Time to finish the solar panel…
I’ve managed to dawdle on this project as long as possible now. Avoidance is a time tested method of problem prevention. Whenever I’m involved in an extensive project such as this, I mentally prepare for total disaster somewhere along the way. This is an old boat with lots of hidden quirks just daring to be discovered. Be it drilling in the wrong place and sinking the boat, or electrocuting myself… something is going to happen; but not if I avoid it.
Far Reaches, the modern power yacht!
Taking advantage of any opportunity to avoid disaster I jump at the offer to go fishing.
My neighbor, Reed has a rather stately power vessel and is preparing to go to sea. He is looking for volunteers to assist in the seaworthy task of catching fish. We agree.
6am and the preparations are underway. I go to Dunkin Doughnuts to get the glazed ‘energy rings’ and java. Reed heads to the bait shop for, well, bait. The sun rises on time and Reed’s other guests arrive.
We pull away from the dock on a beautiful morning and approach the local drawbridge. We are all noticing a larger than normal population of Box Jellyfish. They have some long tentacles and are plentiful. It would not be a good time to fall in the water.
Box Jellyfish with long stingers~
Dolphins approach and feed nearby. This is always a good sign.
For the last four or five days the weather has been perfect. Today would be the one day this week that the seas decide to play havoc with our fishing plans. We start rolling back and forth and I hear the contents of Reed’s boat begin to shift positions matching the wave action. Nothing too traumatic at this point, just a little uncomfortable. One of the guys comments that he was glad his wife could not make it on this trip as she would have been seasick by now.
We manage to anchor on a reef about eight miles offshore and start fishing. Several small fish are caught pretty quickly. Nothing to keep though as the red grouper were all undersized and the snapper were kind of small as well.
Dolphins love the bow wave
Several storms start merging a bit further out in the Gulf as one small one passes overhead. The boat gets a quick rinse as the waves build. The Captain decides that it’s time to head back in before the larger storms hit us.
Today was a great day. I caught a couple of fish, and was able to avoid the pain and suffering of my pending solar panel installation project. Perhaps tomorrow will be a better day for hurting myself…
The difference between fishing and a simple boat ride, bad weather...
Filed Under: Travels
About the Author: I'm a retired deputy sheriff turned sailor and author. Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions for anything you might like to read about. Hopefully I'll see you out on the water!