Southwest Carp Sales
Our most
challenging carp order so far came in August 2010. We were asked by
local islander John Gates & the Alderney State to deliver 1000lb
(half a ton) of
carp to a 3.5
acre disused quarry on
there island.
This would be the first ever introduction of coarse fish to the
island & was set up to help improve tourism also carp fishing for
the local islanders. After much planning & paperwork the
date
was set for
delivery on Monday 1st November 2010. Much of October was spent
gathering the various sizes of carp from 6" up to the largest 6, 14
lb carp. They were all collected into one large
stock pond ready
for loading. Sunday
31st October came
around very quickly,
the Truck/Trailer
& 4 aerated tanks were
set up checked &
re-checked. The carp were then loaded Sunday PM. For there long
trip to the channel island of Alderney. We then set off on Monday,
at 6am for our 10am sailing from Poole in Dorset on the cargo ship
the ISIS. We arrived in Poole
at 8am, the ships
hold was being loaded. Once this was complete the hold doors were
rolled closed over the cargo & then
it was our turn.
Truck & Trailer were seperated & our precious cargo was craned onto
the top of the ship (heart stopping)
& strapped down
for the 10 hour crossing. The crossing was smooth which allowed us
to check the oxygen levels every couple of hours. We finally docked
at 8pm to a large welcoming party. Truck/Trailer were craned off
for the final part of there journey, along the short coast road to
there new home. With many keen anglers there to help un-load in the
dark, the 1000lb of English carp were soon in there new home & not
one fatality. We then returned to our hotel for a meal/drink & bed.
The returning cargo ship was not untill the Wednesday which gave us
the time to look around this lovely island & meet many of the
locals.
If you get a chance Alderney is a lovely island to visit & maybe a spot of carp fishing too. Many thanks to John & all the chaps for all there help.
