Pics from the early days...
Not even sure why Im putting these up here, maybe us old fuckers like looking in the rear view mirror too much?
Came across a heap more old photos, for anyone who has an interest.
These span from mid 90's charters in Coral bay, late 90's and 2000's longlining for swordies tuna and later sharks.
First boat I ever skippered, the Norstar (otherwise known as the Snorestar 
)
That blue handled Fdick knife travelled with me everywhere, until about a year back when a scabby seagul knocked it overboard at the Abrolhos 
Hows this for a blast from the past...
Swiss Danny, a top bloke and gun decky. Through the wonders of Facebook still in contact and he has an olive grove and chalets in Tuscany.
One of those incredible coincidences-in about 1999, Boxing Day I flew into Zurich to visit my sister and literally bumped straight into him in the airport, 10 seconds either way and I wouldnt have known...
Coral Bay, mid 90's
A good mate, who has long since passed, Bill Gibbings from Albany
EDIT-on closer inspection it is actually Vin!
One of my ace deckies, who went on to make 5 more ace deckies for me 
This pic is the early days on the little Starfire, a 48 ft Westcoaster
Unloading my home port Geraldton
Starfire heavily loaded with bigeye, YF and swords
Radio beacon crushed from being dragged down very deep by big fish.
I like this pic, maybe just triggers a subliminal memory of a happy day amongst the grindingly hard work you dont see or something?
Killing a tuna
and thats it for now, later maybe Ill chuck up some more if there is any interest, or just put them on Farcebook otherwise
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
JohnF
Posts: 2836
Date Joined: 07/07/10
Hoo is that bloke with
Hoo is that bloke with blonde hair......
Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.
Rob H
Posts: 5795
Date Joined: 18/01/12
my sons dont even look that
my sons dont even look that good
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8665
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Tops
Top shots Rob, you have heaps of good shots to show, sadly most of mine from fishing days went under in the Carnarvon floods in 2010, so don't stop putting them up because some w#n%^r doesn't appreciate them
Stevo81
Posts: 1278
Date Joined: 16/04/12
Keep em coming Rob! Great
Keep em coming Rob! Great stuff
•••••••• Electrical Contractor NOR ••••••••
Deleted
Posts: 6265
Date Joined: 26/04/14
How's the size of that sword
How's the size of that sword
timmy k (not verified)
Posts: 16
Date Joined: 01/01/70
Cool photos mate
50 bucks to go on a fishing charter...bargain
t bone
Posts: 351
Date Joined: 20/04/14
very nice shots
Some nice pics there mate. $50 for a charter would of been well before my days.. ha ha.
Keep the pics coming!! Will have to lure ya onto my boat with bulk beers for a trip out over the edge to teach me a thing or 2 about those swords.
The Saint
Posts: 473
Date Joined: 30/01/13
Always good to reminisce Rob.
Always good to reminisce Rob. Great pics.
Keep 'em coming !
Walfootrot
Posts: 1385
Date Joined: 23/07/12
I think the tri hull is
I think the tri hull is still the dive boat at Coral Bay Rob.
More drum lines, kill the bloody sharks!
dodgy
Posts: 4576
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Great pics Rob. The Blue on a
Great pics Rob. The Blue on a Penn Senator is a cracker.
Coral Bay back in those days was a great place.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Rob H
Posts: 5795
Date Joined: 18/01/12
.
Look closer at the blue
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
cvbass
Posts: 35
Date Joined: 22/11/13
Rare Fiberglass blue?
Rare Fiberglass blue?
Rob H
Posts: 5795
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Yepgetting some stories
Yep
getting some stories coming thru on how it ended up in CB
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
uncle
Posts: 9474
Date Joined: 10/02/07
Keep them coming
Very enjoyable
all aggressive fish love bigjohnsjigs
sunshine
Posts: 2600
Date Joined: 03/03/09
Brilliant but none of George King in Exmouth?
More please, brings back memories !
Rick
Posts: 1112
Date Joined: 22/12/06
great pics
Good stuff Rob, keep them coming
Love the $50 charter, things seemed so much more laid back then, I think our pace today is too fast !
PGFC Member
kirky79
Posts: 1351
Date Joined: 13/01/12
Great pics Rob
I remember the old Nor Star. We used to spend 4-6 weeks in Coral Bay every Christmas. My sister and I used to "help" Lara in the shop. Great times. Is that a Cookie cutter Shark? Keep them coming
pelagicyachts
Posts: 1322
Date Joined: 23/02/11
is that an outboard bracket
is that an outboard bracket mounted on the port side of the norstar? - if so, looks like it is rated for 250hp+ outboard!
oz74
Posts: 276
Date Joined: 14/05/12
awesome
awesome photos Rob.
coral bay is still an awesome place- looking back, it was beyond awesome back then!
cheers
brett
beeroclock
Posts: 739
Date Joined: 22/08/12
Great shots looks like great times back then
is the blue a fake? I cant make out any hang rope tied to the tail
GGs
Posts: 330
Date Joined: 06/09/14
Im glad someone else cant
Im glad someone else cant work it out either.
It looks like a mould? If its real its an awesome looking fish
Deleted
Posts: 6265
Date Joined: 26/04/14
I think the info you seek is
I think the info you seek is in the comments above
Rob H
Posts: 5795
Date Joined: 18/01/12
We took it from the pub for
We took it from the pub for a joke, the pictures hung in the pub I believe until Aspen bought it and "sanitised" the place.
Its standing on its nose I think
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
GGs
Posts: 330
Date Joined: 06/09/14
Keep them coming
I love seeing photos like this. Awesome work mate.
That corro trout in the second photo looks to be a fair size aswell.
Matt T
Posts: 875
Date Joined: 19/11/07
Brilliant
Love the photo's mate!
Markie
Posts: 2149
Date Joined: 06/08/10
awsomeness
thanks for sharing looks like you had alot of fun!
Y_Knot
Posts: 64
Date Joined: 05/11/10
Awesome Photos Rob H
Thanks 4 sharing..
I bet there are some crazy stories from those days!!!
hezzy
Posts: 1521
Date Joined: 27/11/09
nice pics ,rob I remember
nice pics ,rob
I remember the nor star & the sign set up ,
when we went up there we never used it though
we went out with simon the surfie lol
used to rent the second house on the left in the first left hand side street
good time up there then
hezzy
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
Cruise Control
Posts: 973
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Great pics Rob. I remember
Great pics Rob. I remember the Nor Star from when we first started going to the Bay. Must of been very early 80's. If you were skippering the Nor Star you certainly knew the shortest way back in through the Coral maze from the North and you didn't hang around. We followed Nor Star in one day and we were hard pressed to keep up as it twisted and turned through the coral.
The group that I went up with over successive years have very fond memories of the Bay and the pub in particular. We spent a lot of time out the back at the dart boards, if I recall we had chalked our names all over the rafters. Did you by chance know Bill Stubbs ? He used to work as a pro fisherman chasing mackeral from Waroora station. I met him through David Evans who managed Waroora, David was my brother in law. I have some shots taken from Bills ally Star Boat fishing the back of the reef with him.
The Bay offers many more creature comforts now but IMO has lost much of its rustic charm since they put in the bitumen to replace the track over the mudflats.
Thanks for bringing back some memories.
dodgy
Posts: 4576
Date Joined: 01/02/10
That old track in was a
That old track in was a cracker. If you wanted to hire a caravan it was always stipulated that it wasn't to go on the coral bay road.
I remember looking out the window on one of our trips up there as our dinghy was in the process of removing itself from the roofrack. Used to be massive bungarras all through the camp grounds for when you least expected it.
Good times
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Dale
Posts: 7930
Date Joined: 13/09/05
A few memories there from the early 80s for sure. I kinda think I fished on that Nor Star once?
"Just because you are a Character, Doesn't mean you have Character."
Mr Wolf
Humpback
Posts: 103
Date Joined: 15/01/15
oldies
Nice photos Rob H. Your deckie on the second photo wants you to hurry up so she can get of the boat ??
Rob H
Posts: 5795
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Doesnt look like a deckyIn
Doesnt look like a decky
In those days we could wetline and charter at the same time which made it economical to sell fresh local fish and go out with only a couple of passengers.
Nowadays the rules mean that
1/ large volumes of fish must be caught which are sold direct to wholesalers in Perth and then must be purchased by the restaurants and transported back
2/ Charters have 10-20 people on instead.
I know plenty of people think lots of rules are great, but in this manner much of Coral Bays charm eroded.
We sold fresh fish fillets off the boat at the waters edge at a good price
Restaurants had fresh LOCAL fish for meals (reds groper snapper etc) and fish and chips (mackeral/golden trevally etc)
We very rarely if at all froze any fish, everything was sold fresh and direct.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Nauti Buoy
Posts: 595
Date Joined: 20/04/09
Awesome
crackers pics mate
crano
Posts: 702
Date Joined: 04/11/09
Love it
I really enjoy pics like this. I just put up photo I took at the bay in 1980.
Boydy
Posts: 623
Date Joined: 26/09/12
Classic stuff.Thanks for the
Classic stuff.
Thanks for the trip back in time, daily fishing trips 50 bucks!
Travisd
Posts: 315
Date Joined: 07/05/11
The old beast
early days with the beast and manta magic dive boat pics.
Good times
Baron Sportsman
Just the depth that Varies
Rob H
Posts: 5795
Date Joined: 18/01/12
For us they were actually
For us they were actually the latter days of our time there when Exmouth Dive brought them in
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Meeuwissen
Posts: 755
Date Joined: 29/03/13
These pictures are gold
Fun showing my wife what coral used to look like
Down the Line
Catch the Experience
Travisd
Posts: 315
Date Joined: 07/05/11
Yeh rick n Dave
we use to stay at the back with Gordy and scotty
never forget coming thru the reef on beast thru ashos
every winter for 3-4 week for bout ten years
soo much respect for south passage. Time flies
Baron Sportsman
Just the depth that Varies
timboon
Posts: 2954
Date Joined: 14/11/10
Nice one Rob! Is the
Nice one Rob!
Is the Starfire an old Randell 42?
Rob H
Posts: 5795
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Westcoaster
48 foot Westcoaster
Carried a bigger load than it should have and I know I pushed further than was prudent on a few occasions, especially off the southern coast on a couple of trips getting greedy.
Also way west of North Island on one very rough night with busted longline gear.
Copped a wave over the stern which flooded the cabin at about 2 am after 20hrs of hauling gear, exhausted, worried and too gung ho to admit it
You just got on with it as there wasnt any other option
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
grantarctic1
Posts: 2546
Date Joined: 03/03/11
Cool
Realy cool pictures thanks for posting them mate, the blue did make me look a few times
redfin
Posts: 97
Date Joined: 07/11/08
saw some awesome fish on the
saw some awesome fish on the star fire with yourself and jase. that boat always felt a lot bigger than it was.
bsir
Posts: 574
Date Joined: 24/04/11
awesome
Cool pics
catchalittle
Posts: 1875
Date Joined: 04/09/08
Some awesome pictures and
Some awesome pictures and had to look twice $50 for a charter those days are long long gone
Nathan
Rob H
Posts: 5795
Date Joined: 18/01/12
all in the fine print
all in the fine print Nathan, not including lifejackets, theyre extra $50
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
There is a song that sums up those days
It goes something like this "those where the days my friends we thought they would never end"
What a time we all had in those easy living days, then the world caught up and look what has happened now. It is still a good place (well it was 7 years ago) but nothing like the free calm place it used to be.
crasny1
Posts: 7002
Date Joined: 16/10/08
Wow
Brings back memories.
Sent you a PM
"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact!!" _ Elon Musk
Fisher Kid
Posts: 358
Date Joined: 16/10/12
Crack em all up i love
Crack em all up i love seeing things that i can no longer see. Id love to snag a job on any kind of fishing boat, 10/10 would be dream. Better than cooking chickens at nandos :(
Fishing and catching are two different things. But i want to learn how to catch.
COASTALJOY
Posts: 79
Date Joined: 11/05/12
I did a couple of days on the
I did a couple of days on the cougar cat in 98 to take over the skipper duties but decided against it. Was a good boat
He fishes, He fishes, He fishes, its the only thing in life. All he ever gets is hell from his fed up wife