kayak related....yesterdays cold hotdogs....

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by MITCHELL

I like your boat...

Thanks!! It's done alright by me.

[MITCHELL]

I had a 1967 20ft seahurter called the lady jane. I kept same name, that was an up grade from a 16ft fiberglass tuna chaser. It was tossed by the purse saners.it was all I could afford, but I liked it it had a cuddly cabbin you could take an afternoon nap and lay down out of the weather. The farthest I ever went was from mission bay to the 43 for zero, from there to the east butterfly for 14 albacore.The deck and box's were refinished in beautiful white fiberglass after this photo

[MITCHELL]

Butterfly

[MITCHELL]

On a kelp paddle

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by MITCHELL

On a kelp paddle

I see sabers and truelines

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by MITCHELL

Butterfly

Did your dog get seasick?

I used to take my German Shepard but she always got really sea sick. One beautiful day I kept going further south. I had caught two big Yellowfin early at gray light, and then followed them around all day trying to get another one to bite. They were line shy, but it was a big school and easy to meter, so I kept on them hitting paddies as they passed them. Lots of Dorodo around and a few Yellows on the paddies so they kept me busy. Glass calm, You could not imagine a nicer day. I finally managed a third Yellowfin about 30 minutes before sunset, then got two more before before it got dark.

Here's a pic of the conditions at sunset.

Nice huh!!

I like coming in in the dark on a flat night. Stowed all my gear cleaned up the boat. I set up a course home. I was 34 miles out on a 194 heading, so 14 degrees right past the nados, almost due North, roughly 4.5 hours to the point running a single outboard to conserve fuel at 8 knots. Half that if I wanted to run both outboards.

It was mid October and we had yet to have a good cold front. The forecast was flat seas and and variable wind under ten knots, but the forecast was wrong. I just had everything stowed when the wind kicked up out of the North blowing hard at 15 to 20 knots. the seas built and with thirty minutes I was facing eight foot head seas. By then I had slowed to under 6 knots, but it got worse and eventually I was down under 5 knots getting showered with spray threading my way directly into the big seas in the dark.

My dog baby took it worse then I did. she audibly moaned, vomited on the deck, then shit her guts out, eventually she was just laying on the wet deck sliding around as the waves shifted the boat shivering uncontrollably. I really thought she might go into some kind of systemic shock and die.

At that point I pulled her in the space behind the console, took off my rain gear and wrapped her in it, and I held her between my legs the rest of the trip. I can't describe how cold I was. After eight hours I made it in, through the eight to ten foot seas, but I kept shaking for another hour, even though the first thing I did when I got to the ramp was jump in the truck and put the heater on. When I got to the dock she lifted up her head and gave me this look like: "Is this over" and though I had to lift her over the rail on to the dock but she walked to the truck under her own power. Once I warmed up enough to retrieve the boat I put the trailer in the water, jumped out of the truck and she followed me to the dock. Then amazingly she jumped right back in the boat with me. Such is the loyalty of dogs. For all she knew I was headed right back out there, and she did not care, she just wanted to stay with me.

I never took her on a offshore trip again, and every time I started loading the boat with tuna gear she'd get upset. Not at the prospect of bad weather, but because she knew I was going to leave her behind.

She was pretty hot as dogs go, but got a little too cold that night

[makobob]

Originally Posted by Fiskadoro

Did your dog get seasick?

I used to take my German Shepard but she always got really sea sick. One beautiful day I kept going further south. I had caught two big Yellowfin early at gray light, and then followed them around all day trying to get another one to bite. They were line shy, but it was a big school and easy to meter, so I kept on them hitting paddies as they passed them. Lots of Dorodo around and a few Yellows on the paddies so they kept me busy. Glass calm, You could not imagine a nicer day. I finally managed a third Yellowfin about 30 minutes before sunset, then got two more before before it got dark.

Here's a pic of the conditions at sunset.

Nice huh!!

I like coming in in the dark on a flat night. Stowed all my gear cleaned up the boat. I set up a course home. I was 34 miles out on a 194 heading, so 14 degrees right past the nados, almost due North, roughly 4.5 hours to the point running a single outboard to conserve fuel at 8 knots. Half that if I wanted to run both outboards.

It was mid October and we had yet to have a good cold front. The forecast was flat seas and and variable wind under ten knots, but the forecast was wrong. I just had everything stowed when the wind kicked up out of the North blowing hard at 15 to 20 knots. the seas built and with thirty minutes I was facing eight foot head seas. By then I had slowed to under 6 knots, but it got worse and eventually I was down under 5 knots getting showered with spray threading my way directly into the big seas in the dark.

My dog baby took it worse then I did. she audibly moaned, vomited on the deck, then shit her guts out, eventually she was just laying on the wet deck sliding around as the waves shifted the boat shivering uncontrollably. I really thought she might go into some kind of systemic shock and die.

At that point I pulled her in the space behind the console, took off my rain gear and wrapped her in it, and I held her between my legs the rest of the trip. I can't describe how cold I was. After eight hours I made it in, through the eight to ten foot seas, but I kept shaking for another hour, even though the first thing I did when I got to the ramp was jump in the truck and put the heater on. When I got to the dock she lifted up her head and gave me this look like: "Is this over" and though I had to lift her over the rail on to the dock but she walked to the truck under her own power. Once I warmed up enough to retrieve the boat I put the trailer in the water, jumped out of the truck and she followed me to the dock. Then amazingly she jumped right back in the boat with me. Such is the loyalty of dogs. For all she knew I was headed right back out there, and she did not care, she just wanted to stay with me.

I never took her on a offshore trip again, and every time I started loading the boat with tuna gear she'd get upset. Not at the prospect of bad weather, but because she knew I was going to leave her behind.

She was pretty hot as dogs go, but got a little too cold that night

GREAT story amigo. Thanks for sharing that evening.

[MITCHELL]

Duke never got seasick,but he took alot of craps as soon as I put him on the bow, not in the parking lot, not on the dock on the bow.I had a big thick sponge rubber pad for him to lay on.one time we were all hooked up on yellowtail and duke jumped into the school of fish and started swimming around we yelled at him to get to the stern and we pulled him over the transom. The worst weather I was ever in was coming home from San Clemente sland in a 24ft skipjack with a flying bridge we were diving and spent the night two boats there. It would have been better to run to Catalina island. But we didn't we headed back to San Diego we never took off our wet suits.just sat down in bottom of boat all day long only the skipper was on the flying bridge. Going down swell felt like we might flip over.Half the time you could not see the other boat. There were beakers going into mission bay.Not sure how big the sea was but it was scary I still thing about it alot after over 40years ago it was around 1972

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by MITCHELL

Duke never got seasick,but he took alot of craps as soon as I put him on the bow, not in the parking lot, not on the dock on the bow.I had a big thick sponge rubber pad for him to lay on.one time we were all hooked up on yellowtail and duke jumped into the school of fish and started swimming around we yelled at him to get to the stern and we pulled him over the transom. The worst weather I was ever in was coming home from San Clemente sland in a 24ft skipjack with a flying bridge we were diving and spent the night two boats there. It would have been better to run to Catalina island. But we didn't we headed back to San Diego we never took off our wet suits.just sat down in bottom of boat all day long only the skipper was on the flying bridge. Going down swell felt like we might flip over.Half the time you could not see the other boat. There were beakers going into mission bay.Not sure how big the sea was but it was scary I still thing about it alot after over 40years ago it was around 1972

I really miss my dog.

Yeah those skippy flys are really top heavy. Bulletproof boat but the older ones do move around a lot. Some of the old Blackman flybridges are even worse. They lean over so far you feel like you are going to fall out of them.

That night with my dog was a grind due to cold and fatigue but I have seen worse. I've been in huge seas off SBI, where the waves looked like mountains but at least where was some space between them. I once got caught in a wind event off Point Magu that was so bad the owner wanted me to drive his boat up on the beach. It took hours but I got his boat back powering up the waves that dropping off at the crests and then angling down the back sides. We were low on fuel so we slugged it out, and I learned a lot, but in hind site I should of run down to Paradise Cove, anchored up, then called for a tow when the wind died.

The worst for me personally was in Cat Channel crossing back at night. I was about half way across and got slammed by one of those sudden Cabrillo/Cat Channel wind events. I really thought I might not make it in. Pitch black, howling wind, confused and huge breaking waves that I could barely make out. I just kept crawling forward because I did not want to loose my boat. At the break wall I saw a flare and found some hoopers that were washing into the rocks. By then I was comfortable enough I went over and threw them a rope and towed them inside. At the dock they saw all my Marlin gear and asked me where I had been, when I told them Catalina they initially didn't believe me. It was like just crazy, like you would never intentionally cross and those conditions but I made it anyway. The thing about rough weather is it's initially scary but then you get used to it. I mean you are there, you can't just wish your way out, so you have to adapt. After a while I get kind of an adrenaline high, you have to learn how to work the boat through the seas. It's like a pattern you have to work out. I'm just glad I don't get seasick in those kinds of conditions.