when you're coming down to Pembs. I'm sure that there will be people around. Rich.

And I thought it was just my aftershave

I used to have insurance when I did alot of windsurfing. In that case you can easily be travelling at in excess of 25 mph on the edge of control, which is a great rush but a little bit scary The cost was only between £20 and £40 depending on the extent of cover. Most marine insurers offer packages. Viking insurane rings a bell but I may be wrong. Could possibly check out one of the kayaking magazines, there may be adverts. It is probably worth checking your home insurance policy. It is quite possible that it covers you for third party cover when going about your daily life. Rich

Hi Bobboy, Yellow is no problem with glare. Are you based in Dale itself? St Brides is a good launch spot. There are plenty of rough ground marks that are inaccesible from the shore. I haven't fished out of Dale but plan to try out around Watwick and St Anne's head in the summer. I have also fished out of Nolton Haven, Broad Haven etc which are pretty sheltered from tides. Keep an eye out on the board for local meets. Feel free to come along. Rich.