Guernsey 2012

[portinfer]

Happy new year one and all (belated...)! Happy diving for the year to come....
Had a few dives this year but in the warm waters of Mexico - quite a few weird dives too like swimming in an underground cavern in a cenote with what appeared to be a bottomless black hole of dark water below me... scary, very scary. Also swimming in fresh water is weird as the bouyancy is not there at all - a strange experience.
Managed a few other dives... around Tulum with the Mayan ruins as a backdrop. Saw some good fish too - barracudas hanging out in the current and a massive boxfish - plenty of other reef fish too. Fun trip, now back to the reality of a Guernsey winter!

 

[jerseymike]

Hi Guys, Unlike Gnsy and UK, it is illegal to dive for lobsters in Jersey, so we have to go low water fishing if we want a lobster feed. I am just back from such a mission with Captain Louis. It has been a very grey and windy day but we managed 11 lobsters! Sound very good but unfortunately, and unusually, only two were on size! They are quite nice ones though. Afterwards we warmed up at a beach cafe with a bacon and egg roll and mug of tea. It's a hard life!

 

[foxfish]

Nice one Mike (dont over cook them) I managed 7 ormers, thats 3 more than last time but tomrrow is a better tide!

 

[jerseymike]

Thanks Martyn, I could do with a steer, think i usually over cook them and they end up a little tough. Both are about 1.5lbs or a bit over, what do you recommend?

Well done on the ormers. I don't look for them. I was put off by a traditional ormer stew Have tried them since and they turned out reasonable but they r still not my favourite. Mind you, neither is lobster , I prefer spider crabs by a mile and looking fwd to May, when I catch that first huge spider which we will have with a few Jersey royals, fresh bread and a glass or three of chilled white.........roll on summer!

In the meantime only lobster for dinner 2mos!

 

[foxfish]

I would cook them separately, large pan of rapidly boiling salty water, drop in lobster & put on lid very quickly as you don't want to loose the boil.
Boil on full heat for 5 mins, remove from pot to the sink & with a tea towel remove the claws & snap off the head, leave to cool.
Personally at this time of year I like my lobster hot so I would add the cooled & chopped up meat to a thermador or cheese & tarragon sauce to just reheat the lobster.
Ref the ormer - perhaps you should try a simple dish...remove the animal & cut away all the frills head & bum with a pair of scissors, beat the white meat flat with a mallet until it breaks up into pieces & fry in a pan for a few minuets.

 

[jerseymike]

blimey, Marco Pier white has moved to gnsy! ....thx, will give that a go.

 

[Magpie]

Sounds like plans are coming on for the summer weekender, I'll no doubt have various sports that will get in the way for me and I'm an anti-social sod, but will try to show my face at some point.

Only 18 ormers between 3 of us today, picked the wrong spot with wind in our face pushing waves at us, and nearly sunk the dingy on the way back, so much so that I had to jump overboard and swim/wade the last 50m or we risked sinking and losing the ormers!

I like to thinly slice mine, cover in tempura batter then deep fry. Made homemade Peking ginger, sweet and sour and garlic mayo sauces, which were all good, but still preferred them swimming in lemon juice.

 

[jerseymike]

Just found out that I have been over cooking lobster for years! Thanks to MF, have just finished a thermador cooked as per his instruction; light years better. Just goes to show that I know " ******* all" about cooking. Also, the better half tells me that we have enough lobster left for a linguini.... sound interesting! Got to go.........still got a glass of wine left.

 

[jks]

I'll be around in 5 mins mike

 

[Jonny250]

Nice one mike
Funnily enough we had lobster sort of linguini tonight!

 

[ep_haury]

Hello. Eric Haury here again. Since tis is my first post of this year, I'll explain for those who don't know that I'm this guy (http://forums.deeperblue.com/uk-ire...er-about-mermaids-not-mermaid-who-writes.html).

Here's my question. Are there people in the Channel Islands who swim close to and even climb onto those really rocky reefs that poke out of the water (or not depending on the tide's state, though many do seem to rise high)? I'm thinking of the exceptionally rocky ones, like those near the harbour at Sark. Is there a reason to climb on them, beyond the "because its there" argument? Is it on a per rock basis based on based or what fish are found near it or the currents or some such thing? Obviously, I'm thinking of my mermaids and whether, if there are caves that have entrances low in such rocks (plausible?), whether they'd have to worry about visitors from above?


P.S. Currently visiting family in Los Angeles. Walked on the beach yesterday, and saw a brief glimpse of California's Channel Islands. I still am fonder of yours, though.

 

[foxfish]

Hi Eric, the big reefs will hold shoals of fish in the lea of the tide.
Pollock especially like this position, sheltering from the tide & looking out to ambush any passing baitfish that drift by.
Humans visit the offshore reefs to collect ormers around the rocks base at low tide.

 

[ep_haury]

Do people climb on the rocks, typically, or only swim near them? And if people often do tend to climb on them, for what reasons: practical need (to catch fish or for any other reason), sane entertainment , insane entertainment. . . :duh :blackeye?

 

[foxfish]

There are rock climbers yes but, its not something you would see every day.

At one time (before modern gadgets) young Guernsey guys would travel to sark to base jump from the cliffs & there is one case of a chap falling while rock climbing in sark.

He formed a pile of beach stones on top of a column of natural rock in one of the bays, he did this but traveling to Sark every year & carrying a stone up the rock face.

The pile of stones is still there but he fell & died....

 

[Spirit]

Do people climb on the rocks, typically, or only swim near them? And if people often do tend to climb on them, for what reasons: practical need (to catch fish or for any other reason), sane entertainment , insane entertainment. . . :duh :blackeye?

Check this out:

LINKEY

 

[ep_haury]

Coastering. Wow. Far braver than anything I could do.

It does seem to take a lot of those "modern gadgets" Foxfish mentioned. Without them, are any of those parts of Sark (or Guernsey, but I know Sark would be the extreme case) essentially unclimbable? Black routes or otherwise. In other words, were the German Occupiers right about Sark's natural defensibility?

 

[Jonny250]

Hi Eric, i hope the book is progressing well...
Just a thought from your earlier question about getting out the water onto rocky reefs, in the context of your book, it could be that the mermaid/man wants just to enjoy the sunshine? Its quite nice sometimes to get out the water and sit for a couple of minutes just to warm up.
We also sometimes see fish turn momentarily belly-up, maybe to get some sun??



I'm planning a dive at the Gouffre later if anyone wants to come along?

saw a couple of guys in at petit bot yesterday, anyone from on here? anything around?

 

[foxfish]

Sorry I couldn't make it jonny but did you see anything fishy?

 

[grantl]

Just been watching Countryfile tonight which was all about Guernsey including a bit about Ormering on Lihou Island.
Seems they're quite plentiful but that must be helped by the very short season?
Pity their out of season in August :-(

 

[Jonny250]

Sorry I couldn't make it jonny but did you see anything fishy?

just a few wrasse and small pollack. I will try there again when its calm, but over a high tide. Nice to be in with such clear water and just get some drops.