Finally getting warm
Patent Pending was hired out for the MSSA fall tournament. The customers wanted to go out of Solomon’s, so we moved the boat on Friday afternoon. It would have been a great day to have fished. We knew the weather was going to be deteriorating as the weekend progressed.
We tied up in a slip at the Holiday Inn Marina and went directly to our rooms for “check in”. I won’t mention who chartered us, they can jump in and identify themselves if they want, but I will say they treated us like kings. They paid for the extra fuel, had two rooms for Captain John and I (king Suites each), paid for all our food, and when we decided we were going to wait until Monday to move the boat back to Deale because of the weather, they picked up the tab for an extra day at the hotel.
These ladies and gentlemen were mostly Marine Pilots (flying Cobra helicopters, Osprey planes that have the ability to take off vertically), and I suspect pilot rescue personnel (because he was speaking of extra pay for Jump and Dive status). How could you have a better crew? One has served three deployments to Afghanistan!! This will become evident in the early part of the story.
We watched the weather reports closely on Friday night. Our plan was to head south to 72/72A. This is an area I frequently fish out of Buzz’s Marina, and it has been productive in the past. I had a few 6 inch baits mixed in my spread, but most baits were 9 inch shads. We were looking for Bubba, not small fish!
We left Solomon’s early Saturday morning. Lines were not to be in the water until 6:30 am. We hoped to be at our destination and ready to put out 22 rods when the tournament started.
Between deploying the boards and the lines, it takes at least 40 minutes to get all the rods out. We already had a stiff NW wind, but the 46 ft Markley ran comfortably with the waves to our stern. When we hit 72B, we pulled back on the throttle and dropped boards and lines. The seas continued to build, but had little effect on the #64 rubber bands.
We trolled for about 30 minutes and soon noticed a craft approaching from the opposite direction. It looked a little awkward in the distance. As it got closer, we noticed the bow at a very steep angle with one of the boaters standing directly on the bow. Two others were in the back bailing water as fast as they could!! Suddenly, one of the men in the back ran forward to the bow. It appears that they were trying to get the bow down (and the stern up). I guess the water couldn’t get out the scuppers fast enough with the boat angled as it was.
One of our Marines said we need to pull our lines and assist. John and I were thinking the same thing; however, I could see another charter boat quickly approaching from behind us. Bow spray was flying as he raced to the aid of the little boat. I told John and the crew that the other boat was going to reach the boat a lot more quickly than us (we still had rods and boards to pull). One of the Marines said, “he may reach them sooner, but we don’t know what kind us assistance they need, and if they need any medical help, we are all qualified to render aid”. I felt really proud that this was their first and only reaction to the situation.
Everyone grabbed a rod and reeled in tackle. Rods were soon all over the back of the boat, tackle everywhere. I grabbed the planner board winder, and as John drove the boat toward the board, I wound as quickly as possible. The wind was kicking now.
We have a routine on the boat. When the board comes alongside, I let John pick up the board. He worries about the board hitting the green hull and leaving marks, so I let him lift the board and I grab the flag, then he places the board on deck. On this day, John lifted the board. When it reached chest high, the wind caught the board and it acted like a kite. John sailed backwards, fell to the deck, and slid from one side to the other. The fact that the deck was already getting slushy didn’t help.
Eventually, we were “all in” and we turned around to close the distance between the boat in distress and our current position. As we approached, we could see the other charter had things under control. The smaller boat was under power, floating in a better position, and being shadowed back to port by the other boat.
I sat down on the fish cooler, looked at the tangled mess in the back of the boat, and started wrapping up lines. My only option was too address the mess as if we were done fishing for the day. Each rod was wrapped and racked in its proper rocket launcher or gunnel rod holder. Almost an hour later, I was finished (and frozen).
Winds continued to build and the ice grew. We decided to run into the Patuxent River, and put out some rods, but getting there was going to be a challenge. I have some photo’s showing the ice built up on the boat.
Photo 1 (side curtains)
Photo 2 (Ice on the engine cover & frozen fishing line)
Photo 3 (boat hook)
Photo 4 (bungee cord encrusted with ice)
I also have a video taken with my iPhone, but have no idea how to post it. It shows the type of water spray we were getting across the windows, over the roof, and out the back of the deck.
More will follow later,
5th (Marty)