Rats, Moths and Mould...

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jpa_wfsc
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Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by jpa_wfsc »

what other wildlife are we going to talk about on this sailing forum?

Suggestions?
j./

National 12 "Spider" 2523
Finn K468 'Captain Scarlet'

British Moth, 630, early 60's 'Pisces'

!!!! Not CVRDA !!!!
Comet Trio - something always ready to sail.
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Ed
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by Ed »

What about birds.

Has anyone else had this problem....

You turn up in the Spring to take the cover off your pride and joy to find that some bird has taken up inhabitance under the cover.

"oh, you say....look at that.....there's a nest on my foredeck....do come and look"

You then get told that the bird is a protected species and disturbing their nest is against the law....and you will have to wait till they move out in Summer.

Ah......f*** it!

I tend to stick shiny crisp packets or whatever in all the gaps these days!

eib
Ed Bremner
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jpa_wfsc
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by jpa_wfsc »

We've got orchids in our dinghy park - have to be careful mowing the berths...
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Ed
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by Ed »

Or....what about snakes!

OK this isn't a dinghy story.....but a rowing story....

In the 70's I was rowing with University of London and we had a smart new black carbocraft eight. One day someone came down to the boat club with their pet snake. The snake was a totally lazy, slow thing, that wouldn't move an inch except to snap up mouse or something.

It was completely lethargic....or it was until it got put onto the boat, the snake went inside the boat, where the temperature must of been at least an additional 10deg. At which point the snake turned into an overactive wild thing on steroids and ripped right up to the other end of the shell in a dash. It went quite crazy and was ripping up and down the inside and took ages for them to catch again.

Or.....eels

Again, whilst rowing at UL....one year in the run up to the Boat Race, the Cambridge eight came to practice on the tideway and boated out of UL boathouses. There were lots of new guys in this Cambridge eight who didn't realise the importance of bringing wellies to launch an eight off the slip on the tideway (more used to keeping their sparkling white pumps on and launching off river pontoons).

So they kept pinching our wellies to launch with, which didn't go down well with the UL heavies at all.

So some guys would go and find eels caught in the pools behind the groins and edge of the slip and leave them in their wellies. It used to amaze us how often they fell for it, but soon enough they were all given matching team wellies.....so what the hell....we put eels in those too.

eib

But this could go on for ever.....what about Swans..... must be a few stories there.

Or who has sailed with Dolphins? Basking Sharks?

Had a big BIG swordfish jump just behind me once....that was wonderful....and there used to be quite enormous black male seal that used to live just above us on the Tamar that used to scare the s*** out of me sometimes, when sailing on the river.

A rich vein of stories surely

eib
Ed Bremner
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Michael Brigg
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by Michael Brigg »

Image

Garry??...
Michael Brigg
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Ed
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by Ed »

mmmmmmmmmmm

there might be a likeness.....

but he isn't that old! :twisted: :D
Ed Bremner
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Pat
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by Pat »

One Firefly owner at our club hadn't used her boat much that season and pulled back the cover to find a beautifully crafted wasps' nest on the boom. I've a picture somewhere.
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by roger »

There used to be a male swan on the canal at Devizes that had a real dislike of canoeists. Used to take them out regularly and upset many a Devizes -Westminster crew. He disappeared a year or two ago amid lots of rumours of foul(fowl) play.
He was a very unpleasant character and would come up form behind and you could hear him coming and nothing you could do about it.
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Ed
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by Ed »

Splash em. cold water.....they don't like it up them sir.


eib
Ed Bremner
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Firefly F2942
IC GBR314 ex S51 - 1970 Slurp
MR 638 - Please come and take it away
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Bathurst Whiff - looking for someone to love it
Stephen Hawkins
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by Stephen Hawkins »

We also had a wasp nest incident at our club last year.

The nest in this boat was built around the thwart and included the main sheet and spinnaker cleats, which meant the boom was stuck as well. A good size and difficult to budge, is it was not able to be moved without breaking it up.

That will learn him for not looking in on his boat all year!

But sleepy Queen wasps in your boat covers are always a problem during the early/late season.

I did also see a very 'holy spinnaker' that had been left in a Cadet spinny pocket all winter. Did not impress the prospective buyers. But at least the mice had left.
Steve Hawkins

1967 National 12 2383 "Sparkle"
Graham T
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by Graham T »

We have to remove sails from boats in September as the mice start to make winter nests. One year Chris Herbert left his pink spinnaker in the chute of his Osprey - when he rounded the windward mark and hoisted the lake was scattered with pink confetti whilst he reached away powered by a large pink doily....
Graham T
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Rupert
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by Rupert »

We've had frogs camping out in spinnaker chutes - last one I saw was in an RS 500, very comfy on the spinny! At least they don't eat them.
Rupert
Garry R
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by Garry R »

I have had a small wasp's nest under Gannet's deck for the past three years. It's the size of a golf ball when I knock it off and that's it for the year but the following year the buggers were back. A lovely dry and warm place. The biggest one I ever saw was a true work of art. It was in a cupboard outside which housed the gas central heating boiler at a neighbours house. About the size of two rugby balls - honest. I think the boiler meant there was little energy expenditure and the colony flourished - just like bees in a polystyrene hive. (I'll show you mine if you show me yours Roger once I move!!!!) Kill a queen wasp at this time of the year (often seen on cotoneaster flowers in spring) and it's another wasp's nest scuppered.
Michael Brigg
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by Michael Brigg »

Not sailing again,

But boating, and kind of similar to Ed's Snake story... :? :shock:

http://www.rowingservice.com/Zambezi05.jpg

Animals seem to get frisky around boats.

And then there's... :!: :!:

http://indyposted.com/wp-content/upload ... Yacht.jpeg
Michael Brigg
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jpa_wfsc
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Re: Rats, Moths and Mould...

Post by jpa_wfsc »

ahh photoshop - its such fun!

Rupert's post about frogs reminds me that Whitefriars is a good site for grass snakes which like frogs and grassy areas... I have seen them swimming across the lake - it makes the students squeek!
j./

National 12 "Spider" 2523
Finn K468 'Captain Scarlet'

British Moth, 630, early 60's 'Pisces'

!!!! Not CVRDA !!!!
Comet Trio - something always ready to sail.
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