Author Topic: Inhaca Easter family getaway (Read 14047 times)

Prego · « **on:** April 15, 2013, 02:26:02 PM »

As per norm no trip is without their stresses the week before leaving be it from sorting tackle or getting all the food and drinks together etc etc. My father in law was nice enough to pull the boat up from KZN the weekend before we left so Monday I plugged the trailer on to check the lights, low and behold my car seemed to have an electrical issue with the towing plug, PRE TRIP PROBLEM #1 . Took the car to the autolec and it spent 2 days there where they had to redo the towing electrics has the problem was in the harness .
So Wednesday I got my car back and rushed home to start packing as we had planned to leave at midnight. I quickly packed the boat and decided to turn the motors over one last time just before I pulled the covers on. Starboard engine turns over great, now the port hummmmmmmm nada its turning over very lazily PRE TRIP PROBLEM #2. Okay nothing major quickly get out the jumpers NADA, ZIP, EISH. Start doing all sort of checks fuses, try pull starting no luck. Got on the phone asking friends for advice eventually my mate Clyde AKA Johny Nitro and his brother in law Nic AKa Dominique came around to give me a hand. We decided the starter was the problem at about 10pm the starter was out and it was filthy inside, so we like okay we found the problem. We cleaned it up and realised that 2 of the brushes were broken..............................BIG BIG PROBLEM. Okay nothing I can do I will just have to delay the trip by a day and see if I can get the parts from Suzuki the next day. Clyde AKA Johny Nitro then says that maybe he can make some at his workshop to make a plan, so off we go to his workshop, with some huge brushers he had at his work we manufactured some smallers ones that would fit into may starter cap. We get back to the boat round 1am, Start putting it all together and BAM she starts. Man was I a relieved man. Thank you Johny Nitro and Dominique for helping me out big time

to you both. Thanks to Johan for the calls too.

So I quickly closed up the cover went for quick shower and woke up my wife and son and quickly phoned my brother to tell him we were on the way to pick them up. We got on the road at 3.30am I my brother took the wheel so I could get some shut eye. Boy was I knackered after a very stressful 3 days Pre trip, I was now really looking forward to being in Paradise.

We crossed the border with minor issues and made our way to Naval were we had Peterblace and JohnF waiting for us on arrival. We quickly prepared the boat for the crossing and sat down to a nice lunch with our local mates while we waited for the tide to push in. A quick

to Peterblace for arranging all our paper work, fishing licences, seaworthy etc and JohnF for picking up our lunch bill

very nice of you.

So now our trip was really starting and I was glad when that portside engine started in the marina as the tractor lowered us.
I must just firstly commend my wife and sister in law for accepting to do this trip, my wife especially she is not one for this sort of thing and gets queezy on cruise liners. This is a trip were your only form of transport for 7 days is the boat.

So we're off and every one is happy, my wife keeps asking how far still, I kept saying we 2 miles closer than we were

with about 8km to go we see the birds going ape and I look at my brother and I get the wink of approval we quickly rigged up 2 spinning rods to have some light tackle fun. Now remember we are loaded to the brim with cooler boxes, freezers, extra fuel on the deck but we just can't resist and th ladies and kids had some great light tackle fun, I even managed to get a bird tangled in my braid on one cast.

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #1 on:** April 15, 2013, 02:30:20 PM »

Nice one Paulo

Prego · « **Reply #2 on:** April 15, 2013, 02:49:30 PM »

So after releasing a few Eastern little Tuna's/Kawa Kawa's we decided to head on to Manico Camp to see what our home for the next 7 days looked like. It had been just over 2 years since my last visit to Inhaca and Manico Camp. That feeling of having your feet in the sand and a cold one

in your hand cannot be beaten. On arrival we unpacked, arranged a gillie and sat down to a few more cold ones

while we prepared the tackle.

Prego · « **Reply #3 on:** April 15, 2013, 03:04:18 PM »

We decided that the next day we would spend doing some much needed chilling on Portuguese island, so we packed breakfast and lunch and a few spinning rods of course incase we decided to chase the birds and bonnies again and off we went to settle onto our beach for the next few days and had a breakfast of champions.

Hows that for beach to spend 5 days with the kids

Prego · « **Reply #4 on:** April 15, 2013, 03:25:57 PM »

We spent most of the day just sun bathing and fooling around in the warm water which was most welcome and after lunch we went out in search of the birds and them elusive 3M bonnies. We headed out to the same area as the day before but they had moved on I tacked further north eventually finding them. The spinning excitement had arrived, I put the ladies at the wheel and my brother and I casting and when we would go on we would let the kids or the wifes do battle so they can see and feel what it is that makes us love this sport so much.

During the mayhem the bail arm on the reel my brother was using kept turing over during the cast and it wasn't long till we were casting side by side and the inevitable happened, he cast out the bail arm clicked over and the spoon came back towards us at a rate of knots and embedded itself into my abdomen

I did not even feel the pierce only something hiting me and surprisingly I was pretty calm, maybe cause I knew I had a bolt cutter on board which I had just purchased a day or 2 before the trip. So while my brother pushed the hook through FOR A SECOND TIME

so we could cut it out I had passed my rod to my wife to reel in. As she started reeling in she goes on and the shouts she made will be forever in my memory "I'M ON, I'M ON" and now she knew what it was that we feel every time we hooked up.

If you look on my left hip you can see where the hook entered.

Moral of the story, guys if you don't have one on board already get a bolt cutter ASAP and always have some shades on when spinning.

Prego · « **Reply #5 on:** April 15, 2013, 03:51:59 PM »

After the wife landed her fish I decided to head back in to clean up my wound and maybe get a tetanus injection just to be safe, after the recent story I read recently I was a little worried about infection from the fishes bacteria.

1.ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ where's he going
2.My wife with here 1st ever fish
3. My nephew with a huge bonnie that was hooked in the gills. The gillie had a lekker dinner that eve.

Back at camp the manager Boet Jan was nice enough to take me to the clinic, but they were unable to help as the so called technician had gone home for the weekend. So I decided to use some really strong meds to make sure there would be no inflamation

.

Prego · « **Reply #6 on:** April 15, 2013, 04:11:11 PM »

The following days we would go to the deep with both boats. That night I kept waking up to check on my wound, to be honest I was really worried and glad when 5am had arrived and there was no sign of infection. We loaded the 2 boats and off we went but just as we left my portside engine would not start DAMN the plan we made had given up the ghost. My nephew and I jumped on board Maguro and my brothe rtook my boat back to camp and we would meet him back on Portuguese after our outing.

We ended up an excellent morning with 2 wahoo, 3 couta, 1 tuna head, 1 ELT, 2 bite offs and a missed marlin strike fantastic day and all this by 11am when we headed back in as young Matthew was not feeling well.

Check out Peterblace report from this fantastic day "Toothies @Easter weekend"

Back at Portuguese the Symphonia had arrived and Portuguese island was alive with loads of people from the cruise liner

Prego · « **Reply #7 on:** April 15, 2013, 04:26:16 PM »

That evening Manico camp was full of visitors who were watching the Rugby and we asked the manager Vanessa to make Wahoo sashimi for the whole camp, It was my first time tasting wahoo & needless to say it all vanished within seconds of hitting the table, it was simply delicious. Now I could not go over board with the celebration as I still had a troublesome starter motor to attend to. So after a yummy dinner I stripped the starter, I could not see any real problems that stood out, I changed a few things on the Brushers we had made and rewired and insulated it and back in it went. And BAM she was working again PHEW!

Sunday we woke up and what would Easter Sunday be without an Easter egg Hunt.

gavin erwin · « **Reply #8 on:** April 15, 2013, 04:46:28 PM »

Fantastic Prego looks kike you had great fun, im Jealous!!!

Prego · « **Reply #9 on:** April 15, 2013, 04:49:36 PM »

Peterblace had left to go to the deep and we would meet up with him a little later. After the egg hunt we headed to Portuguese whipped up a quick breakfast and the ladies decided they wanted to stay behind and we went out to the deep to try our luck the sea was not pretty and the kids were not happy but once we reached deeper water it settled down a bit but there was still a bit of a swell running. Peterblace had been out for a while working the area that had been successful the day before and had only managed a rat couta we worked the area but did not even seea showing so we decided to keep going north. When we reached Baixo Danae we had our first enquiry and we got bitten off

damn at least we found some fish. Not long after we got a second strike and again we got bitten off. Eish now I am starting to think I need to put wire on. So I quickly start making some wire traces to put on the rappies and whilst I'm doing this we get our 3rd enquiry, I clear all the rods and my brother fights the fish, I had 1 more line to clear and as I go for it a fish grabs the lure while we drifting and the drag is to tight for the fish to take line at speed and something goes wrong an the line parts. We land the 1st one and as we boat it the line parts .......eish lucky we are.

After boating our couta we decide to head back in and help Peterblace who had picked up a problem on a engine, and he still had to travel back to Maputo. By the time we got back he had sorted the problem out and was on his way back to Maputo. Thanks for joining us for a great weekend Peterblace.

1.My brother with his Couta
2.My boy skipper in training

isivuba · « **Reply #10 on:** April 15, 2013, 04:57:48 PM »

Eish awesome stuff Prego now you got me luss for the upcomming Ponta trip. Some lekka fish you guys caught

FishStyx · « **Reply #11 on:** April 15, 2013, 05:03:49 PM »

Good stuff mate. I really want to do that trip one day.

Fritz · « **Reply #12 on:** April 15, 2013, 05:04:22 PM »

Awsome trip you guys had Paulo.

Lichia amia · « **Reply #13 on:** April 15, 2013, 05:07:41 PM »

Proper report Preggs

, priceless family fun

Prego · « **Reply #14 on:** April 15, 2013, 05:13:28 PM »

Our last day turned out to be a stunner with the wind changing to south the water around portuguese cleaned up at it looked like just as I remember it from my visit 2 years back. We spent the entire day on Portuguese with the kids catching loads of gurnards and small little puffer fish.

My son of 3 years and my younger nephew caught their first ever salt water fish this day and the Gurnard kept them all busy and interested for hours.

Late afternoon we had another spinning session chasing the bonnies and young Matthew landed his 1st Kawa

The trip after all the PRE TRIP stresses turned out to be a pearler, with great weather and an amazing setting. In the end we did not get the fish that one always hopes for on such trips but big seas also did not allow us to travel far up north to the grounds we wanted to visit that have produced for us on every other visit, that's fishing BUT watching my wife to battle and land her first off shore fish and my son's face with tears of excitement has he hooks his first salt water fish was PRICELESS.

See you soon Inhaca.

dugong · « **Reply #15 on:** April 15, 2013, 05:23:37 PM »

Lekka one Prego, nice memories for your kids there, I may just puzzle you sometime for info about the trip, keen to maybe do it when the boat finally arrives??

FFF · « **Reply #16 on:** April 15, 2013, 05:50:07 PM »

Great report. Nice to see the effort you put in for the family to catch fish. Really looks like a trip of note.

MIKE PIKE · « **Reply #17 on:** April 15, 2013, 07:03:59 PM »

... great report Paulo , looks like u had a good relaxing holiday with family and friends ,,, great stuff .

John F · « **Reply #18 on:** April 15, 2013, 09:31:16 PM »

Was waiting for this report, thanks Prego!

Glad you guys enjoyed the trip after all hiccups!

Great stuff with the kids!

shagnrelease · « **Reply #19 on:** April 15, 2013, 10:06:50 PM »

Great report!! I love that place.

Have you got the Suzuki'sorted yet?