About Myself and White Maiden II

Skipper/Owner - Les Jones

A commercial Yachtmaster Offshore, working charter sport fishing trips since January 2006 from Lymington, full time since 2013. White Maiden 2 is my third and probably last charter vessel as you cant get any better that these boats.

In my first two years I owned and ran 'Due South'. I then replaced her with ''White Maiden' a BWSeaCat Classic 995. Since December 2016 I have owned and ran 'White Maiden II' a cracking BWSeaCat SPEED 11.

We don't have to travel huge distances to find the fish. There are plenty of options within ten miles of the Needles Lighthouse but we can now head offshore, to the South, East and West, sharking, wrecking and Bassing. We also have some very good plan B's in Christchurch Bay and the Solent.

Since the age of five I have lived just a mile from Lepe beach and still do. Lepe and the mouth of Beaulieu River and the Western Solent is still a great area but my favourite fishing is now the Needles area and St Catherines. I fished from the shore and have owned a boat since I was 17. I qualified as a 'Day Skipper' at 21.

Lymington
Lymington is a fantastic little harbour. My pick up point is at Lymington Bath Road Car Park by the Harbour Master Pontoon. I moor up in front of the Ship Inn at Lymington Quay.

Lymington harbour gives us many options, see Lymington.org for more general information about the Town, places to stay and surrounding area.

White Maiden II is now my current vessel, since the second week of 2017, I have been running charters on her.

She is a beauty and in my humble opinion future proof. Time will tell. She is reasonably frugal on fuel for this size of vessel, faster and has a much larger carrying capacity (displacement) than I have had before. Plus I can now take up to twelve passengers if I want to.

Key Benefits

White Maiden, my previous boat, now operates as a race start boat called 'Cowes Unite'. She is a 10m BWSeaCat Classic 995 Motor Cat with a 4.2m beam, built 'local' at Wicor Marine, near Fareham. She is fitted with a pair of 70Hp Yamaha Outboards, giving an amazing 20 knots top speed and cruising lovely at 17Knts through the water.

On the right is 'White Maiden' heading up tide for another drift mid-channel, fishing for Cod mid-summer.

Fishing CV
In my distant past I was the Club Secretary of Southampton Telephones SAC from the tender age of twenty. Soon after I became the Boat Commodore (the person that organises charter boats every month). I did that for 7 years, organising boats out from Keyhaven with Ray Pitt and others. During this time I was club champion a few times and caught some great fish, mainly with Ray Pitt on Lady M.

I then started to fish with more competitive clubs like Hardley and District SAC, Bridge Tavern SAC and as a boat owner I began to fish obsessively for Esso Fawley SAC (now Ashlett SAC). I was club champion at least once which is no mean feat and runner up a number of times. We fished for points and literally a table full of big old silver trophies. No money, hence no cheating, it was just for pride. I fished national competitions a few times and some of the big local species competitions but never had a large enough budget to compete on a level playing field with the best, so I didn't pursue that.

Since skippering charter boats I am still amazed just how relaxed some fishing clubs are. It's great to see!

Coaching
Coaching has always been part of my home and working life. I gained a Certificate of Education, graduating from Greenwich University in 2000. I was a Technical Trainer. I coached Junior Rugby for twelve years and was the Fawley RFC Director of Rugby and Club Coach Co-ordinator. The Solent and Christchurch Bay often provides a convenient and sheltered fishing haven for experienced and inexperienced sea anglers alike. Lymington is an ideal port.