[Angleseyskipper]

i've taught a few people the basics on how too shot a wreck and it really isn't rocket science .
the biggest problem i,ve seen is people rely on plotters but don't really understand how to navigate and end up all over the place trying to reach the waypoint x marks the spot were in theory the wreck is.

the easiest way to start off is to find a non tidal bay and drop a weight and buoy in.
while along side the buoy write down its the position lat/long off the gps on some paper giving you a fixed point to navigate too.
now for the taxing bit,set off away from the buoy and try navigating back to it with the gps lat/long with out looking for it.
obviously someone else needs to keeps watch in case you drive over it!
you need to grasp the concept of compass direction as you steam along in relation to the way the lat/long numbers on the gps go up or down and steer accordingly to return to you original position.
this should be done at slow speed
this is the bit that takes time but most people soon get the hang of it.
most people like to concentrating on one set of numbers at a time untill it becomes second nature to do both.
when you have mastered this you'll be able to navigate to a known position and so in theory be able to find a known wreck.
as for shoting you have the bomb with big heavy weight brigade or like us the grapple brigade.
most people are aware that i don't rate the heavy weight system at all on tidal wrecks as its just not reliable enough i've lost count of the amount of times i've heard stories of seabed dives with this set up.
we have a 5.8m tidal range here of Amlwch so slacks are fairly short on the bigger tides so the grapple needs to go in early so there's no rush when it comes to dive.

so you can navigate to the wreck and see it on the sounder so your most of the way there.

next ya decide which way ya tide runs, with the grapple system steer directly into the tide and towards the wrecks position steam over it picking it up on the sounder and keep going in the same direction till it disappears off the sounder and go a bit further before dropping in the grapple.
the distance you travel past the wreck will depend on the strength of the tide.
you need to give the grapple time to hit the seabed as the tide will allready be pulling it towards the wreck on its decent.
let it hit seabed and hold on to it , the tide will push the boat and grapple back towards the wreck and so hooking into it sorted.
on a strong tidal flow there's no mistaking when its in as it will try and take ya hand with it!
obviously on a windy day depending on its strength and direction this will alter the track on the drift back to the wreck so you have to allow for it at the beginning but this is one thing you learn with time.
so thats basically how we do it
have fun
elfyn