Español

Manual de Lanzado
Sección de Carlos
The Downloads

Falsecast

Monday: Paul Arden
Tuesday: Harps
Wednesday: Bernd Ziesche
Thursday: Mr T.
Friday: Ray
Saturday: Viking Lars
Sunday: Bruce Richards

Ronan's report

I hope that you will stand for a moment's silence for the passing of 2010, The Year of Wood. I didn't realise it at the time but it's been a year of a lot of wood for me. I feel like I've been chopping and chainsawing wood all year in fact. Firstly I was chopping wood in Hungary for the Mancamp Fire and Steps arena. Then I was chopping wood for the one-week long Hungary winter and making way for the Sexyloops never-to-be-planted Vineyard 1. And finally I've been chopping wood in England for three weeks straight. In short I've become a wood-chopper.

It was a good year too. We knocked out some SLTV stuff in the early year, from Tasmania, Big Fish Week in NZ and the not-so-imaginary Saltfly in Darwin. And then I was in Hungary, building a terrace, a bomb-bunker and chopping wood. It's good to work; I love it.

But the highlight of last year, for me, was my two week sailing-stint on the Balaton with Zsofia. That was an awesome time and I learned to sail there and then, by doing it. I had forgotten to tell Zsofia that I didn't have the foggiest idea about sailing, but it didn't seem to matter since I'd checked she could swim (she got to swim once as it happened).

The first time we came to park the boat it was a bit of a problem, because the mooring on the first harbour we visited (and every other harbour on the lake it transpired) required a very complicated mooring manoeuvre where you had to loop stern ropes over wooden posts on the way in to dock. And I had never done this before. And the only free mooring space left was next to a bloody great hulk of a police boat.

When you're in England you don't need a license to sail. That's because we're all born sea-faring peoples and pirates. In Hungary however they don't have access to the seas, at least not since Trianon, and consequently they have sailing license laws for any boat over 6 metres. My boat is 6 metres 20.

So when we missed the wooden posts, crashed into the pier, had to spin around narrowly missing the police boat and sinking it, Zsofia started to wonder just how much experience I actually had. "Tried it once as a cub scout".

I fully intend to sail around the world at some point. Probably solo.

I didn't nail the Asp in 2010. I thought I'd give them a year's rest. I went out a few times of course, just to let them know I was still there and that if I really wanted to catch them I would. I did that on Balaton and the Drava River. But most of the successful fishing was either in Croatia or Bosnia. It was great to fish the Ribnic a couple of times, the first time with Peter, Zoran, Jan Jankovic and Dragan. We nailed them, eventually, and I learned a technique of nymphing previously unknown to me. Of course the Bosnians nearly didn't let us in because I didn't have the car papers - and Dragan had to make an emergency drive to the border to pick us up.

The second time I visited with Mark and Trevor, this time I remembered the papers, and the fishing was good too. Mark got us lost on the way back to Hungary however. Fishing with Alex, Ivica and Milan in Croatia has also been great fun. I had two trips to the Gacka with Milan and a couple of trips to the Canal with Ivica and Alex. I'm lucky to have such great friends.

I wish everyone a fantastic 2011, let's make this one the best one yet!

Cheers, Paul

Pic Of Day

SL Promotions