Pickersgill June 2025

Countering another adverse forecast was challenging but after deferring departure by one day we crossed the strait in reasonably good conditions on Friday morning (6^th June 25). Stopping for a few cod on the way in we got to Burneys beach mooring about 11.30am. After getting the dinghy’s sorted and the bait and gas organized, we had a bit of lunch and went across to Pickersgill on LEO towing both dinghies’ so that we could get back to Burneys on Leo when the southerly strengthened in the late afternoon. We decided to try and get the bulk of the south face of the Island baited and gassed before the forecast southerly arrived. It makes that face particularly unpleasant. By splitting up into 4 groups and starting at opposite ends of south line 1 and 2 we managed to get those lines done by about 4pm. The wind was on the rise, getting off weka beach in the dingy was carefully choreographed but successful and we were all pleased to be back at Burneys beach mooring, in comparative clam with a hot shower and dinner on.

Monday’s objective was to improve the tracks a bit and to finish servicing a small number of traps that hadn’t been completed or didn’t have the right gear when we went past them the first time. It is always hard to cover every eventuality as the traps all need bait and gas, but some need new trap bodies or new chirp caps or perhaps a new chirp cap battery to ensure they are working properly. Touch screens on the phones don’t work if they get wet which makes synching with the chirp caps unlikely to.

It is always surprising to see how much wind fall occurs on the Island and some of the tracks had been blocked by obstructions that were difficult to traverse. Armed with a saw and some pink triangles we set off to renew the worst areas of the tracks and hoped to join a few of our traps that are on down and up spurs together horizontally to minimize the number of meters climbed during a service trip. This is a significant improvement, however there is still one line that needs more work to achieve the desired result. Unusually dense growth and a very steep headland that make this challenging to achieve. Always nice to get back to the dingy on a day like this.